van der Mars named Senior CLASS Award Candidate

Thomas van der Mars named Senior CLASS Award Candidate

On the Web:  http://www.portlandpilots.com/news/2015/1/23/MBB_0123151112.aspx

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – University of Portland basketball senior Thomas van der Mars has been named one of 30 national candidates for the 2014-15 Senior CLASS Award which recognizes student-athletes who excel both on and off the court. 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 complete list of candidates follows this release.

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 men’s basketball candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in 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 2015 NCAA Men’s Final Four.

Van der Mars earned his undergraduate degree in operations and technology management from the Pamplin School of Business last spring with a 3.95 cumulative grade-point average. He will get his MBA this spring and has a 4.0 graduate school grade-point average so far. Last season he became the second Portland men’s basketball Academic All-American and will look to become the first multi-year Academic All-American this season.

On the court, van der Mars is averaging 10.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this year. He ranks second in school history with 95 career blocked shots, is fourth in career field goal percentage (.562), fifth in career starts (107) and ninth in rebounds (723).

Van der Mars is the first Portland basketball player to be named a candidate for the award which was established for men’s and women’s basketball players in 2002 and then expanded to other sports in 2007. Five Pilot women’s soccer players have been finalists for the award with Stephanie Lopez winning the category in 2007.

For more information on each of the candidates, visit www.seniorCLASSaward.com.

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Men's Basketball Candidates
Alex Barlow, Butler
Reece Chamberlain, Belmont
Corey Petros, Oakland
Ishaq Pitt, U. of Maryland – Eastern Shore
Michael Cobbins, Oklahoma State
Normal Powell, UCLA
Pat Connaughton, Notre Dame
Chasson Randle, Stanford
Justin Gant, Indiana State
Levi Randolph, Alabama
Seth Gearhart, Rice
Josh Richardson, Tennessee
Jordan Green, Texas A&M
Luke Roh, Colgate
Ryann Green, Georgia State
Corey Schaefer, Lehigh
D’Angelo Harrison, St. John’s
John Schoof, American
Tyler Haws, Brigham Young
Matt Stainbrook, Xavier
Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin
Juwan Staten, West Virginia
Ashton Moore, The Citadel
Matt Townsend, Yale
Khufu Najee, IUPUI
Thomas van der Mars, Portland
D.J. Newbill, Penn State
Cameron Wright, Pittsburgh
Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga
Max Yon, Air Force