Salcines Named Senior CLASS Award Candidate

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Senior relief pitcher AJ Salcines was among the thirty NCAA baseball student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate baseball, it was announced Wednesday.

Salcines, a biology major, has a 3.84 cumulative GPA and has been honored on the Provost’s Honor Roll (3.75 GPA) for five semesters, as well as Dean’s List (3.5 GPA), Athletic Director Honor Roll (3.2 GPA) and Book Buster’s Club (3.0 GPA) for all seven semesters of his academic career.

Salcines is a member of the University of Miami Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, and was named an Arthur Ashe Junior Scholar.

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.

Of the 30 candidates, 11 have cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or higher with three of those having a perfect 4.0 GPA. There are six CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-Americans and three Baseball America and Louisville Slugger All-Americans from last season. Five candidates play for teams currently ranked in the USA Today top 25 coaches poll.

The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular 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 2014 College World Series® in June.

To view the full release, click HERE.