Alex Poythress a Candidate for Senior CLASS Award

Kentucky Wildcats senior forward Alex Poythress has been named one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.

Poythress becomes the first Cat to be nominated for this award since Darius Miller in 2012. Alex is also the only player from the SEC among the 30 candidates.

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 positive impact as leaders in their communities. To earn eligibility for this 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.

Now in his final season in Lexington, Poythress has appeared in all 17 games and is averaging 9.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game for the 13-4 Wildcats. This, after suffering a torn ACL early in his junior season that took him over a year to fully recover from.

Poythress recently became just the 43rd player in UK history to register 800 career points and 500 career rebounds. But what makes Alex stand out and why he's part of the CLASS Award candidates is his work in the classroom and in the community. He graduated in just three years with a degree in Business Marketing and earned a 3.517 GPA while appearing on the SEC Academic Honor Roll during every year of college. He's now pursuing a master's of science in kinesiology and health promotion with an emphasis on sport leadership.

Outside of UK, Poythress has worked with God's Pantry Food Drive and Samaritan's Feet while volunteering at local children's hospitals and local elementary schools. He's also been involved in a Hurricane Sandy telethon, a clothing drive for the needy, various meet-and-greets during the holidays, as well as a presence at the annual pizza delivery during Big Blue Madness campouts. Furthermore, Poythress is a mainstay within the UK Basketball camps throughout the summer serving as a camp counselor for kids of all ages as well as for the John Calipari Fantasy Camp.

The 30 candidates for the CLASS Award will be cut to 10 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 who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.