Three Pirates Named All-BIG EAST - Seton Hall University Athletics
Sophomore pitchers Ryan Reich (Selinsgrove, Pa.) and Michael Gillen (Rochelle Park, N.J.) have been named All-BIG EAST First Team and graduate studen...
South Orange, N.J. — Sophomore pitchers Ryan Reich (Selinsgrove, Pa.) and Michael Gillen (Rochelle Park, N.J.) have been named All-BIG EAST First Team and graduate student pitcher Jackson Balzan (Medford, N.J.) has been named All-BIG EAST Second Team after turning in standout seasons on the mound for the Seton Hall baseball team, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Three pitchers on the All-BIG EAST teams are the most for the The Hall since four Pirate hurlers were named all-conference in 2018. Voting for the All-BIG EAST team and major awards was conducted by the league's eight head coaches who could not cast a ballot for their own teams.
Reich finished as the BIG EAST's strikeout champion with 89 punch outs, the most for a Seton Hall pitcher since Josh Prevost's 111 strikeouts in 2014. In conference games, Reich finished with the second-most strikeouts (51) and posted the third-lowest opponent's batting average (.194). A 2024 Preseason All-BIG EAST selection, Reich was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week following a career-best performance at Georgetown where he struck out 13 batters in seven innings.
Gillen had the fourth-lowest ERA in the BIG EAST (2.31) and his 1.25 ERA in conference games was the second-lowest among BIG EAST pitchers that made a minimum five appearances. Opponents hit just .207 off of him in seven league games, which ranked eighth in the conference, and he picked up the winning decision in Seton Hall's walk-off win over UConn on May 4 and its extra inning victory against St. John's on May 11. Gillen led the Pirates with a 2.31 ERA and four winning decisions.
In his first season competing at the Division I level, Balzan had one of the best season's for a pitcher in conference play in 2024. He posted the fifth-lowest ERA in BIG EAST games with a 1.98 ERA and his .170 opponent's batting average was the second-lowest among conference pitchers. Balzan tied for third on the team with 18 appearances and made all five of his starts in league play. He was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after fanning a season-high eight batters and allowing just two hits in six innings against St. John's on May 11.
