Burt, Adams Tabbed Boston College’s Eagles of the Year
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Two of Boston College’s very best student-athletes have been named the school’s Eagles of the Year, recognizing their achievement on and off their fields of play.
Women’s hockey goaltender Katie Burt and baseball infielder Johnny Adams were presented as the 2018 Eagles of the Year at Sunday night’s Golden Eagle Awards at Boston College’s Robsham Theater.
Presented by the Boston College Varsity Club, the Nathaniel J. Hasenfus ’22 Eagle of the Year Award is considered the highest honor bestowed upon a Boston College student-athlete. It is awarded annually to the senior male and female student-athletes who are outstanding citizens, leaders, scholars and athletes.
Each recipient received a bronze eagle on an inscribed mahogany base. The award is named in honor of Dr. Nathaniel J. Hasenfus ’22, the late beloved historian of Boston College Athletics and former president of the Varsity Club.
A host of other awards – which included performances during the nomination period of Spring 2017, Fall 2017 and Winter 2017-18 – were also presented on Sunday evening, including:
Freshman Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Colin O’Leary, men’s swimming
Sam Coffey, women’s soccer
Sophomore Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Callum Johnson, men’s soccer
Julia Lyons, women’s track and field
Junior Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Matthew Naumec, men’s golf
Frederique Haverhals, field hockey
Senior Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Daniel Creighton, men’s swimming
Asiya Dair, women’s tennis
Team of the Year
Lacrosse
Rookies of the Year
AJ Dillon, football
Daryl Watts, women’s hockey
Most Valuable Performers
Jerome Robinson, men’s basketball
Sam Apuzzo, lacrosse
A full listing of all the awards, finalists and winners is available at bceagles.com.
Nominations for all of the awards presented at Sunday’s Golden Eagles were accepted from coaches, student-athletes and Athletics Department staff and voted on by the department’s Golden Eagles Committee.
Student-Athletes who competed during the 2017 calendar year – the 2017 spring season, the 2017 fall season and the 2017-18 winter season – were eligible for consideration, with their athletic achievements during that period supporting their nominations.
2018 EAGLES OF THE YEAR
KATIE BURT | Women’s Hockey
Katie Burt set a new benchmark for goaltenders, not only at Boston College, but nationally at the NCAA level. Originally enrolling at Boston College as a 17-year old – a year ahead of schedule after accelerating her high school graduation – Burt quickly established herself as one of the best players in the collegiate game, a fact she continued to reinforce during her four seasons at The Heights.
Burt closed her stellar career as the NCAA’s career wins leader, backing BC to a record 121 victories in her time in Chestnut Hill. She also anchored the Eagles’ defense to nine championship titles: four straight Hockey East regular-season crowns (2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18), three Beanpots (2016, 2017, 2018) and two Hockey East Tournament titles (2016, 2017).
Her name will be etched in the NCAA record book for years to come after finishing her career among the NCAA leaders in every career goaltending category, including wins, winning percentage (fifth), shutouts (fifth), goals against average (tied for ninth), saves (12th) and save percentage (tied for 13th). Burt also holds the Hockey East career records in wins, GAA, minutes played, shutouts, and is in the top 10 in save percentage (tied for second) and saves (ninth). Burt’s name sits atop the Eagles’ goaltending career records in every category except saves, in which she is second.
As a senior in 2017-18, Burt played every minute of every game – a first for a Boston College goaltender – and set the program record for saves in a season with 1,038. For the third time in her career, she won at least 30 games as the Eagles remained ranked in the nation’s Top 3 for almost the entire season.
A Second-Team Hockey East All-Star and the winner of the Bertagna Award as the Beanpot’s best goaltender in 2017-18, Burt was a two-time Hockey East Player of the Month and a five-time Hockey East weekly award winner as a senior.
During her time at BC, she also spent considerable time with the U.S. Women’s National Team, U.S. Under-22 Select Team and the U.S. Under-18 National Team.
JOHNNY ADAMS | Baseball
Johnny Adams‘ play at shortstop dazzled on the field, but his leadership and demeanor off the field are what remains his legacy at Boston College.
A four-year starter for the Eagles, the Walpole, Massachusetts, native was the first junior selected to wear the No. 8 jersey, the highest honor a BC baseball player can earn. Worn in honor of Peter “Sonny” Nictakis for battling adversity and representing the best qualities of the Boston College baseball, Adams proudly wore No. 8 for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He was also part of the first father-son duo to captain the Eagles as his father, Jay, was a BC baseball captain in 1987 under long-time BC head coach Eddie Pellagrini.
In his senior year, Adams garnered BC’s Unsung Hero Award, given to the Eagle whose efforts toward, and passion for, the program go above and beyond. Spending his 2015 and 2016 summers in the Cape Cod Collegiate Baseball League, he was voted the winner of the Daniel J. Silva Sportsmanship Award by the league’s umpires in 2016. The year prior, he earned the league’s Manny Robello 10th Player Award, given to a player who shows endless dedication both on and off the field.
Upon graduating from Boston College, Adams was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 22nd round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He finished his career at The Heights ranked on eight of the Eagles’ career top-10 lists and four single-season fielding lists. In the team’s historic run to the Super Regional in 2016, Adams earned All-Regional Team and Most Outstanding Player honors, leading BC to a three-game sweep in the Oxford Regional and propelling the Eagles to their first-ever Super Regional appearance.
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