Colton Book reached a rare milestone during his first season with St. Joseph’s baseball. And he’s not done yet.

When Colton Book transferred to St. Joseph’s in the fall, he knew he was capable of success, but he never imagined accomplishments of this magnitude.

Book secured his 100th strikeout of the season in a 4-3 win over Dayton on April 27, becoming the first Hawk in program history to notch 100 strikeouts in a season.

“I didn’t really expect that coming into the year, but it’s super cool to know that, out of all the great, great players that have pitched here, that I have the most strikeouts out of anybody,” Book said. “I think it’s pretty cool.”

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The Manheim, Pa., native transferred to St. Joe’s from Stony Brook, where he finished the 2024 season with a 10.52 ERA.

After working with former St. Joe’s pitching coach Jeremy Hileman in the fall, Book posted a 3.20 ERA in the regular season, fourth-best in the Atlantic 10.

Book said they worked on pitch movement and how they “play in the zone” with pitch design during fall ball.

“I definitely made the right decision when choosing to come here,” Book said. “The whole season has been great. The opportunity that the coaches gave me here is something that I’m very thankful for.”

Book finished the regular season with 114 strikeouts. That’s the most in the A-10 and ranked fifth nationally.

But Book didn’t pitch in the Hawks’ regular-season finale against Rhode Island, an 18-16 win. Coach Fritz Hamburg preferred to give him and some of the other starters some rest entering the A-10 tournament, which began Tuesday.

“Him not having a chance to add to his numbers this weekend where others did, [his strikeout ranking] might change a little bit, but I think he was all the way up to third in the country that way,” Hamburg said.

Book has been named the A-10 pitcher of the week four times this season while also being named to the College Baseball Foundation’s Pitcher of the Year watch list. He ranks 13th nationally with a 0.93 WHIP.

Aside from a “hiccup” in which he gave up 11 hits and 10 runs in four innings in a 25-15 win over Davidson on April 19, Book allowed three or fewer earned runs each time out.

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“The Davidson game certainly skewed his numbers,” Hamburg said. “To their credit, they really offense well against him, but I think if you eliminated that game, his numbers would be super impressive.”

Aside from his presence in the stat sheet for St. Joe’s, Book has also had a “positive effect” on the team off the diamond, Hamburg said.

“He’s been a pleasure to coach,” Hamburg said. “I’m hopeful that the younger guys take note. … That’s a great way to learn, is to see somebody within your own program do it the right way. Colton has been that throughout the year, and I’m just really happy that he’s having the year he has.”

Along with his leadership, Hamburg said Book’s physical maturity has helped him adapt and learn how to handle the demands of the game, especially the games in which he has thrown over 100 pitches.

After pitching 79 innings across three seasons at Stony Brook, including zero mound appearances as a sophomore in 2023, the redshirt junior has faced his longest and most demanding season this year. Book tossed 81⅔ regular-season innings for the Hawks, which he called “a bit of an adjustment.”

“Working with the trainers and talking with our coach and stuff, I’ve been able to kind of take care of my body so that I’m able to handle the workload,” Book said. “It’s definitely been a lot more than the last two seasons, but I think with the help of our trainer and then just speaking with our coach about how I’m feeling, it hasn’t really become an issue.”

Giving his pitchers breaks helps avoid wearing them down, Hamburg said, especially as the Hawks enter the A-10 tournament. Fifth-seeded St. Joe’s (24-26) faces No. 4 seed Davidson on Tuesday at Capital One Park in Tysons, Va. (11 a.m., ESPN+). Book will have a chance at a rematch against the Wildcats.

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“I think we’ve proven that we can beat anybody,” Book said. “I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”

But Hamburg’s aspirations for Book extend past an A-10 championship.

“After the season, we’re going to keep our fingers crossed and hope that he gets a call and gets drafted,” Hamburg said. “That’s always a big part of our program. We want guys to have the opportunity to move on. And through development and through opportunity, to maximize on both is a big mission within our program. So [I’m] looking forward to that for him.”