Saint Louis guard Fred Thatch Jr. suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during Wednesday’s game at Massachusetts, ending his 2022-23 season.
Thatch is in his fifth year with the Billikens. He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2021 and a master’s degree in business administration in 2022, both from Saint Louis University, and he is pursuing a master’s in supply chain management at SLU. Thatch indicated that he plans to forgo his remaining year of eligibility, thus ending his college basketball career.
“Fred Thatch is a winner, plain and simple,” SLU head coach Travis Ford said. “He is a winner on the court, off the court and in the classroom. Fred is the definition of what it means to be a student-athlete. His impact on Saint Louis University and our community extend way beyond the basketball court. From the moment he stepped onto campus, he brought a mentality that every basketball coach dreams about. His tenacity and passion for the game epitomize Team Blue. We will miss Fred on the court, but he remains a very important part of our program and we will benefit from him being on our sideline.”
“Being a Billiken these last five years has been the best time of my life, and I have no regrets,” Thatch said. “The fans and the Saint Louis University community have been amazing, and I will forever appreciate their support. I am thankful that I still have the opportunity to help my brothers accomplish our goals we set at the beginning of the season.”
Thatch played in 109 career games for the Billikens and scored 685 career points. He also averaged 4.0 rebounds.
As a freshman in 2018-19, Thatch played in all 36 games and helped the Billikens to the A-10 Tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Championship. He was awarded a hardship waiver in 2019-20 when a medical condition forced him to miss the season after just six games.
Thatch had the best season of his career last year, finishing the season fourth on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.5 rpg). He averaged 6.2 points for the Billikens this year.
Thatch was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Academic team in 2021-22. In addition, he was voted to the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete team last season. He served as SLU’s student-athlete representative on the A-10 Commission on Racial Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in addition to supporting other campus and community initiatives.
