HALL OF FAME: JAMES VALLILLO
Hall of Famer James Vallillo was Tigers' First Baseball Academic All-American
When James Vallillo, ’96 was honored as a second team Academic All-America ® baseball player by the College Sports Information Directors of America, he had no idea that he was starting a new tradition for Tiger baseball players.
Since he became
“I am really proud of earning Academic All-America ® recognition,” says Vallillo, who is one of three former Tiger greats who will be inducted into the Towson University Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday evening, October 10.
“Earning that award meant a lot to me because I’ve always felt my success was a product of my hard work and determination,” he adds. “I wasn’t the greatest baseball player around and I’m sure I’m not the smartest person to graduate from college. But, that award was recognition of my effort.”
A native of
“Jeff and I did everything together until it was time to go to college,” he recalls. “We played together on the baseball, basketball and soccer teams from the time we were young kids. In high school, I was the leftfielder and he was the rightfielder. We were the first members of our family to go to college.”
He adds, “It’s great being a twin because you’ve always got a best friend. But, comparing twins is a natural thing for everyone to do. When it came time for college, we went our separate ways. It was the right time to separate us.”
While Jeff went to Hofstra, James was attracted to
Success didn’t come easily for Vallillo on the baseball diamond. After being “red-shirted” as a freshman, he saw very little action in the 2003 season.
In the 2004 season, Vallillo got an opportunity and made the most of it. He appeared in 38 games and batted .300 for the Tigers while leading the team in walks and on-base percentage.
Coach Mike Gottlieb was impressed enough that he put him on scholarship for the 2005 season. Gottlieb recalls, “I’m not sure we’ve ever had a player who worked as hard at improving as James Vallillo did. He made himself a very good college baseball player through his hard work and dedication.”
In his junior year, Vallillo started in all 53 games for the Tigers, setting a school record for games played in a season. He was the Tigers’ second-leading hitter with a .339 batting average and hit nine home runs with 43 runs batted in. He earned second team All-Big South Conference honors.
After earning his B.S. degree in Business, Vallillo returned for his final season and competed as a graduate student. With
Not only was James named first team all-conference, he was the America East Player of the Year and earned the America East Scholar-Athlete award for baseball.
“Because I was red-shirted as a freshman, Jeff and I didn’t play against each other in 1996,” James recalls. “But he had a great career at Hofstra and I think he holds the school record for career RBI’s. I always say I had a better season but he had a better career.”
Not that there was anything wrong with the career that James had. He finished his career as the fifth-leading hitter in school history with a .337 batting average. He also hit 28 home runs and had 112 RBI’s. Some 12 years after he played his last game for the Tigers, he is still the 11th-leading hitter in
“It’s very hard to play college baseball and maintain your grades,” James recalls. “You have a game almost every day so you can’t waste too much time. You really have to be organized and stay on top of things.”
A senior sales specialist for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, he is married to the former Jen Frank, a 1996 Towson graduate who was a four-year standout for the Tiger tennis team from 1992-1996.
WAY TO GO JAMES!!!!
