St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Announces Honorees for 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame Class
8/15/2022 12:24:00 PM | Baseball, Fencing, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Lacrosse, Women's Basketball, Women's Track and Field, Red White Club
Red Storm to Enshrine Seven During University Homecoming Weekend on October 22
QUEENS, N.Y. – St. John's has unveiled the seven outstanding individuals who will be enshrined into its Athletics Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2022. The honorees, who represent the 23rd induction class in the Hall of Fame's history, will be honored on Saturday, October 22 during the University's Homecoming Weekend.
The 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame class includes former student-athletes and coaches who achieved excellence in their sport while representing St. John's on the national and international levels. This year's cohort includes baseball coaching legend Ed Blankmeyer, Olympians Priscilla Frederick from women's track & field and Daryl Homer from men's fencing, men's basketball standout Jerry Houston, men's lacrosse All-American Kieran McArdle, two-time All-BIG EAST selection Nadirah McKenith of women's basketball, as well as men's basketball star and NBA veteran Jayson Williams.
"It is an honor to welcome these seven distinguished athletes and coaches as the newest members of the St. John's Athletics Hall of Fame," said Director of Athletics Mike Cragg. "This is an outstanding class that we look forward to welcoming back to campus this fall for Homecoming Weekend. It will be a privilege to celebrate their incredible accomplishments and formally induct them into the Hall of Fame."
Complete event details and ticket information for the 2022 St. John's Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony on Saturday, October 22, will be announced at a later date.
The winningest coach in the history of both St. John's University and the BIG EAST Conference, Ed Blankmeyer took over a program with a reputation of success and continued that tradition over two and a half decades. In 24 seasons at the helm of the Red Storm baseball program, Blankmeyer won at a .623 clip, compiling a cumulative record of 829-500-4. 347 of those wins came during conference play, allowing Blankmeyer to claim BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors eight times. In his final 15 seasons leading the Red Storm, Blankemeyer was named the league's top skipper on seven separate occasions.
Blankmeyer led the Johnnies to five BIG EAST Tournament titles and six regular season conference crowns. No program in BIG EAST history, let alone a single coach, has won more than five. His teams won 40 games or more on nine separate occasions and earned 11 berths in the NCAA Tournament. In 2012, he guided the first St. John's team to make a Super Regional after winning three straight games, including two against North Carolina, during the Chapel Hill Regional.
A 2018 inductee into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Blankmeyer saw 91 of his former players secure spots with Major League organizations through the draft or free agency.
Priscilla Frederick finished her St. John's career as one of the most dominant athletes in the history of the women's track and field program. Under the direction of fellow St. John's Hall of Fame member Jim Hurt, Frederick set multiple program records in the high jump and 60-meter hurdles that still stand to this day. Frederick captured an individual BIG EAST title and qualified for the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships in multiple seasons. For her outstanding efforts, Frederick was named an All-American several times over.
Beyond her excellence as a Johnnie, Frederick has found athletic success on the international stage, winning multiple medals at the Pan American Games and participating in the Commonwealth Games and World Championships. At the 2016 Olympic Games, Frederick placed 28th in the high jump competing for Antigua and Barbuda.
During his time at St. John's, Daryl Homer was an integral part of the winning tradition of fellow St. John's Hall of Fame Head Coach Yury Gelman's fencing program. Homer captured individual men's saber national titles in back-to-back season in 2010 and 2011 and was named an All-American all four of his years in Queens. In 2009-10, the St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, native posted a program record 93 wins while suffering a mere nine losses in a dominant individual campaign.
Following his decorated career at St. John's, Homer has participated in three Olympic Games (2012, 2016, 2020) and became the fourth American man to medal in the individual saber since 1984 when he captured silver in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. His silver medal marked the first for any American male fencer in over a century.
Aside from the Olympics, Homer has found incredible success on the world and national stages. Homer has captured countless North American Cup gold medals and has earned multiple golds at the Pan American and Senior Pan American Games.
Jerry Houston, the last captain of the Joe Lapchick Era at St. John's, was a three-year varsity letterwinner from 1962-65. Over his final two seasons, Houston helped lead St. John's to a 35-19 record.
Houston appeared in 70 games at St. John's and averaged 8.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest. He registered a 43.6 career field goal percentage and shot 74.2 percent from the free-throw line in his three varsity seasons.
In 1962-63, Houston averaged 8.3 points in 16 appearances while shooting a personal best 77.2 percent from the line. The following year, Houston continued his steady play when he averaged 8.2 points shooting 45.0 percent in 25 appearances and helped St. John's to a 14-11 record. As a senior in 1964-65, Houston averaged a career-best 9.5 points converting 44.3 percent of his field goal attempts to go with 2.6 rebounds per contest in 29 games.
A true point guard, Houston's career in Queens was capped by a win over No. 1 Michigan during the regular season and a victory over Villanova in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title game. His decisive free-throws against the Wildcats with seven seconds to play at Madison Square Garden secured the program's fourth NIT championship.
A native of the Bronx, Houston set the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) scoring record that stood for almost thirty years. As a senior at LaSalle Academy in 1959-60, Houston scored 69 points against Andrew Jackson High School. That record stood until 1987-88 when Ken White of Monsignor Farrell scored 75 points. Houston set a number of other records at LaSalle that lasted until the late 1990s.
Houston also served many years as a coach at the high school level and was an assistant at Fordham.
The most decorated player in St. John's Men's Lacrosse history, Kieran McArdle starred at the University from 2010-14. A two-time All-American, McArdle rewrote the Red Storm record book during his time in Queens. He still stands as the program's career leader in points (264), goals (125) and assists (139).
After recording 39 points as a freshman, McArdle burst onto the national scene during his sophomore campaign in 2012. The Ronkonkoma, N.Y., native averaged four points per game, which was the highest among all underclassmen in Division I. McArdle helped lead the Red Storm to the 2012 BIG EAST Championship game after downing No. 2 Notre Dame, 8-7, in the semifinals. McArdle finished with seven points in the win over the Irish. Following his 60-point sophomore season, McArdle became the first Red Storm player since 1986 to earn USILA All-America Honorable Mention recognition.
As a junior, McArdle set the program's single-season record for points with 85 after registering 36 goals and 49 assists for the Red Storm. The lefty attackman also ranked first in the nation averaging 3.77 assists per game during a nine-win season for the Red Storm, including a victory over top-ranked Notre Dame. McArdle was named the 2013 BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year and received USILA Second Team All-America honors.
McArdle logged another 80-point season in 2014 while setting a program record with 40 goals. For the second straight season, McArdle garnered USILA Second Team All-America status and became the only player in BIG EAST history to repeat as Attack Player of the Year.
The fifth overall selection in the 2014 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) draft, McArdle was named the MLL Rookie of the Year and earned MLL All-Star honors three straight seasons from 2015-18. He is in his ninth year in the professional ranks and currently plays in the Premier Lacrosse League.
Nadirah McKenith starred at St. John's from 2009-13 and was instrumental in leading the Red Storm to the NCAA Tournament during each of her four years in Queens. An All-BIG EAST First Team selection and the All-Met Player of the Year as a senior, McKenith helped St. John's make program history with its first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 the year prior.
A native of Newark, N.J., McKenith owns the program's career assist record with 605. She led the team in assists during each of her four seasons in Queens, including a personal-best 165 during the 2012-13 season.
In addition to being an elite facilitator, McKenith was a proflic scorer and rebounder, ranking 13th in Red Storm history with 1,293 career points and 12th with 651 career boards.
A two-time WBCA Regional All-American, McKenith averaged 10.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists during her stellar four year career at St. John's.
McKenith was selected 17th overall in the 2013 WNBA Draft, becoming the first St. John's women's basketball player to join the world's best professional league.
Jayson Williams was a standout performer at St. John's, playing three seasons under Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca. An All-BIG EAST honoree, Williams helped lead St. John's to a 61-35 record and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances during his career. Over his three seasons in Queens, Williams recorded 1,072 points and 490 rebounds in 72 appearances. His career field goal mark of 55.0 percent ranks seventh on the program's all-time chart.
During his second season at St. John's in 1988-89, Williams averaged career bests of 19.5 points on 57.3 percent shooting from the field to go with 7.9 rebounds, helping the team to a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Championship. Williams was named the NIT's Most Valuable Player after tallying 28 points and 18 rebounds in the title game versus Saint Louis. His 236 field goals that season rank ninth on the program's single-season chart.
A co-captain in 1989-90, Williams was part of a St. John's team that accumulated 24 wins and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 14.6 points and 7.8 boards while shooting 53.4 percent from the field in 13 games before his season was cut short due to injury. As a freshman in 1987-88, Williams averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 28 appearances.
The 21st overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, Williams played a decade in the NBA and spent the majority of his professional career with the New Jersey Nets. Williams recorded 3,472 points, 3,584 rebounds and 301 blocks during his NBA career. In 1998, he was named to the NBA All-Star Team and finished the season as the league's leader in offensive rebounds.
The 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame class includes former student-athletes and coaches who achieved excellence in their sport while representing St. John's on the national and international levels. This year's cohort includes baseball coaching legend Ed Blankmeyer, Olympians Priscilla Frederick from women's track & field and Daryl Homer from men's fencing, men's basketball standout Jerry Houston, men's lacrosse All-American Kieran McArdle, two-time All-BIG EAST selection Nadirah McKenith of women's basketball, as well as men's basketball star and NBA veteran Jayson Williams.
"It is an honor to welcome these seven distinguished athletes and coaches as the newest members of the St. John's Athletics Hall of Fame," said Director of Athletics Mike Cragg. "This is an outstanding class that we look forward to welcoming back to campus this fall for Homecoming Weekend. It will be a privilege to celebrate their incredible accomplishments and formally induct them into the Hall of Fame."
Complete event details and ticket information for the 2022 St. John's Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony on Saturday, October 22, will be announced at a later date.
The winningest coach in the history of both St. John's University and the BIG EAST Conference, Ed Blankmeyer took over a program with a reputation of success and continued that tradition over two and a half decades. In 24 seasons at the helm of the Red Storm baseball program, Blankmeyer won at a .623 clip, compiling a cumulative record of 829-500-4. 347 of those wins came during conference play, allowing Blankmeyer to claim BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors eight times. In his final 15 seasons leading the Red Storm, Blankemeyer was named the league's top skipper on seven separate occasions.
Blankmeyer led the Johnnies to five BIG EAST Tournament titles and six regular season conference crowns. No program in BIG EAST history, let alone a single coach, has won more than five. His teams won 40 games or more on nine separate occasions and earned 11 berths in the NCAA Tournament. In 2012, he guided the first St. John's team to make a Super Regional after winning three straight games, including two against North Carolina, during the Chapel Hill Regional.
A 2018 inductee into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Blankmeyer saw 91 of his former players secure spots with Major League organizations through the draft or free agency.
Priscilla Frederick finished her St. John's career as one of the most dominant athletes in the history of the women's track and field program. Under the direction of fellow St. John's Hall of Fame member Jim Hurt, Frederick set multiple program records in the high jump and 60-meter hurdles that still stand to this day. Frederick captured an individual BIG EAST title and qualified for the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships in multiple seasons. For her outstanding efforts, Frederick was named an All-American several times over.
Beyond her excellence as a Johnnie, Frederick has found athletic success on the international stage, winning multiple medals at the Pan American Games and participating in the Commonwealth Games and World Championships. At the 2016 Olympic Games, Frederick placed 28th in the high jump competing for Antigua and Barbuda.
During his time at St. John's, Daryl Homer was an integral part of the winning tradition of fellow St. John's Hall of Fame Head Coach Yury Gelman's fencing program. Homer captured individual men's saber national titles in back-to-back season in 2010 and 2011 and was named an All-American all four of his years in Queens. In 2009-10, the St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, native posted a program record 93 wins while suffering a mere nine losses in a dominant individual campaign.
Following his decorated career at St. John's, Homer has participated in three Olympic Games (2012, 2016, 2020) and became the fourth American man to medal in the individual saber since 1984 when he captured silver in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. His silver medal marked the first for any American male fencer in over a century.
Aside from the Olympics, Homer has found incredible success on the world and national stages. Homer has captured countless North American Cup gold medals and has earned multiple golds at the Pan American and Senior Pan American Games.
Jerry Houston, the last captain of the Joe Lapchick Era at St. John's, was a three-year varsity letterwinner from 1962-65. Over his final two seasons, Houston helped lead St. John's to a 35-19 record.
Houston appeared in 70 games at St. John's and averaged 8.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest. He registered a 43.6 career field goal percentage and shot 74.2 percent from the free-throw line in his three varsity seasons.
In 1962-63, Houston averaged 8.3 points in 16 appearances while shooting a personal best 77.2 percent from the line. The following year, Houston continued his steady play when he averaged 8.2 points shooting 45.0 percent in 25 appearances and helped St. John's to a 14-11 record. As a senior in 1964-65, Houston averaged a career-best 9.5 points converting 44.3 percent of his field goal attempts to go with 2.6 rebounds per contest in 29 games.
A true point guard, Houston's career in Queens was capped by a win over No. 1 Michigan during the regular season and a victory over Villanova in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title game. His decisive free-throws against the Wildcats with seven seconds to play at Madison Square Garden secured the program's fourth NIT championship.
A native of the Bronx, Houston set the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) scoring record that stood for almost thirty years. As a senior at LaSalle Academy in 1959-60, Houston scored 69 points against Andrew Jackson High School. That record stood until 1987-88 when Ken White of Monsignor Farrell scored 75 points. Houston set a number of other records at LaSalle that lasted until the late 1990s.
Houston also served many years as a coach at the high school level and was an assistant at Fordham.
The most decorated player in St. John's Men's Lacrosse history, Kieran McArdle starred at the University from 2010-14. A two-time All-American, McArdle rewrote the Red Storm record book during his time in Queens. He still stands as the program's career leader in points (264), goals (125) and assists (139).
After recording 39 points as a freshman, McArdle burst onto the national scene during his sophomore campaign in 2012. The Ronkonkoma, N.Y., native averaged four points per game, which was the highest among all underclassmen in Division I. McArdle helped lead the Red Storm to the 2012 BIG EAST Championship game after downing No. 2 Notre Dame, 8-7, in the semifinals. McArdle finished with seven points in the win over the Irish. Following his 60-point sophomore season, McArdle became the first Red Storm player since 1986 to earn USILA All-America Honorable Mention recognition.
As a junior, McArdle set the program's single-season record for points with 85 after registering 36 goals and 49 assists for the Red Storm. The lefty attackman also ranked first in the nation averaging 3.77 assists per game during a nine-win season for the Red Storm, including a victory over top-ranked Notre Dame. McArdle was named the 2013 BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year and received USILA Second Team All-America honors.
McArdle logged another 80-point season in 2014 while setting a program record with 40 goals. For the second straight season, McArdle garnered USILA Second Team All-America status and became the only player in BIG EAST history to repeat as Attack Player of the Year.
The fifth overall selection in the 2014 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) draft, McArdle was named the MLL Rookie of the Year and earned MLL All-Star honors three straight seasons from 2015-18. He is in his ninth year in the professional ranks and currently plays in the Premier Lacrosse League.
Nadirah McKenith starred at St. John's from 2009-13 and was instrumental in leading the Red Storm to the NCAA Tournament during each of her four years in Queens. An All-BIG EAST First Team selection and the All-Met Player of the Year as a senior, McKenith helped St. John's make program history with its first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 the year prior.
A native of Newark, N.J., McKenith owns the program's career assist record with 605. She led the team in assists during each of her four seasons in Queens, including a personal-best 165 during the 2012-13 season.
In addition to being an elite facilitator, McKenith was a proflic scorer and rebounder, ranking 13th in Red Storm history with 1,293 career points and 12th with 651 career boards.
A two-time WBCA Regional All-American, McKenith averaged 10.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists during her stellar four year career at St. John's.
McKenith was selected 17th overall in the 2013 WNBA Draft, becoming the first St. John's women's basketball player to join the world's best professional league.
Jayson Williams was a standout performer at St. John's, playing three seasons under Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca. An All-BIG EAST honoree, Williams helped lead St. John's to a 61-35 record and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances during his career. Over his three seasons in Queens, Williams recorded 1,072 points and 490 rebounds in 72 appearances. His career field goal mark of 55.0 percent ranks seventh on the program's all-time chart.
During his second season at St. John's in 1988-89, Williams averaged career bests of 19.5 points on 57.3 percent shooting from the field to go with 7.9 rebounds, helping the team to a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Championship. Williams was named the NIT's Most Valuable Player after tallying 28 points and 18 rebounds in the title game versus Saint Louis. His 236 field goals that season rank ninth on the program's single-season chart.
A co-captain in 1989-90, Williams was part of a St. John's team that accumulated 24 wins and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 14.6 points and 7.8 boards while shooting 53.4 percent from the field in 13 games before his season was cut short due to injury. As a freshman in 1987-88, Williams averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 28 appearances.
The 21st overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, Williams played a decade in the NBA and spent the majority of his professional career with the New Jersey Nets. Williams recorded 3,472 points, 3,584 rebounds and 301 blocks during his NBA career. In 1998, he was named to the NBA All-Star Team and finished the season as the league's leader in offensive rebounds.
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