New York Catholic School Graduates Succeeding on College Courts

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Maddy Siegrist’s freshman season ended better than it began.

The graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie was named first team All-Big East Conference, earned a spot on the Big East All-Freshman Team and was the unanimous pick for Big East Freshman of the Year.

The Villanova University freshman was red-shirted in 2018-2019 after breaking her ankle in a preseason practice.

Miss Siegrist, who tied a conference record by being named the Big East Freshman of the Week 10 times, was second in the Big East with 19.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Her points per game average ranked second among freshman scorers in the country.

She averaged 15 points and 10.5 rebounds in two Big East Conference tournament games.

Several other Catholic high school graduates from the archdiocese are enjoying success on the college basketball scene.

Michael Green III, a graduate of Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx, is the 2019-2020 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year and a member of the conference’s all-rookie team after twice winning NEC Rookie of the Week honors.

The 5-foot-11-inch freshman guard at Bryant University averaged 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. His 3.1 assists were ninth in the conference and first among freshmen. He scored in double figures 15 times.

Green was a four-year starter and three-year captain at Mount St. Michael, which captured the archdiocesan championship in his sophomore season.

Cardinal Hayes graduate Joe Toussaint completed his freshman season at the University of Iowa, averaging 6.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game.
He had a team-high 36 steals for the Hawkeyes, who were 20-11 overall and 11-9 in the Big Ten.

The 6-foot guard earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week after collecting 18 points, four assists and two steals against Penn State in January.

At Cardinal Hayes, Toussaint was a finalist for the Basketball Coaches Association of New York’s 2018-2019 Mr. New York State Basketball, and was named CHSAA AA most valuable player. In 2017, he led Cardinal Hayes to the program’s first CHSAA AA intersectional championship since Jamal Mashburn helped the 1990 team win the title.

Archbishop Stepinac graduate Alan Griffin averaged 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in his sophomore season, helping Illinois finish the season at 21-10 overall and 13-7 in the Big Ten.

Illinois ranked 21st in the final Associated Press poll.

Griffin announced after the season ended that he'll be transferring to Syracuse University for the 2020-2021 season. The 6-foot-five-inch guard led Stepinac to the archdiocesan, CHSAA intersectional and state federation championships in 2018. He was named most valuable player of the CHSAA intersectional and state federation tournaments.

Griffin comes from a basketball family. His father, Adrian, played at Seton Hall University before playing several seasons in the NBA and is now an assistant coach with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. His sister, Aubrey, plays for the University of Connecticut. His younger brother, Adrian Jr., just completed his junior season at Stepinac and announced he will play at Duke University.