FitzPatrick, Keating named 2020-21 Senior Athletes of the Year
9/13/2021 10:21:00 AM | Softball, Wrestling
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - There were trials and triumphs aplenty during the 2020-21 sports season at St. Cloud State University. After one of the most unique years in department history, the Huskies announced wrestling Devin FitzPatrick (Mahtomedi, Minn. / Mahtomedi) and softball's Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) as the 2020-21 Senior Athletes of the Year.Â
FitzPatrick and Keating were selected as the Senior Athletes of the Year by the coaches and staff members of the St. Cloud State athletics department. The prestigious award is annually given to the Huskies top male and female senior student-athletes, not only on the field of competition, but in the classroom and in the community as well.Â
Both FitzPatrick and Keating are deserving of the honor, as they led their teams to top finishes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) during their respective regular and post seasons. Additionally, both the Huskies wrestling and softball teams were nationally ranked during the 2020-21 season, and both FitzPatrick and Keating received multiple honors and recognition for their success during the year.Â
FitzPatrick is the ninth wrestler to earn Senior Athlete of the Year honors and the sixth to earn the award since the 2015-16 season. FitzPatrick closed his St. Cloud State career in outstanding fashion, earning All-America honors for the third time after placing third at the 165-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships in March. The senior from Mahtomedi, Minnesota posted a 7-1 record at 165 pounds during the regular season with two wins by pin and two bonus points wins, ranking second on the team in points throughout the year. He additionally closed his career as a three-time All-NSIC selection, earning First Team honors in 2019-20 and Second Team honors in both 2018-19 and 2020-2, and was crowned the regional champ at the Super Region V competition in late February. FitzPatrick is the son of Heidi and Brian FitzPatrick and majored in marketing.
After seeing her true senior season cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020, Keating returned to the Huskies in 2021. As a super senior, Keating started all 44 games for St. Cloud State in 2021, posting a .280 batting average with 35 hits in 125 at bats for the Huskies. She ranked second on the team in stolen bases, swiping 16 in 19 attempts during the season, and additionally earned NSIC All-Tournament Team honors after going 6-12 at the plate with two runs and a stolen base. Keating additionally cemented her place in the record books and holds the school record for career games played, career games started, career runs scored, career triple plays turned. Keating additionally ranks second all-time in career hits and third in career at-bats. She is a four-time NFCA Academic All-American and NSIC All-Academic Teammember. Keating is the daughter of Patrick and Pamela Keating and majored in elementary education with a minor in special education.
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