OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Citadel men’s basketball player Zane Najdawi has been named one of 30 men’s basketball candidates for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award, it was announced Friday morning.
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. 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 men’s and women’s candidates will be narrowed to two fields of 10 finalists in February, 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 male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C’s of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men’s Final Four® and NCAA Women’s Final Four® this spring. For more information on each of the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
A senior forward from Midlothian, Virginia, Najdiaw brought a 3.393 cumulative grade-point average into the year as a sport management major, having earned two gold stars (Fall 2017, Spring 2018). A 2018-19 preseason All-SoCon selection, Najdawi was named to the 2017-18 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court and earned a SoCon Commissioner’s Medal for earning a 3.8 GPA or higher during the 2017-18 academic year. He is a two-time Southern Conference Honor Roll honoree (2016-17, 2017-18) and was named to the SoCon Academic All-Conference team in the spring of 2018.
Within the South Carolina Corps of Cadets, Najdawi holds the rank of cadet captain and is a member of the athletic cadre, helping incoming freshmen learn how to operate within the Corps. As a member of the men’s basketball team, Najdawi helped collect food and other items for Hurricane Florence relief earlier this year.
On the court, Najdawi became just the 27th player in SoCon history, and second player in program history, to eclipse the 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks marks for his career last season. He currently boasts 1,283 points, 552 rebounds and 154 blocks for his career. He ranks 12th in program history in points scored and rebounds collected and second in blocks. Last season, he was tabbed to the All-Southern Conference first team by both the coaches and media, becoming just the fourth player in program history to earn first-team plaudits from both groups. He was also named to the NABC All-District 22 first team and has earned SoCon Player of the Week honors four times in his career.
Over the summer, he trained with the Jordanian Men’s National Team.
This season, Najdawi is averaging 11 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. He has helped guide the Bulldogs to a 5-2 record heading into Saturday’s SoCon opener against Mercer. He is currently shooting 44 percent from the field and 81.6 percent from the free-throw line.
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 1 p.m. as they face Mercer inside McAlister Field House. The game is sponsored by Papa John’s and will be the second of three Toys for Tots Toy Drive games for the Bulldogs. Any fan who brings a new, unwrapped toy to the next two games (Dec. 1 vs. Mercer, Dec. 5 vs. Johnson & Wales) will be admitted for just $5.