NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference celebrates its 40th Anniversary throughout the 2020-21 academic year, continuing its mission to provide student-athletes the opportunity to succeed in both academics and athletics.
As part of its 40-year celebration, the league will highlight some of the best student-athletes in its four-decade history. MAAC Baseball traces back to 1982 with the first MAAC Baseball Championship taking place in 1994. Saint Peter's won the first title and Iona soon made back-to-back title game appearances in 1996 and 1997.
Matt Guiliano '94, Neil Murphy '93, Mariano Rivera '15, Sam Tolisano '86 and Jeff Spilsbury '92 represent Gael Nation on the MAAC 40
th Anniversary BaseballTeam.
Matt Guiliano '94
Matt Guiliano was named the MAAC South Division Player of the Year in 1994, making it four years in a row that a Gael took home the honor. He was named to the All-MAAC Team in 1993 and 1994.
In 1994, Guiliano had an all-around fantastic season. At the time his senior year concluded, his .395 batting average, .748 slugging percentage, 12 home runs, 47 runs batted in, and 58 runs scored all ranked inside the top-10 on the single-season leaderboard for Iona baseball.
For his career, Guiliano batted .344, which is seventh all-time in Iona history. His 133 runs scored and eight triples are both sixth highest. He also ranks top-20 all-time in career home runs (19), doubles (32), runs batted in (125) and slugging percentage (.551).
NEIL MURPHY '93
Neil Murphy is Iona Baseball's all-time leader in batting average (.370) and slugging percentage (.730). His consistency in the box played a large part in being named a two-time All-MAAC South Division Team member in 1992 and 1993. He was named the South Division MAAC Player of the Year in 1993.
Murphy sits top-20 all-time in various other statistical categories. He ranks second in career home runs (32), sixth in triples (8) and sixth in runs batted in (124). Murphy is also 18th in runs scored (105) and 20th in doubles (32).
Murphy was a run producing machine in 1992 and 1993 with both season's single-season totals in home runs and runs batted in sitting inside the top 10 all-time. In 1993 he slugged .867, the highest such mark in a single season in Iona baseball's history.
MARIANO RIVERA '15
Mariano Rivera joined the Iona baseball team in 2013 and improved every season on the way to becoming the 2015 MAAC Pitcher of the Year. His All-MAAC First Team deserving season saw him lead the league with an Iona program record 113 strikeouts. He posted a dominating 11.96 strikeout per game mark and 12.87 strikeouts per game in conference play. The right hander earned five wins and recorded a 2.65 ERA that season, while his ERA in MAAC play was a stingy 1.81.
Rivera was the first pitcher to be named the MAAC Pitcher of the Year since John Novinsky in the 2000 campaign.
Rivera finished his career making 32 starts, sitting 10th all-time. He hurled 11 complete games, which is the second most ever. In three seasons, he collected 177 strikeouts, which is the fourth-highest total in program history.
SAM TOLISANO '86
Sam Tolisano was a slugger for the Maroon & Gold during his four-year playing career. He was inducted into the Iona College Goal Club Hall of Fame in 2009.
In 1983, Tolisano's .506 batting average was the fourth highest batting average in all of NCAA Division I. Tolisano finished his four-year career with a batting average of .416 and a slugging percentage of .718.
Tolisano was among the top-10 hitters in the nation as a sophomore and junior. He led his team in all offensive categories during the 1984 season. Tolisano was also a three-time member of the ECAC All-Star team.
At the time of his graduation, Tolisano ranked first on Iona's career hit list with 187. In addition, he remains number one on the all-time doubles list with 65.
Tolisano's 1984 season culminated with a .803 slugging percentage, which is the third best for a single season in program history. He set an Iona single-season record that still stands with 26 doubles.
JEFF SPILSBURY '92
Jeff Spilsbury was inducted into the Iona College Goal Club Hall of Fame in 2005 following four fantastic years on the diamond.
Spilsbury was named the MAAC South Division Player of the Year twice in 1991 and 1992. He was the first Maroon & Gold student-athlete to earn any sort of MAAC Player of the Year honors. He was followed by fellow MAAC 40 Year Celebration honorees Neil Murphy and Matt Guiliano.
Spilsbury batted .422 and set a single-season record with 73 hits, which still stands today. He also scored 52 runs, which is the third most ever in a single season.
At the end of his Maroon & Gold career, Spilsbury owned a career batting average of .362, which was the best upon his graduation and currently ranks second all-time. He is also third in career runs scored (149), fifth in hits (201), 12th in doubles (37), third in triples (9), ninth in runs batted in (111) and fourth in walks (106).
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