OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Samford catcher Richard Greene cemented his place among the nation’s elite student-athletes Monday as the Bulldogs’ senior baseball player was selected as a national candidate for the prestigious 2016 Senior CLASS Award, which is awarded annually to the person who best exemplifies what it means to excel both on and off the field.
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.
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 2016 College World Series® in June.
Greene, the Bulldogs’ senior native of Birmingham, Alabama, routinely volunteers his free time working with a number of local charities.
In addition to majoring in finance in Samford’s nationally renowned Brock School of Business, Greene volunteers with Samaritans Feet and the Exceptional Foundation and created the Samford athlete mentor program with Cornerstone Schools, where he also spent time working with Cornerstone Elementary. Additionally, Greene fundraised for St. Baldrick’s Cancer Research.
National accolades have continued to roll in for Samford’s Greene this season. Just last week, the Bulldogs’ Preseason All-Southern Conference honoree was named to the Watch List for the 2016 Johnny Bench Award, it was announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.
A Preseason All-SoCon selection, Greene was also honored as a second-team All-SoCon performer by the media in 2016 and started 55 games at catcher for the Bulldogs. He closed out the season with a solid .322 batting average and accumulated 66 hits, 50 runs batted in, 33 runs scored, 11 home runs and seven doubles.
Greene also threw out 19 baserunners over the course of the season and limited opponents to a 74.3 steal percentage.
Greene and the Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Montgomery, Alabama, for a midweek matchup against the Alabama State Hornets. The in-state contest is scheduled to be held at Alabama State’s Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.