Feb. 27, 2013
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech senior outfielder and Atlanta native Brandon Thomas is one of 30 NCAA baseball student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award®, which were announced Wednesday by the organization.
Thomas’ Senior CLASS Award Profile
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.
Thomas is the only representative from the Atlantic Coast Conference among the 2013 candidates. Last year’s winner was James Ramsey from Florida State.
An outfielder for the Yellow Jackets, Thomas was a first-team All-ACC pick last season and a second-team Capital One Academic All-America after hitting .360 with 15 doubles, five triples, five homers, 44 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team and the NCAA All-Gainesville Regional Team. Thomas was drafted last season in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but elected to return to the Yellow Jackets for his senior season.
Academically, the senior holds a 3.50 cumulative grade point average as a business management major. He was presented Tech’s Faculty Honors in the Fall of 2009 and has made the Dean’s List in six different semesters.
Thomas has been just as active off the field, helping give back to his hometown of Atlanta in many ways. He has volunteered his time at a number of Atlanta charities including the Ronald McDonald House. He has been actively involved in LEAD, which is an Atlanta program designed to expand baseball in the inner city, and at the Matt Joyce baseball camps. Brandon has also served as a confirmation sponsor at Holy Spirit church. On campus, he has had involvement with Team Buzz.
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 2013 candidate class includes 15 candidates who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Five were named to the Capital One Academic All-American team, and four were All-Americans.
The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, 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 finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA College World Series® in Omaha June 15-26.
Baseball Candidates
Mark Appel, Stanford
Shane Basen, Charlotte
Blake Beemer, Ball State
Brandon Boudreaux, Tulane
Chase Brookshire, Belmont
Joe Burg, Hofstra
Chase Byerly, Butler
Nick Camastro, Manhattan
Boomer Collins, Dallas Baptist
Johnny Coy, Wichita State
LB Dantzler, South Carolina
Jordan Enos, Holy Cross
Michael Felton, Campbell
Nick Ferraresi, Columbia
Mitch Garver, New Mexico
Sean Hagan, St. John’s
Reed Harper, Austin Peay
Mike Le Bel, Rhode Island
Carlos Lopez, Cal State Fullerton
Jeff Melillo, Rutgers
Alex Mendez, South Florida
Austin Montgomery, Southern Illinois
Matt Pare, Boston
Colton Plaia, Loyola Marymount
Raph Rhymes, LSU
Chris Rowley, Army
John Sheridan, Brown John Straka, North Dakota State
Brandon Thomas, Georgia Tech
Greg Zebrack, Southern California
