St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Standout RJ Luis Jr. Named Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award Winner
4/24/2025 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm junior wing recognized as top player in the metropolitan area for the 2024-25 season
QUEENS, N.Y. – Consensus Second Team All-American RJ Luis Jr. was named the Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Met Player of the Year, the Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association announced on Thursday.
Luis will accept the award at the 92nd Annual MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards Dinner on Thursday at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, N.Y. The award ceremony begins at 7 p.m. and will be livestreamed here.
The Haggerty Award, one of the oldest and prestigious awards given to a metropolitan area basketball player, was first presented in 1936. The award is named after Frank J. Haggerty, a former co-captain of the St. John's basketball team in the 1930's, who later passed away serving his country in World War II.
Luis Jr's honor marks the 28th time in program history a St. John's player has won Haggerty Award and the first Johnnie to earn the honor since Shamorie Ponds in 2018.
The junior starred for National Coach of the Year Rick Pitino during a historic 2024-25 campaign. Luis led the Johnnies in scoring as he helped the team capture both the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The Red Storm posted a 31-5 overall record tying the program record for wins in a single season and posted its first undefeated season at home since 1931-32.
After averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, Luis earned a slew of national honors this past season. He was named to all four major All-American teams - Associated Press (Second Team), NABC (Second Team), USBWA (Second Team and Sporting News (Second Team). Additionally, Luis was tabbed the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Team Member of the Year and was a finalist for the Naismith Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year award.
On the conference level, Luis became just the third player in St. John's history to be named BIG EAST Player of the Year and the first since Walter Berry in 1986. After cutting down the nets at Madison Square Garden, Luis received the Dave Gavitt Trophy for the BIG EAST Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Additionally, he was a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection.
One of two players to rank top five in the league in scoring and rebounding, Luis also led the league in double-doubles with 10 and eclipsed the 20-point mark in 15 of his 35 appearances this season.
On Wednesday, Luis was one of the five St. John's players to earn All-Met honors. He was joined by teammates Zuby Ejiofor and Kadary Richmond marking the first time in 25 years three players from the same school earned top team honors from the organization.
Luis will accept the award at the 92nd Annual MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards Dinner on Thursday at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, N.Y. The award ceremony begins at 7 p.m. and will be livestreamed here.
The Haggerty Award, one of the oldest and prestigious awards given to a metropolitan area basketball player, was first presented in 1936. The award is named after Frank J. Haggerty, a former co-captain of the St. John's basketball team in the 1930's, who later passed away serving his country in World War II.
Luis Jr's honor marks the 28th time in program history a St. John's player has won Haggerty Award and the first Johnnie to earn the honor since Shamorie Ponds in 2018.
The junior starred for National Coach of the Year Rick Pitino during a historic 2024-25 campaign. Luis led the Johnnies in scoring as he helped the team capture both the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The Red Storm posted a 31-5 overall record tying the program record for wins in a single season and posted its first undefeated season at home since 1931-32.
After averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, Luis earned a slew of national honors this past season. He was named to all four major All-American teams - Associated Press (Second Team), NABC (Second Team), USBWA (Second Team and Sporting News (Second Team). Additionally, Luis was tabbed the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Team Member of the Year and was a finalist for the Naismith Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year award.
On the conference level, Luis became just the third player in St. John's history to be named BIG EAST Player of the Year and the first since Walter Berry in 1986. After cutting down the nets at Madison Square Garden, Luis received the Dave Gavitt Trophy for the BIG EAST Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Additionally, he was a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection.
One of two players to rank top five in the league in scoring and rebounding, Luis also led the league in double-doubles with 10 and eclipsed the 20-point mark in 15 of his 35 appearances this season.
On Wednesday, Luis was one of the five St. John's players to earn All-Met honors. He was joined by teammates Zuby Ejiofor and Kadary Richmond marking the first time in 25 years three players from the same school earned top team honors from the organization.
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