Seton Hall Announces Pirates Legends Series & Will Honor Three in 2024-25! - Seton Hall University Athletics
In a nod to honoring Seton Hall basketball legends of the past who have helped shape the programs to what they are today, Seton Hall Athletics has announced ...
Seton Hall Announces Pirates Legends Series & Will Honor Three in 2024-25!
South Orange, N.J. - In a nod to honoring Seton Hall basketball legends of the past who have helped shape the programs to what they are today, Seton Hall Athletics has announced the creation of the Pirates Legends Series, which will serve to honor Pirates greats at basketball games. Seton Hall will honor three greats in 2024-25, two men's players and one women's player.
The first men's basketball legend to be honored will be Dan Callandrillo, the 1982 BIG EAST Player of the Year who will be recognized on Sunday, Dec. 8, when the men's basketball team hosts Oklahoma State in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle at 12 p.m.
Then on Sunday, Dec. 22, when men's basketball hosts Georgetown in its BIG EAST home opener (7 p.m.), the second men's basketball legend to be honored will be Mark Bryant, the 15-year NBA veteran who led the Pirates to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and win in 1988.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, when women's basketball battles Xavier (2 p.m.), Seton Hall will recognize legend Jodi Brooks, who guided the Pirates to the 1994 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen.
"Seton Hall basketball has an incredibly rich history of student-athletes who perform at an elite level, and the goal of the Pirates Legends Series is to honor our greats who came before us and recognize their role in making Seton Hall the great basketball school it is today," said Seton Hall Director of Athletics & Recreation Bryan Felt. "We're thrilled to bring Pirates Legends to our fans this season, and we're excited about the ovation that our Legends will receive!"
Callandrillo played for the Pirates from 1978-82 and was Seton Hall's first great player in the BIG EAST Conference. He was an immediate contributor as a freshman, averaging 12.1 points and 4.3 assists and gradually got better until he exploded his senior year in 1981-82, averaging 25.8 points (in an era with no three-point line) while shooting 51 percent from the field. He was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, third-team All-America and the recipient of the Haggerty Award as the Met Player of the Year.
When he graduated Callandrillo ranked third all-time in scoring history at Seton Hall with 1,985 points and is still sixth today.
Bryant helped usher in a new era of Seton Hall basketball when he and his teammates secured the program's first NCAA Tournament at-large berth at the conclusion of the 1987-88 season. It was the culmination of Bryant becoming a star basketball player as he leapt from averages of 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds as a freshman to 20.5 points and 9.1 rebounds as a senior. He was named first-team All-BIG EAST in 1987-88 and that year's recipient of the Haggerty Award as the Met Player of the Year.
Bryant scored a game-high 30 points in Seton Hall's first NCAA Tournament win, an 80-64 victory over UTEP in Los Angeles, and he went on to be selected 21st overall in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers. He finished his Seton Hall career with 1,906 points and 912 rebounds, which both ranked fifth in program history at the time.
Brooks helped elevate Seton Hall women's basketball to a new level. In her senior season of 1993-94, she averaged 18.6 points and was named All-America honorable mention and the New Jersey and Metropolitan Player of the Year while helping the Pirates to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, finishing with a 27-5 record and a No. 14 national ranking. At the time of her graduation, she was the only player in program history to record over 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals.
Fans can purchase tickets to both Pirates Legends men's basketball games on Ticketmaster or can still purchase season tickets to receive both Pirates Legends games at a discounted per-game rate and receive additional season ticket holder benefits. Season tickets or single-game tickets for the women's basketball legends game are available by calling the Seton Hall ticket office during normal business hours at 973-275-4255.
