Villanova Univeristy Athletics

Villanova Career: The Wildcats welcome back the resident relief pitcher who owns a spot on the Villanova saves record and is tied for fourth in school history with 15 saves entering the 2023… Power pitcher who has averaged 13.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 81.0 collegiate innings pitched… Attacks hitters with a fastball and slider which are both plus offerings and feature late movement… Owns a 3-7 record with a 5.00 ERA… Has recorded four outs or more in eight of his 15 career saves… Has pitched in 44 career games for the Wildcats with three start… Overall has logged 81.0 innings on the mound with 121 strikeouts and 66 hits allowed…  Gave up 11 doubles, nine home runs, five sacrifice flies, and six sacrifice bunts to 383 batters faced… Opposing batters are hitting only .222 against him… Has allowed 47 runs (45 earned) while walking 65, throwing eight wild pitches, hitting nine batters by pitch, and committing one balk… Earned BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week on February 17 his freshman year… Earned BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week on March 15 his sophomore year… Was named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team.
 
2022: The veteran relief pitcher had 21 appearances and two starts on the year… Went 3-5 with a 6.23 ERA while holding opponents to a .231 batting average against him… Logged 43.1 innings on the mound and gave up just 36 hits, five doubles, and five home runs while striking out 67 to 208 batters faced… Averaged 13.9 strikeouts per nine innings and had four saves on the season… Allowed 30 runs (all earned), 37 walks, three sacrifice flies, four sacrifice bunts, six wild pitches, and hit eight by a pitch… He had three assists and a fielding percentage of 1.000… Had seven relief appearances of two innings or longer… In his second start he had longest outing of the year when he worked for 5.0 innings resulting in four hits and four run, walking five and striking out eight on February 25 at The Citadel… He had a season-high 12 strikeouts only allowing two hits and one run against him walking two at Georgia State on April 2… Recorded a save in two consecutive appearances from April 19-23… That was part of a stretch in which he was unscored on in four straight outings spanning 5.0 scoreless innings.
 
2021: Led the pitching staff with 17 appearances on the year and was second in the BIG EAST with seven saves … All but one of his appearances came in relief … Went 0-2 with a 3.20 ERA while holding opponents to a .221 batting average against him … Logged 25 1/3 innings on the mound and gave up just 21 hits while striking out 36 and averaging 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings … Allowed 11 runs (nine earned) and walked 16 … Had five relief appearances of two innings or longer, including his longest outing of the year when he worked 3 1/3 hitless innings and had a season-high six strikeouts at Butler on April 25 … Recorded a save in five consecutive appearances from March 7-27 … That was part of a stretch in which he was unscored on in six straight outings spanning 6 1/3 scoreless innings … Notched back-to-back four-out saves in wins over Delaware (6-5 and 11-10) on March 13-14 which earned him BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time in his career … Four of his seven saves came in one-run games … His final save of the year was at St. John’s when he worked the final two innings with two strikeouts … Made his first collegiate start against Xavier on May 2 and pitched the first two innings of a 12-5 victory as Villanova clinched a series win against the eventual BIG EAST runner-up.
 
2020: Made six relief appearances during the abbreviated season and impressed in his first 12 1/3 innings of collegiate competition … Had 18 strikeouts and averaged 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings which would be the second-highest mark in school history for a single season if he had enough innings to qualify (30.0 innings minimum) … Allowed just nine hits and held opponents to a .196 batting average against him … Recorded four saves to tie for the 16^th most in a season in school history despite Villanova playing just 14 games overall … Issued 12 walks and was charged with six earned runs on the year … Named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week after making his collegiate debut against No. 3 Arizona State … Entered with one out in the sixth inning and Villanova leading 2-1, then pitched the final 3 2/3 innings with just one hit allowed to go along with five walks and five strikeouts to close out the highest-ranked win in program history … Pitched three scoreless innings with a season-high six strikeouts to save a 6-2 win over Campbell … Worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings for a save in a 4-1 win over Bucknell … Recorded the final out of the home opener against NJIT and stranded two inherited runners to save a 5-1 victory.
 
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School: Earned four varsity letters in baseball as a pitcher and first baseman … Also played two years of hockey as a center … Posted a 1.95 ERA with 202 strikeouts during his high school career … Set a school record with 20 strikeouts in a game … Tossed two no-hitters which came during his sophomore and senior seasons … Three-time all-county and all-conference selection and played in the state All-Star Game his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
 
Personal: Born 10/19/00 in Scotch Plains, N.J. … Youngest of three children of John and Cheryl Wilkinson … Has an older sister, Lindsey (26) and an older brother, John (24) … His paternal grandfather played college baseball at Boston College and his maternal grandfather played college basketball at Connecticut … Hobbies include playing golf and ice hockey with his brother as well as video games with friends … Chose to attend Villanova for the great community on campus, the school’s reputation and the opportunity to continue his baseball career … Enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences and has yet to declare a major.