St. John’s Thomas Hackimer Named BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Red Storm baseball lights out closer will be awarded a $4,000 scholarship, which can be applied to postgraduate studies.
NEW YORK – St. John’s senior Thomas Hackimer was named the BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Presented by Sunkist, the league announced on Friday. Hackimer, the lights-out closer for the defending baseball champion Red Storm, will be awarded a $4,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. Hackimer is St. John’s fourth BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee.
The Conference also announced the male winners of the 2015-16 BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships, Presented by Sunkist. Each institutional winner receives $2,000 toward graduate studies.
Hackimer is a third team NCBWA Preseason All-American for 2016 as well as a third team Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American as selected by
Collegiate Baseball. The senior enters the season as the BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year with unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST accolades.
The Floral Park, N.Y., native boasts a cumulative GPA of 3.62 while pursuing a bachelors degree in physics. An honors student, Hackimer is a member of the 2015 Chi Alpha Sigma National Honors Society and was a 2015 Capital One® Academic All-District First Team honoree.
Drafted by the New York Mets in the 15th round of the 2015 MLB Draft, Hackimer, a three-time Academic All-BIG EAST honoree, earned second team ABCA All-America accolades as a junior last season. The reliever also earned first team ABCA All-Northeast Region honors and was a unanimous first team All-BIG EAST selection. In 2015, Hackimer helped lead St. John’s to a BIG EAST regular season and championship crown. The senior already owns program records for both career-saves (28) and career-appearances (96).
Hackimer went 4-1 with a 1.92 ERA and ranked tied for sixth nationally with a league-leading and program-record 15 saves a season ago. The reliever led the BIG EAST with a program-record 35 appearances and also ranked fifth with 55 strikeouts in just 51.2 innings of work.
The senior was also selected as one of 70 relievers named to the Preseason Watch List for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NBCWA) Stopper of the Year Award. Presented annually since 2005, the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award goes to the top NCAA Division I relief pitcher.
Off the mound, Hackimer volunteers hours at the St. John’s the Baptist Parish, the ASL Turkey Drive, Bread and Life and the St. Nicholas Men’s Shelter among other places. He is also the St. John’s baseball’s teams’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative since 2012.
The BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year was announced in conjunction with the BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year was also from St. John’s University in senior soccer standout Rachel Daly. The Conference will also announce a Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year leading up to their conference tournaments in March.
Twenty student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST’s 10 member institutions) will be named as BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete award winners.
2015-16 BIG EAST Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Sunkist
School Name, Sport(s)
Butler Erik Peterson, Cross Country
Creighton Fabian Herbers, Soccer
DePaul Adrian Halimi, Golf
Georgetown Matthew Smith, Baseball
Marquette Patrick Sanchez, Golf
Providence Julian Oakley, Track & Field
St. John’s Thomas Hackimer, Baseball
Seton Hall Zachary Weigel, Baseball
Villanova Patrick Tiernan, Cross Country; Track & Field
Xavier James (Nick) Foster, Swimming
BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athletes Of The Year Presented by Sunkist
Year Name, School, Sport
1985 Joey David, Pittsburgh, Basketball
1986 John Prior, Connecticut, Track & Field
1987 Harold Jensen, Villanova, Basketball
1988 Dave Echeverria, Villanova, Swimming & Diving
1989 Chris Craft, Villanova, Swimming & Diving
1990 Pat O’Kelly, Seton Hall, Soccer
1991 David Honor, St. John’s, Baseball
1992 Steve Holman, Georgetown, Track & Field
1993 Hector Zamora, Seton Hall, Soccer
1994 Sebastien Goulet, Swimming, Syracuse
1995 Kevin Lyles, Seton Hall, Track & Field
1996 Gil Kovalski, Miami, Tennis
1997 Christian Fogarazzo, St. John’s, Track & Field
1998 Errol Williams, Notre Dame, Track & Field
1999 Angelo Ciminiello, Providence, Baseball
2000 Scott VanEpps, Pittsburgh, Swimming & Diving
2001 Chris Hamblin, Boston College, Soccer
2002 Gregory Strohmann, Seton Hall, Soccer
2003 Casey Schmidt, Boston College, Soccer
2004 Chris Wingert, St. John’s, Soccer
2005 Guy Melamed, Boston College, Soccer
2006 Trevor O’Grady, Rutgers, Track & Field
2007 Drew Eckman, Villanova, Track & Field
2008 Jeremy Stultz, Pittsburgh, Swimming & Diving
2009 Zak Boggs, USF, Soccer
2010 Francisco Aristeguieta, USF, Soccer
2011 Brian Karalunas, Villanova, Lacrosse
2012 Eric Finan, Cincinnati, Cross Country/Track & Field
2013 Grant Van De Casteele, Notre Dame, Soccer
2014 Charles Lyon, Marquette, Soccer
2015 Sam McEntee, Villanova, Cross Country/Track & Field
2016 Thomas Hackimer, St. John’s, Baseball