Senior basketball star Jesse Steele is adding his name to a growing list of athletes making it to the big leagues. Steele has recently signed a professional contract to play in his native Dominican Republic.

Leaving on May 1 for San Lazaro, he has come a long way since leaving Army to come play for the Hawks. Steele detailed how hard he worked in the offseason and all summer long, shooting and making 500 shots everyday. With that kind of hard work and dedication, it is no wonder why he has just signed a professional contract for a sport that he has had continued success in.

Throughout his time with the Hawks, Steele has left his mark on the University. The All-Star went from being a walk on sophomore to a senior captain on scholarship. Through all of his accomplishments, he has ranked 9th all-time in career three pointers, 10th in assists with 286, 14th in steals with 110, and has ranked amid the league leaders in minutes played throughout his two full seasons on the team. Along with ranking across the board, Steele has also netted 939 points and 286 assists within two and half seasons, and hit 157 out of 187 free throw attempts.

Within the past season, Steele took his training and his hard work to the next level. However, aside from his strong athletic abilities, Steele is also very modest in how he describes his work ethic. “My shot was struggling a lot in the beginning of the season and Coach Rice gave me some drills to stay close to the basket,” explained Steele. “It got my shot and my confidence up.” Not being afraid to ask for help has clearly worked in his favor.

Teammate and fellow senior Ed Waite described the pressure that Steele was under after his first season on the Hawks, “Well when he first started playing for Monmouth he was relaxed with no pressure.” Waite explained how the pressure increased for Steele. “He grew up really fast because of all the work he put in the summer of senior year playing in the summer league in Belmar,” explained Waite.

MU Baseball split a four-game series this weekend as they were hosted by Northeast Conference rivals Farleigh Dickinson. MU compiled 26 runs off 35 hits in the series and currently post a 23-16 record (14-6 NEC).

The Hawks were able to take the first game of the series, which was played on Friday, 8-2. On the mound for MU was southpaw junior, Andrew McGee, who pitched his sixth complete game of the year and improved his record to 7-1. McGee struck out nine and allowed seven hits in his appearance.

In regards to his pitcher, Head Coach Dean Ehehalt said, “I think one of the attributes is that a guy like Andy McGee, a guy that wins conference recognition, has that ability to be special every weekend. Every weekend is a different challenge to him.”

The offense gave McGee support early on as they were able to score six of their eight runs in the first inning. Sophomore center fielder Steve Wilgus led off for the Hawks and with a 2-2 count, he hit a home run down the right field line. The men were also able to bat a round before junior second baseman Jake Gronsky grounded to shortstop, ending the scoring streak. Wilgus also led the team in hits with three and RBI with four in the game.

On Saturday, the Hawks played the Knights for a double header with both games lasting seven frames.

Sophomore right hander TJ Hunt began the Saturday stretch and picked up his second loss of the season as MU fell to the Knights, 7-5. Hunt ended his day one out shy of throwing two complete innings.

Before leaving the mound, Hunt surrendered all of FDU’s runs as the Knights scored three in the first inning and four in the second inning.

The softball team went 3-1 last week against the Temple Owls and Mount St. Mary’s.

The team started last Wednesday’s game 23-12, looking to keep their six-game winning streak going when Temple came to West Long Branch, N.J.

Defensively, the Hawks got off to a great start. Third baseman, sophomore Vanessa Cardoza, made a nice grab on a line drive to third base, then doubled up the runner who was looking to score the Owls’ early first inning run. The Hawks, however, could not get anything going as they failed to bring home any of the runners who got on base.

Senior Lauren Sulick was on the mound for the Hawks. Sulick started off hot, getting out of the first two innings without giving up any runs. However, in the top of the third inning with the game still tied at zero, Sulick was looking to get out the inning with runners on second and third with two outs. The Owls’ Stephanie Pasquale knocked a double over the head of the right fielder to drive home the first two runs of the game for the owls.

MU was able to make it interesting in the bottom of the third inning with a runner on second, but again failed to bring home the run.

Sulick ran into trouble in the top half of the fourth inning, when she allowed five runs scored for the Owls. Sulick was missing her spots and with the infield not at its best, MU trailed 7-0 at the end of four.

The Hawks dent in the lead came in at the sixth inning when a wild pitch moved runners Kayla Weiser and Raelynn Galindo to second and third, and junior Shannon Fitzgerald drove home Weiser and senior Kate Kuzma drove home Galindo and Cardoza on a single to center field. However, MU could not move any closer and saw their six game winning streak snapped as they fell to the Owls 7-3.

From the court to the gridiron, MU senior Ed Waite has begun his transition from power forward to wide receiver. After spring practices had already begun for MU football, Waite decided he’d like to try his hand at football, a sport he hasn’t played since his sophomore year of high school.

Set to graduate from the university in May, Waite played four seasons of basketball, and has one year of eligibility left if he plays a different sport, per NCAA rules. He will still be enrolled in classes and he’s weighing the possibilities of a graduate program.

“I really didn’t know what I was going to do after graduating here, so I just thought about my options,” Waite said. With a stat line of 50 catches, 1,059 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns in his one season of football at Pine Crest High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fl., football was one of those options.

The decision was endorsed by his former basketball coach, King Rice. “It was something that had been in his mind since I’ve been here,” Rice said. “I didn’t know if it would work out here at Monmouth. I didn’t know if he would get a chance just to do the combine, or if he would go to another school to try it. Ed was a high-level guy in high school, so I thought after college it might be something he should try.”

His time away from football hasn’t stopped scouts from coming to see him. According to Rice, he had an opportunity to meet with a person affiliated with the NFL before the basketball season started.

Waite finished his basketball career with 1,045 points, 17th all-time for the Hawks, while playing in 124 games in his career. Listed at 6’3”, 215 pounds, Waite possesses a body suited for football. On the field, he has a distinct advantage with his height and build.