OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Wichita State senior shortstop Laurie Derrico has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award, it was announced Thursday afternoon.

Derrico is a two-time all-conference selection, including a first team honoree as a junior. She started all 55 games a season ago and finished with a .290 batting average, while leading the team with 11 home runs and ranking second with 36 RBI. So far this season Derrico is hitting .338 with four home runs, five doubles and 14 RBI. The Sterling, Okla., native is only four home runs shy of moving into first place on the Wichita State all-time home run list.

She has started 170 of the 172 games she's played in during her Wichita State career and compiled a .307 batting average, 36 home runs, 125 RBI, 33 doubles and 115 runs scored.

In the classroom, Derrico carries a 3.816 GPA as an exercise science major at WSU. She was a member of the 2017-18 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team, recipient of the Missouri Valley Conference Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award in 2016-17, while also being named to the MVC Honor Roll twice. She has also been named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester at Wichita State.

Derrico has also been a key figure in the community during her time as a Shocker. She has dedicated her free time to various community service events including the following: Hunger Games (collected non-perishable items and donated them to the Shocker Locker, which is a food pantry on campus); Buddy Walk (provided food to families affected with Down syndrome); Pen Pals with Maize South; Dress for Success; Wichita Fire and Police Shocks, Cops and Kids (activities and workshops with local youth); Wichita State Baseball Screamage and more.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
 
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 platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. 
 
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
 
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2019 Women's College World Series^®.
 
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.