NEW YORK (Aug. 14, 2025) – Butler women's soccer goalkeeper Anna Pierce and Seton Hall swimming and diving standout Sean Vizzard have been chosen as the winners of the 2024-25 BIG EAST Michael Tranghese Postgraduate Leadership Award, as selected by the BIG EAST Conference Academic Affairs Committee.
 
The awards are given to one male and one female student-athlete from a BIG EAST-sponsored sport who have been admitted to a degree-granting or professional program for the following academic year and who have demonstrated leadership through excellence in academic credentials, athletic performance and depth of commitment to service within the institution or the community.
 
Pierce and Vizzard will each receive a $5,000 scholarship, which may be applied to postgraduate study. The award is named for Michael Tranghese, the BIG EAST's first full-time employee who served as commissioner of the conference from 1990 to 2009 and embodied leadership and dedication from the league's inception.
 
Pierce is the first Butler student athlete to receive this honor. She is pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at West Virginia University in the fall. Vizzard is the seventh Seton Hall student-athlete to earn the award. He has applied for Spring 2026 enrollment to the Cooper Medical School at Rowan University.
 
A native of Farmington Hills, Mich., Pierce completed her undergraduate degrees in psychology and criminology, while also pursuing a Spanish minor, with a near perfect 3.97 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) at Butler. Off the pitch, she graduated with Summa Cum Laude accolades, as well as the highest distinction in psychology. In 2025 she earned the Kenneth Colburn Award from the Department of Sociology and Criminology. An award that recognizes the student who demonstrates outstanding work in criminology and deviance. Competitively, Pierce was a stalwart in net for the Bulldogs, capping the 2024-25 season on the All-BIG EAST Third Team. She wrapped up her collegiate career ranking among the top 10 in multiple categories at Butler, including second in goalkeeper minutes (4,458), third in shutouts (14), fifth in saves (156) and ninth in goals against average (1.18).