St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Earns BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
5/6/2025 3:09:00 PM | Softball
Led by Head Coach Michelle DePolo, the Red Storm captured its fourth BIG EAST Regular Season Title
NEW YORK – After leading the Red Storm to its winningest season in program history, the St. John's softball coaching staff of Head Coach Michelle DePolo and assistant coaches Marissa Rizzi and Sean Crowell was named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year, announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
Led by DePolo in just her second season, the Johnnies captured the BIG EAST Regular Season Title for the fourth time in program history and the first since 2019. This marks the fourth coaching staff of the year award for St. John's, with the first three coming during the program's other BIG EAST Regular Season Title campaigns (2015, 2017, 2019).
During DePolo's first season in Queens, the Red Storm finished with a 31-27 record in 2024 before setting a new program record with 39 wins and counting this year. The past two years mark the first time St. John's has produced 30-win seasons in back-to-back years and are now on the brink of both the program's and DePolo's first 40-win season.
Before coming to St. John's, DePolo spent nine years at Army ahead of three seasons at Tennessee Tech. At West Point, DePolo won 39 games twice during the 2012 and 2016 seasons, earning Patriot League Coach of the Year honors twice in 2010 and 2016. In 2013, DePolo led the Black Knights to a Patriot League Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Under DePolo's stewardship, the St. John's pitching staff has reached new heights, ranking first in NCAA DI with 492 team strikeouts and 9.38 strikeouts per seven innings this season. DePolo has helped coach the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Ana Serafinko to a historic season, as the left-hander has set both the single-season program record and BIG EAST regular season record for strikeouts.
With a 19-5 mark in BIG EAST play, the Red Storm set an all-time high for conference wins in a season and enters the upcoming BIG EAST Championships as the top seed. St. John's stormed through conference play, winning seven of its eight series, including four sweeps.
In last weekend's BIG EAST Regular Season Title-deciding series at UConn, the Johnnies rallied after a loss in game one to win the next contest 4-3 before a thrilling 6-5 victory in extra innings to bring the title to Queens.
St. John's will open play at the BIG EAST Championships on Thursday at noon, awaiting the winner of the opening round matchup between fourth-seeded Creighton and fifth-seeded Butler in Villanova, Pa.
The full list of all-conference selections can be found below:
BIG EAST Player of the Year: Grace Jenkins, Jr., C, UConn
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year: Ana Serafinko, Jr., P, St. John's
BIG EAST Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Ashten Pierson, So., SS, Creighton & London Jarrard, Sr., SS, St. John's
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Cat Petteys, Fr., SS, UConn
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John's
All-BIG EAST First Team^
Sydney Carter, Sr., 2B, Butler
Cate Lehner, Jr., OF, Butler*
Kaitlyn Breslin, So., OF, UConn
Rosie Garcia, Sr., 3B, UConn*
Grace Jenkins, Jr., C, UConn*
Payton Kinney, Gr., P, UConn
Cat Petteys, Fr., SS, UConn
Sydney Potter, So.,1B, Creighton
Sydra Seville, Sr., OF, Creighton
Loreley Francia, Jr., P, St. John's
Ana Serafinko, Jr., P, St. John's
Kat Gallant, Jr., P, Villanova
Maranda Runco, So., DP, Villanova
Kelsey White, Sr., UT/P, Villanova*
*Denotes a unanimous selection
^Denotes a tie in voting
All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Lexi Hastings, Sr., OF, UConn
Hope Jenkins, Jr., P, UConn
Kaelan Schultz, So., DP, Creighton
Lily West, Jr., C, Creighton
Baylee Cosgrove, Sr., 2B, DePaul
Victoria Grifone, Gr., P, Providence
Elisa Smith, Jr., OF, Providence
Jess Bianco, Jr., OF, St. John's
London Jarrard, Sr., SS, St. John's
Madison Konopka, Fr., 3B, St. John's
Kelsey Carr, Gr., DP, Seton Hall
Olivia Gilbert, Sr., 1B, Seton Hall
Caroline Hobbes, Jr., 2B, Seton Hall
Kyra Kreuscher, Jr., P, Seton Hall
^Denotes a tie in voting
Led by DePolo in just her second season, the Johnnies captured the BIG EAST Regular Season Title for the fourth time in program history and the first since 2019. This marks the fourth coaching staff of the year award for St. John's, with the first three coming during the program's other BIG EAST Regular Season Title campaigns (2015, 2017, 2019).
During DePolo's first season in Queens, the Red Storm finished with a 31-27 record in 2024 before setting a new program record with 39 wins and counting this year. The past two years mark the first time St. John's has produced 30-win seasons in back-to-back years and are now on the brink of both the program's and DePolo's first 40-win season.
Before coming to St. John's, DePolo spent nine years at Army ahead of three seasons at Tennessee Tech. At West Point, DePolo won 39 games twice during the 2012 and 2016 seasons, earning Patriot League Coach of the Year honors twice in 2010 and 2016. In 2013, DePolo led the Black Knights to a Patriot League Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Under DePolo's stewardship, the St. John's pitching staff has reached new heights, ranking first in NCAA DI with 492 team strikeouts and 9.38 strikeouts per seven innings this season. DePolo has helped coach the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Ana Serafinko to a historic season, as the left-hander has set both the single-season program record and BIG EAST regular season record for strikeouts.
With a 19-5 mark in BIG EAST play, the Red Storm set an all-time high for conference wins in a season and enters the upcoming BIG EAST Championships as the top seed. St. John's stormed through conference play, winning seven of its eight series, including four sweeps.
In last weekend's BIG EAST Regular Season Title-deciding series at UConn, the Johnnies rallied after a loss in game one to win the next contest 4-3 before a thrilling 6-5 victory in extra innings to bring the title to Queens.
St. John's will open play at the BIG EAST Championships on Thursday at noon, awaiting the winner of the opening round matchup between fourth-seeded Creighton and fifth-seeded Butler in Villanova, Pa.
The full list of all-conference selections can be found below:
BIG EAST Player of the Year: Grace Jenkins, Jr., C, UConn
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year: Ana Serafinko, Jr., P, St. John's
BIG EAST Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Ashten Pierson, So., SS, Creighton & London Jarrard, Sr., SS, St. John's
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Cat Petteys, Fr., SS, UConn
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John's
All-BIG EAST First Team^
Sydney Carter, Sr., 2B, Butler
Cate Lehner, Jr., OF, Butler*
Kaitlyn Breslin, So., OF, UConn
Rosie Garcia, Sr., 3B, UConn*
Grace Jenkins, Jr., C, UConn*
Payton Kinney, Gr., P, UConn
Cat Petteys, Fr., SS, UConn
Sydney Potter, So.,1B, Creighton
Sydra Seville, Sr., OF, Creighton
Loreley Francia, Jr., P, St. John's
Ana Serafinko, Jr., P, St. John's
Kat Gallant, Jr., P, Villanova
Maranda Runco, So., DP, Villanova
Kelsey White, Sr., UT/P, Villanova*
*Denotes a unanimous selection
^Denotes a tie in voting
All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Lexi Hastings, Sr., OF, UConn
Hope Jenkins, Jr., P, UConn
Kaelan Schultz, So., DP, Creighton
Lily West, Jr., C, Creighton
Baylee Cosgrove, Sr., 2B, DePaul
Victoria Grifone, Gr., P, Providence
Elisa Smith, Jr., OF, Providence
Jess Bianco, Jr., OF, St. John's
London Jarrard, Sr., SS, St. John's
Madison Konopka, Fr., 3B, St. John's
Kelsey Carr, Gr., DP, Seton Hall
Olivia Gilbert, Sr., 1B, Seton Hall
Caroline Hobbes, Jr., 2B, Seton Hall
Kyra Kreuscher, Jr., P, Seton Hall
^Denotes a tie in voting
Players Mentioned
SS/OF
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UTIL
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MIF
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