It had been six long years since the St. John's baseball team appeared in the NCAA Tournament. What once felt like a common occurrence was now a struggle just to qualify for the conference tournament, but that all changed this year.
Despite being picked to finish 6th in the league, the Johnnies knew they had a really good squad going back to its slate of games in the fall, finishing undefeated.
That belief was punctuated even further with a victory over No. 2 Florida in Gainesville in its season opener.
"We knew that was going to be the talk of the town," star sophomore catcher Jimmy Keenan said of the Red Storm being picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big East. "We had a couple down years and we weren't able to put our best foot forward, but we knew we had the special opportunity to bring this program back to where it has been in the past."
Keenan, eventually named as the Most Outstanding Player of the Big East Tournament, certainly did that. He started 44-of-50 games this season, hitting .330 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs, which culminated in a First Team All-Big East selection.
He handled a pitching staff that was the best in the Big East
One of the biggest reasons why he committed to St. John's coming out of Iona Prep (NY) was to bring the program back to national relevance.
So far, mission accomplished.
"We could be the ones that changed the perspective people had on St. John's baseball and it motivated us for the whole season."
Keenan not only looked motivated but perhaps possessed in the Big East Tournament, hitting a walk-off 2-run homer in the opening game against Georgetown and a go-ahead 2-run homer in the 8th inning of the semifinals against Xavier.
He finished the tournament with seven hits and six RBIs.
Now, Jimmy Keenan and the Johnnies are in Charlottesville, Virginia as the No. 3 seed in the region and face No. 2 Mississippi State on Friday night (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+) trying to prove more doubters wrong.
"It's baseball," Keenan said. "Anything can happen."