BIG EAST Announces Winners of 2017-18 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference has announced the winners of the 2017-18 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards, which recognize academic and athletic achievement as well as community service.
The Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards are given to one student-athlete in each BIG EAST-sponsored sport based on academic credentials, athletic accolades or performances and volunteer service to the community. Student-athletes who have attained junior academic standing and a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 are eligible. The winners are chosen by the BIG EAST Faculty Athletics Representative Council.
The list of 22 honorees includes 13 seniors, seven juniors and two graduate students. Nine of the winners competed in the NCAAs in their respective sports this past year. Sixteen were or have been BIG EAST Players of the Year or BIG EAST Championship winners. Georgetown and Marquette led the way with four honorees each with DePaul, Seton Hall and Villanova close behind with three. Providence had pair of award winners, while Butler, Creighton and Xavier each had one. Noah Yanchulis and Alexis Walkden of Seton Hall were repeat honorees. Villanova’s Cleirigh Buttner was honored in both the sports of Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field.
While the format of the awards allows for only one declared winner in each sport category, the selection of the recipients proves each year to be a challenge for the FAR Council, as candidate nominees represent exceptional student-athletes who excel in academics, service, and athletics, and are outstanding representatives of their schools and the Conference.
For more information on the 2017-18 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award winners please visit each school’s respective site.
Baseball: Rob Dadona, Seton Hall, Sr., Business Management
- Cumulative GPA of 3.696; Member of Seton Hall’s honors program and Chi Alpha Sigma National student-athlete honor society
- Member of the 2018 BIG EAST Championship runners-up; Three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree
Men’s Basketball: Jalen Brunson, Villanova, Jr., Communication
- Cumulative GPA of 3.34; 2018 BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- 2017-18 Consensus National Player of the Year; 2017-18 Bob Cousy Award for nation’s top point guard; BIG EAST Player of the Year; Member of the National Championship squad; 2018 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team; 2018 NCAA East Region Most Outstanding Player; 2017-18 Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-American; 2018 Philadelphia Big Five Scholar-Athlete of the Year; Member of BIG EAST Tournament Championship squad
Women’s Basketball: Allazia Blockton, Jr., Marquette, Advertising
- Cumulative GPA of 3.633; 2018 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- BIG EAST All-Academic Team; Athletic Director’s honor roll; 2017-18 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-American honorable mention; 2017-18 All-Region 4 Honoree; 2018 BIG EAST Player of the Year; Unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team honoree
Men’s Cross Country: Amos Bartelsmeyer, Georgetown, Grad Student, Science, Technology and International Affairs
- Graduate Cumulative GPA of 3.260
- 2017 and 2015 BIG EAST Cross Country Team Champion; 2017 All-BIG EAST Second Team, NCAA Championship Qualifier
Women’s Cross Country: Catarina Braz-Rocha, Providence, Grad Student, Guidance/Counseling
- Graduate Cumulative GPA of 3.85; Three-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team honoree; consistent member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, member of Chi Alpha Sigma and Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in Education; Graduated Cum Laude in May 2017
- 2017 BIG EAST Cross Country Individual Champion, named All-Northeast Region and All-BIG EAST Cross Country in 2017, three time captain
Men’s Indoor Track & Field: Kyle Decker, DePaul, Jr., Biological Sciences, Medicine and Health
- Undergraduate GPA of 3.989; DePaul University Athletics Director’s Honor Roll and University Dean’s List; Member of DePaul’s Athletics Academic Advising 4.0 Club
- 2018 BIG EAST Indoor Individual Champion (60-meter hurdles), defending title for the third time; 2017-18 All-BIG EAST honoree; Team Captain; 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-American for Outdoor Track & Field
Women’s Indoor Track & Field: Siofra Cleirigh Buttner, Villanova, Sr., Communication
- Cumulative GPA of 3.62; Villanova’s Dean’s List; Three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team; Villanova’s Athletic Director’s Honor Roll; Minoring in Criminology
- USTFCCCA All-America First Team honoree as national runner up in the women’s 800-meter race; Member of the 2018 BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championship squad; 2018 co-Most Outstanding Track Performer of the Meet; Two-time BIG EAST Champion at the Indoor Meet (800-meter run and 1,600-meter relay), defending her title in both; Earned the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Outstanding Amateur Athlete Award in 2018
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field: Derek Gross, Marquette, Jr., Entrepreneurship and Finance
- Cumulative GPA of 3.859; Member of Chi Alpha Sigma honor society; College of Business Dean’s List;
- Part of the 2018 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championship squad; Member of BIG EAST third-place 4x800-meter relay team; Two-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team member
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field: Siofra Cleirigh Buttner, Villanova, Sr., Communication
- Cumulative GPA of 3.62; Villanova’s Dean’s List; Three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team; Villanova’s Athletic Director’s Honor Roll; Minoring in Criminology
- USTFCCCA All-America First Team honoree placing fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800-meter race; Member of the 2018 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championship squad; earned All-BIG EAST Certificates in the 800-meter and 4x400-meter events in the 2018 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships; 2018 BIG EAST 800-meter individual champion
Field Hockey: Megan Hamilton, Providence, Sr., Marketing
- Cumulative GPA of 3.37 with a minor in finance
- Two-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team, 2017 National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association (NFHCA) National Academic team; 2018 BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Award honoree; 2017 NFHCA Division I All-Northeast Region First Team; Two-time All-BIG EAST First Team honors; All-BIG EAST honors four-consecutive years, Three-time team captain
Men’s Golf: Sam Madsen, Georgetown, Sr., Finance and Operations & Information Management
- Cumulative GPA of 3.431
- 2017-18 BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete; member of the 2018 and 2016 BIG EAST Championship squad; 2018 All-BIG EAST Second Team; Team Captain
Women’s Golf: Jacquelyn Eleey, Georgetown, Sr., Sociology
- Cumulative GPA of 3.00
- 2018 BIG EAST Player of the Year; Four-time All-BIG EAST Selection; 2018 BIG EAST Individual Champion (also won in 2015); member of 2018 BIG EAST Championship squad; Team Captain
Men’s Lacrosse: John Wagner, Marquette, Jr., Business Finance and Private Equity Banking
- Cumulative GPA of 3.848; Chi Alpha Sigma Honors Society; Three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team; Athletic Director’s Honor Roll; Major GPA of 4.00
- 2018 All-BIG EAST First Team honors; 2018 US Lacrosse National Player of the Week, USILA Team of the Week; Two-time BIG EAST Attack Player of the Week; Team Captain
Women’s Lacrosse: Grace Gabriel, Marquette, Jr., Finance and Marketing
- Cumulative GPA of 3.545; Member of Chi Alpha Sigma honors society; College of Business Dean’s List; BIG EAST All-Academic Team
- 2018 Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Second Team All-America; 2018 BIG EAST Co-Midfielder of the Year; Two-time unanimous BIG EAST First Team selection (2018, 2017); Was BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week four times in 2018; Two-time team captain
Men’s Soccer: Eric Dick, Butler, Sr., Science, Technology and Society
- Cumulative GPA of 3.376;
- 2017-18 BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year; United Soccer Coaches First Team Scholar All-American; First Team Scholar All-Great Lakes Region; Member of the 2017 BIG EAST Regular Season champion Bulldogs; United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American; 2017 BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year; 2018 All-BIG EAST First Team honoree; Four-time BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week
Women’s Soccer: Carly Alfano, Xavier, Sr., Biology
- Cumulative GPA of 3.995
- 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team; First Team Academic All-Ohio; 2017 United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region Third Team; 2017 All-BIG EAST Second Team; 2018 Medal of Honor Recipient
Softball: Alexis Walkden; Seton Hall, Sr., Mathematics and Secondary Education, Certificate in Information Technologies *
- Cumulative GPA of 3.855; Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society; Pi Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honor Society; Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education
- 2017-18 BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year; 2017 BIG EAST Player of the Year; Holds school record in career walks and runs scored
Men’s Swimming and Diving: Noah Yanchulis, Seton Hall, Sr., Business Administration & IT Management and Marketing *
- Cumulative GPA of 3.432; member of Chi Alpha Sigma as well as Seton Hall’s marketing honor society
- 2018 Institutional Scholar-Athlete of the Year;
- 2018 200 Freestyle and 500 Freestyle NCAA “B” Cut qualifier; Competed at USA Swimming Winter National Championships; Competed at 2018 College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) National Invitational Championship; Member of 2018 BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championship Squad; 10-time BIG EAST Champion (six individual, four relay); Holds school record in the 200 Freestyle; Team Captain
Women’s Swimming and Diving: Molly Fitzpatrick, Georgetown, Sr., Human Science
- Cumulative GPA of 3.67; Georgetown’s Dean’s List honoree; BIG EAST All-Academic Team
- Seven-time BIG EAST Individual Champion; 2018 Individual Champion in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events; School record holder in both events; Member of 2018 All-BIG EAST team
Men’s Tennis: Alex Galoustian, DePaul, Sr., Finance and Accountancy
- Cumulative GPA of 3.286; Athletic Director’s Honor Roll; DePaul University Dean’s List
- 2018 All-BIG EAST honors; Member of BIG EAST Championship runners-up squad; 2015 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Women’s Tennis: Pati Lancranjan, DePaul, Sr., Hospitality Leadership, Lodging Management and Sales Leadership
- Cumulative GPA of 3.547; DePaul University’s Athletics Director’s Honor Roll and University Dean’s List; BIG EAST All-Academic Team
- Four-time All-BIG EAST; member of 2018 BIG EAST Women’s Tennis runner-up squad
Volleyball: Jaali Winters, Creighton, Jr., Business Intelligence & Analytics
- Cumulative GPA of 3.93; Three-time member of Creighton University’s Dean’s List
- 2017-18 CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team; 2017 American Volleyball Coaches’ Association First Team All-East Region; 2017-18 All-BIG EAST First Team; Member of three consecutive BIG EAST regular-season and tournament title squads
* 2016-17 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award winner