BOCA RATON, FLORIDA — Former St. Joseph by-the-Sea baseball star Mike McKenna is one of eight new members who will be enshrined in Florida Atlantic University’s Athletics Hall of Fame, the Division I school recently announced.

McKenna, who was a rare four-year varsity player at Sea, was the lone baseball player selected in FAU’s newest Hall of Fame class.

The honorees will officially be inducted on Hall of Fame weekend Oct. 10-11. There will be an invitation-only dinner on Oct. 10 before the actual ceremony during a football game vs. UAB the next day.

Cincinnati Bengals star defensive lineman Trey Hendrickson is also part of FAU’s new class, as is Erica Brok (beach volleyball), Harrison Bryant (football), Greg Gantt (men’s basketball), Karen Gray (women’s golf), Capri Grotowski (coach), and D’Joun Smith (football).

“We are proud to announce the Class of 2025 for the Florida Atlantic Athletics Hall of Fame,” said FAU Director of Athletics Brian White on the school’s website. “Honoring and celebrating our history is paramount, and these eight incredibly deserving individuals have been key contributors in building the winning legacy of FAU Athletics. I want to congratulate them on joining the 33 Owls currently in this elite club. We look forward to enshrining them during Hall of Fame weekend next month.”

Ken Rigatti, a long-time coach and fixture in Sea’s baseball program, said McKenna’s enshrinement couldn’t happen to a more worthy person.

“It’s a well-deserved honor. He had to go down there and prove himself and he stuck to it,’’ said Rigatti, noting he remembers McKenna making off-season weekend trips to Florida to work on his game during the high school years. ”Nobody worked harder. I remember him coming back from those weekend trips with cheat sheets and we’d work on things. We’d work all summer because he wanted to get better.

“He always put in the effort and this is why he (was elected into their Hall of Fame).’’

Following McKenna’s exceptional Sea career that included Advance All-Star honors as a shortstop, he took his talents to Florida Atlantic. He became an outfielder with the Owls — primarily playing right field — but nonetheless continued to flourish at the plate from 2005-08.

FAU referred to McKenna as one of its most productive players in program history after capping his senior year with numerous honors. For starters, he was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and earned All-American status by both Collegiate Baseball and Louisville Slugger. In addition, McKenna was also one of 50 semifinalists nationwide for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award, which is presented to the nation’s best college baseball player.

When he graduated, he was the Owls’ career leader in RBI (185) and total bases (444). He’s still among the program’s all-time leaders in those categories, as well as hits (270), home runs (41), batting average (.361) and slugging percentage (.595).

During his junior year, he batted .413 and had a slugging percentage of .716 which was good enough for 13th and 18th, respectively, in the nation. His .434 batting average led the Sun Belt Conference.

McKenna was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 14th round during the 2008 MLB Draft.

The Prince’s Bay resident is currently an NYPD police officer.

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