May 16, 2001

Bridgewater, N.J. - On Wednesday, May 16, at the Big East Conference annual baseball awards banquet held in Bridgewater, N.J., the league announced its 2001 postseason award winners. The Villanova University baseball team had two players receive All-Big East honors this season, with senior designated hitter Nick Piantek named to the All-Conference first team and sophomore centerfielder Chris Graziano named to the All-Big East third team. All selections are made by the league's head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Earning Big East Player of the Year status were Connecticut junior centerfielder Mike Scott and Notre Dame junior centerfielder Steve Stanley who shared the top honors in 2001. Notre Dame swept the remainder of the postseason awards, with ND senior right-hander Aaron Heilman taking the Pitcher of the Year honors, freshman second baseman Steve Sollman earning Rookie of the Year accolades, and head coach Paul Mainieri being named the Conference Coach of the Year.

Piantek's conference honors were the first of his career, as he posted his best season as a Wildcat in 2001. A four-year starter for Villanova, he led the team in nearly every offensive category this season. Piantek finished the year batting .342 (64-for-187) with 35 runs scored, 16 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 105 total bases and 47 RBI. He was tops on the Wildcat team in doubles, triples, home runs, total bases, RBI, and slugging (.561). In 26 Big East games in 2001, Piantek hit .330 (31-for-94) with seven doubles, one triple, four home runs and 23 RBI.

Graziano was a dominant force on the base-paths this season, stealing 37 bases in 41 attempts. He broke the Villanova single season stolen base record of 26 originally set by Brian Fili in 1997. Second on the team in batting, Graziano hit .357 (56-for-157) with 40 runs scored, six doubles and 17 RBI. In Big East action, he batted a team-high .377 with 21 runs scored and 15 stolen bases in 16 attempts. Graziano ended the season first in the Big East in stolen bases for both overall games and conference games. He also finished the regular season sixth in the nation in stolen bases per game at 0.89.

The Wildcats finished the 2001 season with a 25-25-1 overall record, winning their final five games to reach the .500 mark. Villanova tallied a 10-16 record in conference play, good enough for a ninth place finish.