Montclair, NJ – SAM ANGELO was named the Bill Dioguardi New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second-straight year as the Montclair State University baseball team placed four on the All-NJAC teams on Wednesday.

Joining Angelo on the First Team was pitcher JACK HAVESON, with second baseman JOE GISONDA and outfielder RYAN MCKENNA gaining Honorable Mention honors. Angelo is the first Red Hawk to garner multiple Player of the Year honors and one of eight to achieve the feat in program history. 

Angelo led the Red Hawks with a .520 on-base percentage, 1.416 OPS, and a .436 batting average, including a team-best 15 doubles, 18 home runs, and 60 runs batted in while starting all 39 games. He also accumulated 71 hits and three triples while stealing seven bases. The first baseman notched three multi-home run games during the 2024 campaign and amassed an on-base streak of 48 games from March 23, 2023 to April 1, 2024. 

In conference play, Angelo slashed .444/.549/.806 with 32 hits, six doubles, six home runs, and 23 RBI. He collected three hits and three RBI in the second game against Ramapo on March 30, and drove in a game-high six runs against Stockton in the doubleheader opener on April 13. He recorded multiple hits in 11 of Montclair's 18 NJAC games this season, driving in more than one run in six of them.

Haveson earned his first All-NJAC nod and became the first Red Hawks pitcher to be named to the First Team since Sean Hille in 2012. The right-hander tossed a team-high 58 innings during the 2024 campaign, notching a 1.24 earned run average and a .84 WHIP, both team lows, with opponents hitting .190 against him. He collected a 7-1 record in 11 appearances with eight starts while also striking out a team-high 56 batters. Haveson threw eight innings in three of his starts, while notching six or more shutout frames in four contests for Montclair. He allowed one hit over scoreless innings against Manhattanville on March 24 while punching out seven.

When the schedule shifted to NJAC play, Haveson notched six or more innings in four of his five starts, including eight shutout against Rowan on April 6. He followed up the performance with six scoreless frames at Stockton on April 13. He finished the campaign with back-to-back eight inning performances and struck out six or more batters in three of his conference starts. During NJAC play, he posted a 1.60 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 29 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .217.

Gisonda earned his first All-NJAC honor after appearing in all 39 games this season for the Red Hawks. He notched a .400 on-base percentage and batted .308 to go along with 45 hits and 36 RBI, which both ranked second on the team. The second baseman accumulated 11 doubles and four home runs while swiping five bases. He went 3-for-4 against Trinity (CT) on March 16, driving in a season-high four runs. 

In NJAC play, Gisonda batted .343 with an OPS of .936, notching 24 hits, four doubles, and 15 RBI. He recorded the second multi-home run game of his career against Kean on April 12, going 3-for-4 on the day with four RBI. Gisonda tallied his third four-RBI game of the season against Rutgers-Newark on April 20 and drove in at least one run in five of Montclair's last seven conference games.

McKenna earned his second-straight All-NJAC selection, posting a .986 OPS while batting .342 with a .448 on-base percentage across 32 games. The outfielder accumulated 40 hits and was tied with Angelo for the team-lead in doubles at 15. He drove in 19 runs on the season and tallied six multi-RBI contests. McKenna recorded a season-high three hits three times during the campaign, with all three coming in conference play.

During NJAC contests, McKenna ranked second on the team in batting average (.361) and slugging percentage (.541) and was third with 22 hits. His nine doubles during conference play were tied for most on the team. McKenna recorded an extra-base hit in five of Montclair's final six NJAC games and tallied multiple hits in seven contests. He went 3-for-4 with two RBI against NJCU on April 19, and drove in two the following day in the doubleheader opener against Rutgers-Newark.