Shannon Jones

Classroom

Shannon Jones exemplifies the term ‘student-athlete’ excelling in the classroom, with a 3.53 cumulative GPA in Siena’s highly-selective biology program.  As a junior, she was named to the Capital One Academic All-District First Team, one of just 11 Division I players in the region to earn that distinction.  Jones has been awarded Siena’s Leo Dufort Female Student Athlete of the Month Award (May 2012) and was selected to the MAAC’s All-Academic team twice (2011 and 2012) and MAAC Honor Roll three times (2010, 2011 and 2012). She has sacrificed her time to tutor other students in various subjects to help them achieve their own individual goals through “Siena’s Saints Supporting Saints” initiative.  Jones intends to use her Siena degree to make an impact in the community beyond graduation. This season, Jones became one of just 13 student athletes nationally to receive a 2013-14 NCAA Women’s Enhancement Scholarship for Careers in Athletics. She has already been accepted into Sage College’s Doctorate of Physical Therapy Graduate Program.  She strives to fulfill her passion of becoming a physical therapist so she could help athletes develop a “drive to get back into the game.”

Character

Shannon Jones is a “people person.”  Jones has displayed her true caring spirit by doing everything she could possibly do to help others. The three-year team captain has become both a leader at Siena and in the community.  As vice president of Siena’s Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC), she founded the Student-Athlete Mentoring (SAM) program and currently serves as president of the Committee.  The program was built to help aid student athletes with any problems they might face in collegiate life.  Jones has helped fellow students who have dealt with homesickness or struggled with their studies. She has also spearheaded campaigns designed to educate each athlete with problems they may face.  She programed an alcohol awareness campaign to inform collegiate athletes of the dangers and effects alcohol can have on their body. Throughout her playing career she has suffered through numerous injuries that have forced her to battle back to get on the field.  Through it all, she has not forgotten the people who helped her achieve that dream, which motivates her to pay it forward through a career in physical therapy.

Community

Shannon Jones might be the most involved student athlete at Siena College, and she exemplifies the College’s Franciscan Tradition.  In the summer of her sophomore year, she became the nanny of Brittany, a young girl who requires special needs.  She would spend nine hours a day helping the family in every way she possibly could, sitting in on school orientations, tutoring, and just spending time with Brittany.  Jones has also participated in Arthritis Awareness events with her sister who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis.  She partnered with other SAAC members to run the annual Student Athlete Talent Show, an event that raised over $1,000 for Special Olympics.  The list of charitable fundraisers continues to grow for Jones, as she strives to give back.  She donates toys to the Adopt A Family program, runs the canned food drive, is involved in the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber programs, volunteers for Ronald McDonald House and Habitat for Humanity, playing a leadership role in Siena College’s MAAC Goodworks Challenge Championship in 2012.

Competition

On the field, Shannon Jones is the most accomplished player in Siena College history. The reigning MAAC Co-Player of the Year received ECAC All-Star Honors, and was also selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Great Lakes All-Region Second Team as a junior, becoming one of just five players in the conference to achieve All-Region status.  Jones is coming off the best individual campaign in program history, setting single-season records in three major offensive categories: hits (66), home runs (14), and runs (46).  She has already amassed 119 RBIs in her career, tying for the most in Siena history.  She ranked number one in the conference in six different offensive statistics as a junior: batting average (.434), home runs, hits, runs, total bases (127), and slugging percentage (.836) and tied for the MAAC lead in runs batted in (43) and doubles (15).  As a junior, she was awarded the Siena Female Student Athlete of the Year.  Nationally, Jones was the 16th toughest batter to strike (six strikeouts in 152 at-bats which is one out of every 25.3 appearances) and ranked 13th in the country in batting average.