All-Americans Grande, Nealon Named 2018-19 America East Scholar-Athletes of the Year
BOSTON – Nick Grande and Melissa Nealon capped off All-American campaigns as the 2018-19 America East Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year, the conference office announced Thursday. The pair was chosen from a group of 15 student-athletes who were named Scholar-Athletes in their respective sports this year.
2018-19 America East Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Male: Nick Grande, Jr., Baseball, Stony Brook University
- First Stony Brook male to be honored with the award since 2012 and just the second in league history.
- Finished the academic year with a 3.99 GPA as a double major in political science and history.
- Led the Seawolves to regular season and conference championships.
- Two-time Scholar-Athlete in the sport of baseball.
- 2019 Elite 18 recipient.
- Two-time America East All-Academic selection.
- 2019 America East baseball Player of the Year and two-time First Team All-Conference selection.
- Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American.
- Drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 17th round of the 2019 MLB Draft.
Female: Melissa Nealon, Gr., Field Hockey, University at Albany
- First UAlbany female student-athlete to earn Scholar-Athlete of the Year since 2011 and second overall.
- Currently carries a 3.90 GPA as a graduate student pursuing a Master’s Degree in higher education after finishing her undergraduate term with a 3.83 in human biology.
- 2018 America East Field Hockey Scholar-Athlete.
- Elite 18 recipient.
- NFHCA Third Team All-American.
- 2018 America East Co-Goalkeeper of the Year and two-time First Team All-Conference selection.
- Led the country with a .813 save percentage and ranked third in Division I with her .80 GAA.
- Two-time All-Academic honoree.
- Led the Great Danes to their sixth America East field hockey championship in the fall.
Grande and Nealon excelled as student-athletes this year, embodying the conference's three pillars of the complete student-athlete. The Scholar-Athletes of the Year were voted on by the conference's Student-Athlete Engagement Committee. Each year, the committee elects a Scholar-Athlete in each of the league's 18 championship sports following the fall, winter and spring seasons and from that group, chooses one male and one female as the conference's Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
2018-19 America East Scholar-Athlete releases:
America East is proud to have one of most comprehensive academic awards programs in the country, which honors over two-thirds of its student-athletes for their success in the classroom, including its sports Scholar-Athletes, All-Academic honorees, Presidential Scholar-Athletes, Elite 18 honorees and Honor Roll/Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipients.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
- #3Pillars – Building the Complete Student-Athlete -