Seton Hall Recognizes Student-Athletes at 2024 SHUcademy Awards
4/30/2024 9:11:00 PM | General, H.A.L.L. Program
South Orange, N.J. – As the 2023-24 academic year winds down, the achievements of Seton Hall student-athletes throughout the year were celebrated at the eighth annual SHUcademy Awards held Tuesday night inside historic Walsh Gymnasium.
Seton Hall assistant strength & conditioning coordinator Angelo Gingerelli hosted the event which saw representation from every program and celebrates the best of the best in Pirates athletics for the year.
Freshman Female Athlete of the Year was presented to both softball's Katey Brennan and women's basketball's Savannah Catalon. Brennan has been a mainstay in the cleanup spot of the Pirates' batting order all season, currently sitting second on the team in batting average, runs batted in and hits. Catalon was named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman team after a stellar freshman season, averaging 7.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 31 games. She was also named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on two occasions.
Baseball's Aiden Robbins took home Freshman Male Athlete of the Year honors. The Yardley, Pa. native currently boasts the second-highest batting average on the team at .301 as well as the best slugging percentage at .472. Robbins has compiled 13 multi-hit games so far in 2024, including a 3-for-4 showing with a home run, three RBI and four runs scored in a win at Butler on April 27.
Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year went to softball's Erin Howard. Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Howard has started behind the plate in all 45 games for the Pirates this season. With the bat in her hands, Howard owns a .299 batting average on the year, a number which surges up to .343 during BIG EAST games.
Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year was awarded to swimming and diving's Michael Klimaszewski and baseball's Ryan Reich. Klimaszewski, who was named Freshman Male Athlete of the Year at last year's SHUcademy awards, posted another strong season. He took the gold medal in the 100 Fly at the BIG EAST Championships for the second straight year, setting a school record time of 46.47. Reich has been a strikeout machine for the Pirates on the mound this season. His 71 punchouts through 53 innings so far are the most by a Seton Hall pitcher since Noah Thompson in 2019.
The award for Junior Female Athlete of the Year went to three superstars in their class. Softball's Taylor Hill, women's soccer's Natalie Tavana and women's swimming and diving's Allie Waggoner each received the award. Hill has had yet another fantastic season for the Pirates, currently leading the team with a .327 batting average and nine home runs while on pace to break the single-season runs scored record for the second straight year. Tavana became the first Pirate to be named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year since Kelly Smith did so in 1999. A unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection, Tavana led the BIG EAST with 12 goals, and her 26 points on the season paced the club and ranked second in the league. Waggoner had an excellent junior campaign, beginning with setting five school records at the WVU Invite in mid-November. At the BIG EAST Championships, broke the 1000 Free and 1650 Free school record en route to winning the gold medal in the mile, while also claiming the top spot in the 500 Free in another school record time.
Sean Vizzard of men's swimming and diving was the recipient of the award for Junior Male Athlete of the Year. Vizzard, who won Freshman Male Athlete of the Year at the SHUcademy Awards in 2022, took home the gold medal in the 1650 Free in a school record time of 15:06.95. For Vizzard, it marked the second time in three years in which he was the BIG EAST champion in the mile.
The senior athletes of the year will be announced at the Pirate Blue Senior Banquet on May 14.
Other winners on the evening included:
Walter Dukes Integrity & Impact Award
Justin Oosterwyk, Men's Swimming
Jonathan Luders, Baseball
Sue Dilley Regan Champion for Change Award
Leiya Istambouli, Women's Swimming
Iron Pirate Award
Zack Sylvester, Baseball
Sydney Babik, Softball
Pirate Perseverance Award
Madeline Matheny, Volleyball
Sport & Spirituality Award
Zack Sylvester, Baseball
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year
Dre Davis, Men's Basketball
Hanna Tulli, Volleyball
Performance of the Year
Natalie Tavana, Women's Soccer (Hat Trick vs. Binghamton)
Cole Zak, Baseball (Hit for the Cycle vs. Xavier)
Seton Hall assistant strength & conditioning coordinator Angelo Gingerelli hosted the event which saw representation from every program and celebrates the best of the best in Pirates athletics for the year.
Freshman Female Athlete of the Year was presented to both softball's Katey Brennan and women's basketball's Savannah Catalon. Brennan has been a mainstay in the cleanup spot of the Pirates' batting order all season, currently sitting second on the team in batting average, runs batted in and hits. Catalon was named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman team after a stellar freshman season, averaging 7.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 31 games. She was also named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on two occasions.
Baseball's Aiden Robbins took home Freshman Male Athlete of the Year honors. The Yardley, Pa. native currently boasts the second-highest batting average on the team at .301 as well as the best slugging percentage at .472. Robbins has compiled 13 multi-hit games so far in 2024, including a 3-for-4 showing with a home run, three RBI and four runs scored in a win at Butler on April 27.
Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year went to softball's Erin Howard. Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Howard has started behind the plate in all 45 games for the Pirates this season. With the bat in her hands, Howard owns a .299 batting average on the year, a number which surges up to .343 during BIG EAST games.
Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year was awarded to swimming and diving's Michael Klimaszewski and baseball's Ryan Reich. Klimaszewski, who was named Freshman Male Athlete of the Year at last year's SHUcademy awards, posted another strong season. He took the gold medal in the 100 Fly at the BIG EAST Championships for the second straight year, setting a school record time of 46.47. Reich has been a strikeout machine for the Pirates on the mound this season. His 71 punchouts through 53 innings so far are the most by a Seton Hall pitcher since Noah Thompson in 2019.
The award for Junior Female Athlete of the Year went to three superstars in their class. Softball's Taylor Hill, women's soccer's Natalie Tavana and women's swimming and diving's Allie Waggoner each received the award. Hill has had yet another fantastic season for the Pirates, currently leading the team with a .327 batting average and nine home runs while on pace to break the single-season runs scored record for the second straight year. Tavana became the first Pirate to be named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year since Kelly Smith did so in 1999. A unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection, Tavana led the BIG EAST with 12 goals, and her 26 points on the season paced the club and ranked second in the league. Waggoner had an excellent junior campaign, beginning with setting five school records at the WVU Invite in mid-November. At the BIG EAST Championships, broke the 1000 Free and 1650 Free school record en route to winning the gold medal in the mile, while also claiming the top spot in the 500 Free in another school record time.
Sean Vizzard of men's swimming and diving was the recipient of the award for Junior Male Athlete of the Year. Vizzard, who won Freshman Male Athlete of the Year at the SHUcademy Awards in 2022, took home the gold medal in the 1650 Free in a school record time of 15:06.95. For Vizzard, it marked the second time in three years in which he was the BIG EAST champion in the mile.
The senior athletes of the year will be announced at the Pirate Blue Senior Banquet on May 14.
Other winners on the evening included:
Walter Dukes Integrity & Impact Award
Justin Oosterwyk, Men's Swimming
Jonathan Luders, Baseball
Sue Dilley Regan Champion for Change Award
Leiya Istambouli, Women's Swimming
Iron Pirate Award
Zack Sylvester, Baseball
Sydney Babik, Softball
Pirate Perseverance Award
Madeline Matheny, Volleyball
Sport & Spirituality Award
Zack Sylvester, Baseball
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year
Dre Davis, Men's Basketball
Hanna Tulli, Volleyball
Performance of the Year
Natalie Tavana, Women's Soccer (Hat Trick vs. Binghamton)
Cole Zak, Baseball (Hit for the Cycle vs. Xavier)
2024-25 End-of-Year Highlight Video
Thursday, May 22
Seton Hall Basketball Facility Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
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PSN Feature on Allie Waggoner, Seton Hall's First NCAA Women's Championship Qualifier
Friday, March 21
Seton Hall Basketball - Catalon, Masonius, Bozzella After Quinnipiac (WBIT)
Friday, March 21
