Baseball's McArthur Named To Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidate Class
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 | Baseball
University of Florida senior Brandon McArthur (Seffner, Fla.) was recently named as one of 30 NCAA baseball student-athletes who are candidates for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. 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: Classroom, Character, Community and Competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact on their circle of influence.
The starting first baseman for the Gators who is hitting .295 with a team-high 17 RBI, McArthur received a President's Volunteer Service Award from President George W. Bush's Council on Service and Participation in November. The award recognized his contributions to the Gainesville community and demonstrating values that "make our nation strong in helping to build a culture of citizenship, service and responsibility in America."
McArthur constantly lends his time and support to a variety of charitable causes. He was named to the 2008 SEC Baseball Community Service Team that highlights an athlete from each school who gives back to his community in superior service efforts and is also a four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
McArthur has been a representative on Florida's Student-Athlete Committee (SAC) and is a frequent speaker at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes' meetings. He often visits the pediatric care unit at Shands Hospital (where he was a patient recovering from his life-threatening injuries) and has participated in wheel-chair basketball with Special Olympians. McArthur spoke at "Youth Quake," an organization that provides alternative Christian entertainment that confronts issues relevant to today's teenagers and has given speeches at Gainesville middle schools about the importance of doing well in school. In addition, he is a member of the Big Brothers' organization in which he often brings little kids to practice and brightens their day by having them around the Gator baseball players.
This marks the third year for the baseball division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Rice University pitcher Cole St. Clair received the title of “Nation's Premier Senior Student-Athlete” for the 2008 season and University of Alabama infielder Emeel Salem took home the inaugural baseball award in 2007.
These 30 student-athletes will be narrowed down to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot. The ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select the candidate that best exemplifies excellence in the “Four C's” of Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition.
The 2009 candidate class has representatives from 30 different NCAA Division I schools, each of which has outstanding accomplishments on and off the field. The award winner will be announced and recognized at Omaha's Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium during the 2009 NCAA Men's College World Series.
2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Baseball Candidates
| Name | Position | School |
| Chris Auten | First Base | New Mexico State |
| Scott Bittle | Pitcher | Ole Miss |
| Andrew Carraway | Pitcher | Virginia |
| Louis Coleman | Pitcher | LSU |
| Brian Cloud | Pitcher | Texas Tech |
| Clinton Cox | Pitcher | New Mexico |
| Steven Daniels | Outfield | Brown |
| Chris Drechsel | Catcher | Wagner |
| Brandon Eller | Infield | Arkansas State |
| Grant Escue | First Base/Outfield | Bradley |
| Nick Faunce | Outfield | Kansas |
| Nate Freiman | First Base/Catcher | Duke |
| Nick Gaudi | Pitcher | Pepperdine |
| Jason Haniger | Catcher | Georgia Tech |
| Chris Hervey | Outfield | Indiana |
| Trevor Holder | Pitcher | Georgia |
| Drew Johnson | Outfield | San Francisco |
| Tyler Love | Infield | Maryland Eastern Shore |
| Brandon McArthur | Infield | FLORIDA |
| Brian Morrell | Pitcher | Eastern Illinois |
| Matt Nohelty | Outfield | Minnesota |
| James Oliver | Pitcher | UAB |
| Ben Orloff | Shortstop | UC Irvine |
| Kyle Rhoad | Outfield | Eastern Michigan |
| Michael Rockett | Outfield | Texas-San Antonio |
| Joe Serafin | Pitcher | Vermont |
| Nick Sullivan | Outfield | Nebraska |
| Kyle Thebeau | Pitcher | Texas A&M |
| Adam Warren | Pitcher | North Carolina |
| Matt Williams | Catcher | Duke |
-UF-
