Softball's Nelson Selected as Finalist for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Monday, March 30, 2009 | Softball
University of Florida's Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.) was named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for softball. Nationwide balloting begins immediately to determine the third annual winner, who will receive the award during the NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The CLASS Award stands 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.
The finalists were chosen from a list of 30 candidates. 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.
Fan balloting, available on the award's official website www.seniorclassaward.com, will be combined with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the winner.
Nelson is a two-time All-American who has earned numerous athletic and academic accolades. Not only has she been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's (NFCA) All-Southeast Region first team twice, but she was the 2008 Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year for a 21-1 conference record.
The righty earned Preseason All-SEC accolades before the start of the 2009 season and she has already been named SEC Pitcher of the Week twice. She pitched her first career no-hitter in a 4-1 victory over Ole Miss on March 15. She currently leads the SEC in ERA (0.46) and wins (18) and is second for opponent batting average (.162).
Nelson currently holds seven Florida career pitching records and 13 single-season records. She is currently 21st in the NCAA record books for her 113 career victories. She is also the only pitcher in school history to rank in the top 20 for career fielding percentage (.968) and she threw a school-record 46.2 shutout innings during the historic 2008 70-win season.
In 2008, Stacey earned ESPN The Magazine First-Team Academic All-America honors, becoming the first UF softball player to be named to the first team. She was also the first in program history to be honored with both All-America and Academic All-America accolades in the same season. The philosophy major has also been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll twice and upon graduation, she aspires to work toward becoming an advocate for child soldiers in Africa.
A representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Nelson was a co-chairman of Climb for Cancer, which gives children with cancer a chance to play sports with UF student-athletes. She also has spent time at various elementary schools in the Gainesville area, reading to children and being a mentor. As a member of the softball team, she helped build a home for a local family through Habitat for Humanity and has spent the last four holiday seasons delivery sneakers to children through the UAA's Gator Tracks program.
| 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Finalists | |
| Whitney Haller | Georgia Tech |
| Lillian Hammond | Tennessee |
| Janae Leles | Arizona |
| Jessica Mapes | Arizona State |
| Stacey Nelson | Florida |
| Amber Patton | DePaul |
| Missy Penna | Stanford |
| Samantha Ricketts | Oklahoma |
| Brittany Rogers | Alabama |
| Tammy Williams | Northwestern |
