Josh Nethaway Named Candidate For Senior CLASS Award
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Thirty NCAA® baseball student-athletes who excel both on and off the diamond were selected as candidates for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate baseball, and University at Albany standout Josh Nethaway has been recognized as a member of that group.
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. 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.
Nethaway embodies all four platforms, as portrayed in his profile below.
Classroom
A dual major in Accounting and Rhetoric & Communication, as well as a Business minor, Josh boasts a 3.20 cumulative GPA. With some of the best grades on the team and a heavy course load, Josh steered the squad to the highest collective GPA in Division I program history last spring. He also was named to the America East All-Academic Team in 2012 and has been consistently been named to UAlbany’s Athletics Honor Roll.
Character
Josh, a two-year captain for the Great Danes, embodies everything UAlbany looks for in a student-athlete and epitomizes the role. Josh exhibits great sportsmanship, leads by example, and is an outstanding role model for his teammates on and off the field. Across campus, Josh is highly regarded as a great individual. Josh rehabilitated from a season-ending injury in his freshman campaign to have a standout career, showing admirable determination and perseverance.
Community
Josh is actively involved in UAlbany’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and has led the team in a number of community service projects. Projects include… annually raising money to help the American Cancer Society and participating in the Breast Cancer Awareness walk, organizing canned food drives to benefit local communities, as well as partaking in the Adopt-a-Family Program through the Albany County Department for Children, Youth and Families, assisting families in need during the holiday season.
Competition
A .306 career hitter, Josh has been a mainstay in UAlbany’s lineup throughout his career, playing in 157 games so far. In 2013, Josh was named a first-team All-America East outfielder, earned America East Player of the Week accolades twice, and was named the team’s MVP. Starting all 49 games, Josh batted a team-best .310 with 57 hits, 26 runs, and 35 RBI. He also led the squad with a .451 slugging percentage, 17 doubles and three home runs. His numbers were even better in conference play, batting .331, as he led the Great Danes to their fifth straight appearance in the America East Tournament.
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.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
