Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield grad Phil Fox earns All-America honors at Pitt

Pitt closer Phil Fox (Hempfield) needs more space on his trophy shelf and more nails for his wall of plaques.

Nailing down wins has become his forte.

The rising redshirt junior was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Region First Team and All-America third team following a splendid season out of the bullpen.

An All-ACC second-teamer, Fox posted eight saves and struck out 45 in 36 2/3 innings in his first season with the Panthers.

Fox, a Gardner-Webb transfer, was 3-2 with a 1.47 ERA in 23 appearances.

He already ranks fourth in team history in career saves. He was an Big South Conference All-Freshman Team selection last year, collecting three saves after moving from a starter to the closer.

Women’s lacrosse

Saint Vincent: Joe Conner was introduced as the next head coach of the Bearcats.

An assistant men’s lacrosse coach last year, Conner takes over for Jym Walters, who retired after last season with a 106-83 record in 12 seasons.

“It’s very exciting for me and my family to have this opportunity to contribute to such an outstanding institution,” Conner said. “I look forward to using my knowledge and experience to help provide growth and fun to our current student-athletes as well as future Bearcats.”

Conner, an Ijamsville, Md., native who now lives in Unity, was an associate coach at Dartmouth from 2019-23, so he brings Division I wisdom to the field.

He also served on the coaching staff at Bucknell for nine years, and was associate head coach for two years.

He won a Patriot League title in 2011.

Mount St. Mary’s, his alma mater, was his first coaching stop and included two years in the sidelines.

Conner played midfielder for three seasons at Binghamton before transferring to Mount St. Mary’s to get his master’s degree. He played attacker there for one season.

He graduated from Urbana High School and earned All-American honors.

Women’s track and field

Seton Hill: Grad student Natasha Bernett was named the PSAC Field Athlete of the Year.

Bernett earned All-American honors with her fourth-place finish in the heptathlon and 100-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division II Championship.

She also made all-region in the 100 and 400 hurdles, and heptathlon and was the PSAC MVP.

Men’s basketball

Pitt-Johnstown: Point guard Sean Dillon is staying in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, but he will play his final season with the Mountain Cats after three seasons at Seton Hill.

Dillon, a 5-foot-10 guard, averaged 6.5 points and 2.9 assists over 22 games last season, playing 20.8 minutes a game off the bench.

He had a 10.8-point average in 76 career games with the Griffins.

Men’s volleyball

Saint Vincent: Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year Kate McCauley is taking a break from the Bearcats to attend the NCAA/WeCOACH Women’s Coaches Academy 2.0 this week in Denver, Colo.

The small-scale summit is for graduates of the Women’s Coaches Academy. McCauley graduated from the lead-in program last June.

She is one of 24 attendees of the WCA event, designed for women coaches to “elevate their holistic coaching effectiveness by learning advanced leadership skills and strategies that directly affect their personal and team success,” a Saint Vincent news release said.

There will be 95 women learning in the first phase of the WCA program, from NCAA Division I, II and III programs, as well as those in the NAIA, NJCAA and NWAC.

McCauley has coached SVC for three seasons, including a 19-9 record last year. The Bearcats went 9-0 in the AMCC and made the conference final.

Honors

Washington & Jefferson: Former basketball standout Maggie Gibson (Greensburg Central Catholic) will be inducted into the Washington & Jefferson College Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the 25th class.

W&J went 90-26 with the 6-foot-1 Gibson commanding the post. She pulled down 1,125 rebounds and helped the Presidents reach the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2009 and ‘10.

Gibson is the only player in program history to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.

She is 13th on the W&J women’s all-time scoring list with 1,166 points.

Her 116 games played are the second most in school history.

The inductees will be honored at 6 p.m. Sept. 6 at the school’s Rossin Ballroom.

The three other inductees are Alex Baroffio (2014, football), Emily Hays (2009, basketball) and Michael Revak (1998, golf).