OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Wichita State senior
Fred VanVleet was one of 20 NCAA men's and women's basketball student-athletes selected as a finalist, today, for the 2015-16 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate basketball. Candidates were selected based on excellence on and off the court. To be eligible, student-athletes must be classified as NCAA Division I seniors and have notables achievements in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for
Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates announced in January. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the
Senior CLASS Award website through March 21. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winners. The Senior CLASS Award recipients will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Men's Final Four
® and NCAA Women's Final Four
®.
Visit this link to vote for VanVleet.
VanVleet – a sociology major who is on track to graduate in May of 2016 – is a frequent volunteer, in his home town of Rockford, where he served as 2014 graduation speaker at his alma mater, and in Wichita, where he's helped with Shocker, Cops & kids (an educational program for inner-city youth), Kansas Kids @ Gear Up, the American Heart Walk, elementary school visits (at which he speaks about the importance of school and working hard), retirement home visits
VanVleet is one of the most decorated players in WSU basketball history, with multiple first-team all-conference selections. In 2014, he was a third-team All-American and MVC Player of the Year. VanVleet – who helped lead WSU to a 35-0 start that year – is among the winningest seniors in college basketball, having participated in 113 victories heading into Thursday. He's the school's all-time assists leader and is on pace to set its career steals mark, as well.
For more information on each of the finalists, visit
seniorCLASSaward.com.
MEN'S BASKETBALL FINALISTS Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Perry Ellis, Kansas
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
Georges Niang, Iowa State
Marcus Paige, North Carolina
Justin Sears, Yale
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
Fred VanVleet, Wichita StateKyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FINALISTS
Jillian Alleyne, Oregon
Adut Bulgak, Florida State
Aundrea Gamble, Arkansas State
Ruth Hamblin, Oregon State
Bria Holmes, West Virginia
Moriah Jefferson, Connecticut
Jonquel Jones, George Washington
Kelsey Minato, Army West Point
Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina
Breanna Stewart, Connecticut
ABOUT THE AWARDAn acronym for C
elebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the
Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Kansas City-based Premier Sports Management manages the award.
NCAA and Final Four are trademarks owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
