Seton Hall With League-Best 5 BIG EAST Sport Excellence Award Honorees

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Five Seton Hall student-athletes have been named winners of the 2024-25 BIG EAST Sport Excellence Award, the conference office announced Friday. Women's Golf's Ana Sarrias Pro, men's cross country's Stephen Beaman, baseball's Ryan Reich, men's soccer's Sam Bjork and men's swimming's Sean Vizzard were selected as the top student-athletes in their respective sports based on academic and athletic achievement as well as community service.

With five honorees, The Hall earned the most winners of any BIG EAST institution for the second straight season.

The 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.

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.

A four-time Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar, Sarrias Pro closed out her impressive Seton Hall career with a 76.46 scoring average in 2024-25, the best in her time in South Orange. An annual member of the Academic All-BIG EAST Team, she had two top-10 finishes as a senior and placed 14th at the 2025 BIG EAST Championship. Sarrias Pro closes her collegiate career with the seventh-best scoring average all-time at Seton Hall.

On the course, Beaman was a regular face at the top of the timing sheets for men's cross country this year. The two-time BIG EAST All-Academic team selection finished as the top Pirate finisher in half of The Hall's meets, including the BIG EAST Championships, and among the top two on all but one occasion.

After an All-BIG EAST First Team selection in 2024, Reich returned to the Pirates as a key arm atop the rotation. The two-time BIG EAST All-Academic team selection opened the season breathing fire, averaging 10 strikeouts per nine innings off the back of his fastball. In conference play, the junior helped pilot The Hall to a pair of wins over Creighton and Butler, allowing two earned runs and striking out nine in 11 innings.
With his combative two-way play along the backline, Sam Bjork served as a key member of a Seton Hall team that earned double-digit wins for the first time since the 2020 season. In the Pirates' contested race for the postseason, Bjork's game-winning goal against Villanova helped push The Hall to a BIG EAST Tournament berth at season's end. The 2025 Seton Hall Senior Male Scholar Athlete of the Year made 11 starts on a backline that powered The Hall to top-30 rankings nationally in goals allowed average (1.000) and shutout percentage (.444).

A three-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar-All America Second Team selection, Vizzard capped off his final season at The Hall with continued distance swimming dominance in the pool. At the BIG EAST Championships, the New Jersey native collected his third 1650 freestyle BIG EAST title and helped the men's team secure second place overall, the team's highest finish since the Pirates' title-winning 2017-18 campaign. For his performances at the BIG EAST Championships, Vizzard earned All-BIG EAST honors in both the 1650 and 500 freestyles.