Seton Hall’s Alexis Walkden Named BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
This highly-decorated softball senior will be awarded a $4,000 scholarship, which can be applied to postgraduate studies.
NEW YORK – Seton Hall senior softball standout Alexis Walkden was named the BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Presented by Sunkist, the league announced on Thursday. The 2017 BIG EAST Player of the Year, Walkden, a third baseman, will be awarded a $4,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee.
Walkden is Seton Hall’s second BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Shelbey Manthorpe, a volleyball player, earned the honor in 2015. Walkden is a double major in Secondary Education and Mathematics with a certificate in information technologies.
The Conference also announced the female winners of the 2017-18 BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships, Presented by Sunkist. Each institutional winner receives $2,000 toward graduate studies.
The 2017 BIG EAST Player of the Year, Walkden has earned multiple awards including First Team All-BIG EAST, NFCA Second Team All-Region and All-ECAC. When she was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, Walkden became just the second Pirate ever to earn the award. The junior sits in the top-five in program history in nearly every major offensive category, including second all-time in both home runs and RBIs. A unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection, Walkden batted .352 overall with 41 runs, 50 hits, 15 doubles, 13 homers and 39 RBI. She led the league in slugging with .746. She was also a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen bases. In 2015, Walkden was the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year.
Walkden earned the 2017 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award and the Seton Hall Junior Female Student-Athlete of the Year. She was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National Student-Athlete Honor Society, Pi Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honor Society and Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society. The Cibolo, Texas, native boasts an undergraduate GPA of 3.855. Walkden is a three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree.
Off the field, Walkden has experience as an equesence volunteer, helping exposed children with special needs to the benefits of therapy through horses. She has also tutored middle school student in an after school program. Walkden has also volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, the One Love Foundation and America’s Grow A Row, to help stop hunger through growing vegetables.
The BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year was announced in conjunction with the BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year was from Butler University, Eric Dick, a men’s soccer player. The conference will also announce a Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Feb. 27, preceding the league’s tournament. The Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be announced at the awards press conference on March 7 at Madison Square Garden, preceding the Men’s Basketball Tournament.
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.
2017-18 BIG EAST Institutional Female Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Sunkist
| School |
Name, Sport(s) |
| Butler |
Anna Logan, Volleyball |
| Creighton |
Lydia Dimke, Volleyball |
| DePaul |
Alexa Ben, Soccer |
| Georgetown |
Molly Fitzpatrick, Swimming & Diving |
| Marquette |
Monique Felix, Track & Field |
| Providence |
Megan Hamilton, Field Hockey |
| St. John’s |
Anointing Onuoha, Track & Field |
| Seton Hall |
Alexis Walkden, Softball |
| Villanova |
Siofra Cleirigh Buttner, Track & Field |
| Xavier |
Maddie Britton, Cross Country |
BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athletes Of The Year Presented by Sunkist
| Year |
Name, School, Sport |
| 1985 |
Leigh Curl, Connecticut, Basketball |
| 1986 |
Joanne Keehs, Villanova, Track & Field |
| 1987 |
Karen Ferreria, Providence, Volleyball |
| 1988 |
Noreen Coughlin, Pittsburgh, Volleyball |
| 1989 |
Vicki Huber, Villanova, Track & Field |
| 1990 |
Siobhan Gallagher, Providence, Track & Field |
| 1991 |
Cami White, Providence, Field Hockey |
| 1992 |
Kelly Larkin, Syracuse, Field Hockey |
| 1993 |
Nnenna Lynch, Villanova, Track & Field |
| 1994 |
Allison Williams, Pittsburgh, Track & Field |
| 1995 |
Becky Spies, Villanova, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 1996 |
Najuma Fletcher, Pittsburgh, Track & Field |
| 1997 |
Jen Renola, Notre Dame, Soccer |
| 1998 |
Charity Wachera, West Virginia, Track & Field |
| 1999 |
Gladys Ganiel, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2000 |
Jenny Streiffer, Notre Dame, Soccer |
| 2001 |
Ruth Riley, Notre Dame, Basketball |
| 2002 |
Jarrah Myers, Notre Dame, Softball |
| 2003 |
Erin McIntyre, Rutgers, Swimming & Diving |
| 2004 |
Vanessa Pruzinsky, Notre Dame, Soccer |
| 2005 |
Nicole Lee, Georgetown, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2006 |
Kelly Harrigan, Rutgers, Swimming & Diving |
| 2007 |
Jessica Javelet, Louisville, Field Hockey |
| 2008 |
Jillian Drouin, Syracuse, Track & Field |
| 2009 |
Jennifer Kleinhans, Connecticut, Field Hockey |
| 2010 |
Meagan Dooley, Pittsburgh, Volleyball |
| 2011 |
Maya Moore, Connecticut, Basketball |
| 2012 |
Natalie Kulla, Marquette, Soccer |
| 2013 |
Sam Roecker, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2014 |
Emily Sisson, Providence, Cross Country/Track & Field |
| 2015 |
Shelbey Manthorpe, Seton Hall, Volleyball |
| 2016 |
Rachel Daly, St. John’s, Soccer |
| 2017 |
Lauren Smith, Creighton, Volleyball |
| 2018 |
Alexis Walkden, Seton Hall, Softball |