The Saint Joseph's baseball program will host its annual Lead-Off Dinner and Hall of Fame Induction on Saturday, January 31, 2026 at the Marriott Philadelphia West in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
 
Stefan Kancylarz '15, Don DiJulia '67, and Jim Brown '76 will be inducted into the Saint Joseph's Baseball Hall of Fame, while longtime team bus driver Vance Devlin will receive the Harry Booth '62 Award.  The Hawks will also honor their 2025 team award winners and the 2026 squad will be introduced.  The 1971 Team will celebrate its 55th anniversary at the event as well, while Gregg Murphy '93, a fixture on the Philadelphia sports broadcasting scene, will return as the master of ceremonies for 2026.
 
"The Lead-Off Dinner has been a staple of our program," head coach Fritz Hamburg said.  "The event is a wonderful way to kick off the upcoming season while celebrating our Hall of Fame inductees and our Booth Award winner.  We are excited to welcome Hawk alum Gregg Murphy back to lead our program.  I appreciate and want to thank our development team, which spends significant time helping to organize the event; it's an important celebration for our program and we always look forward to it being a great night.  The opportunity to connect former players, parents and friends of the program is so instrumental in the pride and growth of any program."
 
Kancylarz is one of the "Iron Men" of Saint Joseph's baseball, one of just six Hawks to appear in more than 200 games in the Crimson and Gray.  Between 2012 and 2015, he played in 202 games, tied for fifth-most in program history, and holds the single-season record for games played with 56, set in 2012.  A two-time All-Big 5 third baseman, he was also a First Team All-Atlantic 10 and a Second Team ECAC All-Star selection in 2014 when he helped lead the Hawks to a program-record 35 wins.  Kancylarz was the team's Rookie of the Year in 2012 and played a key role as the Hawks reached their first-ever Atlantic 10 Championship that season; he was also a member of two Liberty Bell Classic championship squads in 2012 and 2014.
 
A native of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, Kancylarz hit .303 for his career and graduated with the school record for career plate appearances with 900.  He ranks third all-time with 122 walks and second with 12 triples; he also graduated in fourth place on the Hawks all-time hit list with 228 and now ranks in a tie for fifth.  He tied the then-program record with a 20-game hitting streak stretching across the end of the 2014 season and into the 2015 campaign; Kancylarz also set a program record (which has since been surpassed) by reaching base in 34 consecutive games across the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
 
DiJulia and Brown worked in lockstep to help bring Hawk baseball back to campus with the building of Smithson Field, which opened in time for the 2012 season.  DiJulia was a member of the baseball team during his time as a student before going on to serve as the athletic director at Saint Joseph's for 35 years across two stints, while Brown was the senior associate athletic director on Hawk Hill for two decades and served as the administrator for the baseball program.  The pair retired in 2018 and 2019, respectively, but have remained constant fixtures around the Hawk baseball program and the university in general.
 
"We are excited to induct Stefan, Don, and Jim into our Hall of Fame," Hamburg said.  "Stefan had a very impressive career; his consistency and production were impressive.  He was there so many times when we needed a big hit.  It goes without saying, but Don and Jim were so important in guiding the program into a new era.  With the purchase of the Maguire Campus and the construction of Smithson Field, they were behind the elevation of our program in so many ways.  I'm proud of what the program has become, and it certainly would not have been possible without their love, passion, and commitment to grow St. Joe's baseball.
 
"Recognizing Vance is a thrill for us.  Most people have no idea how valuable a bus driver is to a program.  For the amount of time we spend on the road, having someone who cares as much about the players and coaches as we do from within the program is priceless.  Vance is not only our bus driver, but he embodies the Hawk mantra.  He follows our home games, he checks in during the offseason, and he genuinely cares about all of us.  These are just a few of the reasons why we are recognizing him with Harry's award."
 
The 1971 Hawks were the first Saint Joseph's baseball team to reach the NCAA Tournament after winning a then-school record 19 games on the way to the program's first-ever Middle Atlantic Conference championship.  Under the direction of Harry Booth and Marty Pollock and captained by SJU Baseball Hall of Famers Norm Kraft '71 and Dave Landers '71, the Hawks reached the District 2 final and were two wins away from a trip to Omaha for the College World Series.
 
"We are excited to recognize the members of the 1971 team," Hamburg said.  It's been 55 years since their time in the Crimson and Gray, but the '71 team is one of the best in program history.  We look forward to celebrating their time as Hawks."

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.SJUHawks.com/LeadOffDinner.  The cost is $155 – $130 for Young Alumni – for registrations prior to December 30 and $200 thereafter; the cost includes a cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m.  Registration closes on January 22.  Sponsorship opportunities are available and are critical to the success of the event; please visit www.SJUHawks.com/LeadOffDinner or contact Tamara Conan at tconan@sju.edu.  Net proceeds from the Lead-Off Dinner directly support the baseball program.