Softball Columns
Senior Leadership Vital Now, Maybe More Than Ever
The Senior CLASS Award has wrapped up another year with terrific student-athletes being honored for the contributions they made to their teammates, communities, and universities.
2021-22 was a year that stacks up as one of the very best in the award’s history. Each sport had an incredibly deep and well-rounded list of student-athletes, for a multitude of reasons, that were extremely deserving of their nomination.
Leadership has always been instrumental in the world of collegiate…
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Back to School! Nominations for 2021-22 Are Now Open
With summer coming to an end, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the upcoming school year. Yes, it’s that time of the year again! The Senior CLASS Award has now opened nominations for fall sports in 2021-22!
It’s shaping up to be an incredibly memorable year and we can’t wait to get started. We anticipate even more honorable acts of service in the community, outstanding achievements in the classroom, and record-breaking performances on the field.
We hope you’ll…
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Looking Back on the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award®
In an extremely challenging year for most, it meant so much for us to honor all of the special seniors during the 2020-21 academic school year - even more so because last year was incomplete. We knew there would need to be a change to our program with student-athletes being granted the option of an additional year of eligibility, and we welcomed the opportunity to be proactive. We encouraged all senior student-athletes, who would have normally exhausted their eligibility at the conclusion of this…
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Nominations for Seniors in 2020-21 Will Proceed
As the Senior CLASS Award continues to evolve and maneuver through the COVID-19 pandemic, it has always been our goal to recognize and honor the well-deserving senior student-athletes who represent their prestigious universities during the 2020-21 academic school year.
Nominations for the various Senior CLASS Award sports are beginning to open up and we wanted to take this opportunity to clarify how the award process will be conducted during this ever-changing time and address a frequently…
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We’re Honoring Seniors in 2020-21 - Just on a Revised Timeline
The Senior CLASS Award has proudly honored the nation’s top senior student-athletes for 18 years. We’ve presented awards to many amazing young stars, some of which have gone on to professional sports careers and others who have been just as successful pursuing other paths in life.
The award launched in 2002 with the inspiring story of Shane Battier, the urging of the late, great Dick Enberg and a group of executives who moved forward with the idea. It has grown immensely into…
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Parity for Players
Every young athlete dreams of lifting a trophy at the end of a championship game. It takes years of hard work, dedication, and determination to prepare themselves to have that opportunity. Only a few are able to fulfill that ultimate dream.
The NCAA has made the responsible and correct decision to cancel all remaining winter and spring championships. It was, and still is, unprecedented territory for all of us. They were left with no other choice, as the health and safety of everyone involved…
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2017-18 Senior CLASS Award Highlights
Another year. Another 10 outstanding student-athletes honored as Senior CLASS Award winners. We love it! From fall to spring, the 2017-18 academic year gave us some incredibly memorable winners. So, to recap this season, we’d like to recount three of our internal highlights from this Senior CLASS Award year. Take a look!
1. Okay, let’s be honest here. Football winner Shaquem Griffin had one of the most amazing stories in all of sports this year, and we were thrilled to be able to honor…
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Senior CLASS Award Year in Review
Every spring when the academic year comes to a close, we get a chance to look back on the “year that was” in the world of the Senior CLASS Award (SCA). It’s always inspiring to remember the student-athletes who were honored and recall what they’d done to deserve the honor.
This year was certainly one to remember for the SCA staff, as it featured several firsts in award history. We saw our first set of twins make it to the round of finalists when Minnesota volleyball stars Paige…
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Braud refuses to break under pressure
Picture this: You are a college student-athlete and you’ve just finished your freshman year at the University of Alabama. You’re on the softball team and finished the season as a huge offensive threat with a .505 batting average. But it doesn’t stop there. You’ve been named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year and named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American as a second baseman. You helped your team win the SEC Tournament championship and make it to the NCAA®…
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Arioto uses lessons learned from redshirt year to pay dividends as a senior
What a difference a year makes, especially for University of California senior Valerie Arioto, the winner of the 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
Last year, Arioto was at the WCWS, but she couldn’t play after suffering an injury in the spring of 2010 when she slid into second base, breaking a leg. She simply had to watch from the dugout.
“At first, it hit me hard and I was pretty upset,” said Arioto.”But as time went by and I realized how much support and help I had,… Continue Reading
