February 21, 2013

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS – Thirty NCAA^® softball student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected as candidates yesterday for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award^® in collegiate softball, including Brown senior co-captain Stephanie Thompson (Chino, CA). 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.

A neuroscience concentrator, Thompson has maintained an impressive 3.39 GPA over the course of her time at Brown and, in 2012, she earned first team CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District honors as well as a spot on the 2012 Academic All-Ivy team. Additionally, Thompson has contributed to the community of Providence as well as to national causes that she has become passionate and connected to. She has also maintained a four-year relationship with the students at the Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, an inner-city school in Providence, as part of a department initiative to match the university's student-athletes with local children. From 2009 to 2011, Thompson was a member of the Community Health Advocacy Program, helping to create health-related lesson plans that she then taught to local pre-schoolers to expand their understanding and awareness. Finally, she has been a yearly organizer of Brown's Homeruns for Homeless, a partnership between the softball and baseball teams that was formed in 2010 and raises money for Judy's Kindness Kitchen, an organization that helps the homeless in Providence.

Recognized as one of the country's top hitters, Thompson led the nation with a .504 batting average in 2011, and ranked 12th in the country with a .558 on-base percentage. She led the Ivy League with 13 homeruns and was the top performer in nearly every offensive category for the Bears, earning her second-team All-Ivy honors and a selection to the 2011 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Region team. She was the 2012 Ivy League Co-Player of the Year and a first-team All Ivy selection, compiling a.477 batting average, which ranked second in Division I softball. She also led the Bears in hits (51), runs (27), home runs (9), RBI (27) and total bases (90). Thompson also ranked third in the country as toughest to strike out, as it happened only twice in 2012. In just three years, Thompson ranks second in the Brown record book for career home runs (24), second in career batting average (.438), fourth in runs scored (91), third in hits (156), second in doubles (37) and fourth in RBI (82). She was also selected as the Ivy League Player of the week twice during the 2012 season and earned first team All-Northeast Region honors.

The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 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 finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Women's College World Series^® in Oklahoma City May 30 through June 5.

For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

Softball Candidates

Emily Allard, Northwestern

Brooke Andresen, Loyola (Chicago)

Nikki Armagost, Pacific

Jennifer Barnett, Northern Illinois

B.B. Bates, UCLA

Kayla Braud, Alabama

Amy Buntin, Notre Dame

Allie Cashion, Appalachian State

Raven Chavanne, Tennessee

Kelly Coker, Rhode Island

Kara Dill, Kentucky

Kara Dornbos, Central Michigan

Rachele Fico, LSU

Olivia Galati, Hofstra

Mikkel Griffin, Southern Utah

Jolene Henderson, California

Kelsey Horton, Florida

Maggie Hull, Kansas

Shannon Jones, Siena

Courtney Liddle, Virginia Tech

Blaire Luna, Texas

Kelly Majam, Hawai'i

Jenna Marston, Missouri

Jennifer Ong, Yale

Jenna Rich, Stanford

Keilani Ricketts, Oklahoma

Emily Roesch, Boston

Jessica Shults, Oklahoma

Stephanie Thompson, Brown

Brianna Turang, Oklahoma