June 7, 2005

Photo Gallery

Glen Cove, NY - Flanked by several family members and teammates from the St. John's University baseball team, Red Storm junior All-American pitcher Craig Hansen (Glen Cove, NY) was selected by the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox with the 26th pick of the first round in Tuesday's Major League Baseball Draft.

Hansen was one of five St. John's players selected in the first day of the draft. He is the first St. John's player to be selected in the first round since C.J. Nitkowski was taken with the ninth pick of the first round by the Cincinnati Reds in 1994.

Other St. John's players selected on Tuesday included junior pitcher Anthony Varvaro (Staten Island, NY), who was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the 12th round, the third pick of the round and the 353rd overall. Junior centerfielder Greg Thomson (Levittown, NY) was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the first pick of the 15th round (the 441st overall), senior shortstop P.J. Antoniato (Levittown, NY) was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 16th pick of the 15th round (the 457th overall) and senior catcher Joe Burke (Brooklyn, NY) was selected by the New York Yankees with the 16th pick of the 18th round (the 559th pick overall).

At Hansen's house in Glen Cove on Tuesday, the anticipation began soon after the first round of the draft began just after 1 p.m. Craig's brother, Keith, a former St. John's pitcher, had set up speakers on the family's deck so the group of 30 who joined the family could hear the computer feed of the draft.

When it was announced that the Red Sox had taken the 6-6, 205-pound hurler, a huge ovation went up and his younger brother, Kyle, promptly pulled out a Boston cap.

"What I'm looking to do now is do whatever I can to help the Boston Red Sox, whether it's starting, closing or setting up," Hansen said. "Any way I can help the Boston Red Sox. I have no preference. I just want to go out there and pitch."

Hansen was named the BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year last month, the first St. John's player to earn the award as the league's top hurler since Nitkowski won it 1994, and earned third-team Louisville Slugger All-American honors. The junior closer saved 14 games - which ranks second in the nation - for the Red Storm this season, extending his school record for career saves to 26. He finished the season with a 3-2 record and a 1.68 earned run average. Hansen notched eight saves this year in league games, tying the BIG EAST single-season record and also became the league's all-time saves leader with 14 saves in BIG EAST contests. Hansen struck out 85 batters in 64.1 innings of work, while registering an opponent batting average of .173. In his last appearance for the Red Storm, Hansen started against Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, his first start since his freshman year, going seven innings and allowing three runs on eight hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.

Varvaro, who was named the league's pitcher of the week three times this season, was one of the best starters in the country, carrying a 9-3 record with a 2.32 earned run average and 115 strikeouts in 85.1 innings pitched. The right-hander led the BIG EAST in strikeouts and ranked sixth in the country in strikeouts per nine innings. His 115 punchouts rank third all-time for a single season at St. John's and he had 249 in career, which ranked third all-time. He was named a third-team Louisville Slugger All-American.

Thomson, the team's starting centerfielder, was one of the top all-around players in the BIG EAST this year. He led all St. John's players, and ranks third in the BIG EAST, with a .372 batting average. He also led the team in doubles (22), home runs (7), slugging (.618), on-base percentage (.473), RBI (45), walks (34) and stolen bases (17) and was second on the team in runs scored (57) and hits (74). His 22 doubles this season are the third-most in a single season at St. John's, giving him 37 for his career, which ranks tied for sixth all-time.

Burke was third among all St. John's regulars, batting .348, with nine doubles and 41 RBI, tied for second on the team and the most for a Red Storm catcher since Scott deMarrais had 41 in 1986. He was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List earlier this season, the award honoring the top college catcher in the country.

Antoniato, who was a second-team All-BIG EAST selection, was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team at the Corvallis Regional last weekend after leading the Red Storm to the championship game. He finished the season batting .369, was second on the team with 16 doubles and sixth with 30 runs batted in. Antoniato led the team in at-bats (233), runs scored (65) and hits (86). His 65 runs scored set a single-season record, his 86 hits are the second-most in a single season and his 233 at-bats rank second to the school record 236 he set in the 2004 season.

St. John's finished the 2005 season with a 41-18 record and were ranked No. 30 in the country by Collegiate Baseball. The team was selected as an at-large representative to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year and advanced to the Regional Championship, where they lost to third-ranked Oregon State. St. John's won the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship with a 19-4 mark in league play and posted a school record 41 wins, the most since the 1978 Frank Viola-led team advanced to the College World Series.