Mike Hampton picked up his phone to find more than 1,000 text messages of congratulations.
After St. John’s won the Big East Tournament, friends, family and many of the former St. John’s legendary players, including John Franco, Rich Aurilia, Joe Panik and CJ Nitkowski, reached out.
It’s a reminder of what the program means to so many, and Hampton was excited to be the leader of a group that brought back that pride.
“You play for your team and the history you’ve made as a team,” the coach said Monday after the team was sent to the Charlottesville Regional, where No. 3 seed St. John’s will face No. 2 seed Mississippi State on Friday night in its first NCAA Tournament game since 2018. “It means a lot to the team and to me, too, to get the program back to where I think it should be.”
It’s been a memorable year for Hampton.
After 19 seasons as an assistant to Ed Blankmeyer, he took over the job in 2020 when Blankmeyer moved to the Mets. But his first season ended after 14 games when COVID-19 struck. The next few years were tough, with the Johnnies finishing with a combined record of 25 wins, 40 losses and one tie in league play. A promising spring was marred by injuries, with a total of 13 players needing Tommy John surgery.
This year’s team is no exception. Catcher Adam Agresti, who was expected to be one of St. John’s top hitters, and No. 2 starter Joe Maceo both suffered season-ending injuries early in the season.
But compared to recent times, Hampton’s squad is relatively healthy. And the results are coming: A season-opening win over SEC powerhouse Florida set the tone for a 37-win regular season, the team’s most wins since 2018, which was also the team’s last appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Jimmy Keenan has emerged as one of the Big East’s top sluggers, Mario Pesca has become a mainstay on the pitching staff and outfielder Garrett Scavelli, a .330 hitter from Division II Molloy College, has been a great find in the transfer portal. The pitching staff is well-stocked, as evidenced by St. John’s’ 3-0 record in the Big East Tournament.
“I remember the first dinner we had in Long Island City in January,” athletic director Mike Klug recalled of the annual Bullpen Winter Banquet fundraiser. “You just felt the atmosphere in the room, the energy in the room, a different vibe than the one they created during the fall. They were healthy. You just felt there was something different about this team, and it was true.”
As losses piled up in recent seasons, some discontent began to grow among the program’s proud alumni, who questioned whether Hampton was the right man for the job. There were other capable coaches in the area who could have hired him, but Cragg had confidence in Hampton and felt that the only issues were improved health and the Johnnies’ recent bad luck turning into winning.
The coach didn’t mind the noise. He didn’t go into the year feeling like it was a make-or-break season. That was out of his control. He’d dedicated his life to winning baseball games, first as a player and later as a coach.
“It drives me crazy when I think about it,” Hampton said. “I knew I had to get better. There was a reason I hadn’t had the success I had in the past.”
He added: “It was very tough. I was hired because I’ve always been a winner. That’s what was expected of me.”
That finally happened this year for Hampton and St. John’s, but the Red Storm (37-16-1) aren’t done yet. They believe they can go even further, starting Friday night in Charlottesville with a four-team, double-elimination regional that includes host Virginia, ranked 12th overall in the tournament.
“The reason myself and the other guys came here is because of the winning tradition of the St. John’s program and what we’ve accomplished in the past,” said Keenan, a White Plains native and All-Big East First Team selection. “It’s definitely really special to be a part of the team that’s brought the program back to life.”
“We are confident that we can beat any team in the country,” he added.
LIU is the other local team selected for the NCAA Tournament. The Sharks won the NEC Tournament and earned an automatic berth. They will face No. 4 overall seed North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional on Friday at 6 p.m. The other two teams in the regional are LSU and Wofford.
