Hield Named Senior CLASS Award Finalist

NORMAN, Okla. – Oklahoma senior guard Buddy Hield was one of 10 NCAA men's basketball student-athletes selected as finalists for the 2015-16 Senior CLASS Award, it was announced Thursday. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be classified as NCAA Division I seniors and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of finalists 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 athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

In 2015, Hield was named to the Big 12 first-team All-Academic squad. The Bahamas native has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll three times, named a Sooner Scholar on five occasions and became the first player in Big 12 history (19 years) to earn first-team all-academic honors, be named player of the year and lead the league in scoring.

In the community, Hield is a staple at local elementary schools, interacting with children through reading circles as well as math, science and computer lab activities.

On the court this season, Hield is averaging 25.2 points (second in the nation), 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.6 minutes per game. He's currently sixth on OU's all-time scoring chart and is just three points away from hitting 2,000 in his Sooner career.

The finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 men's candidates announced in January. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website through March 21. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winners. The Senior CLASS Award recipients will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Men's Final Four®.

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

MEN'S BASKETBALL FINALISTS

Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Perry Ellis, Kansas
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
Georges Niang, Iowa State
Marcus Paige, North Carolina
Justin Sears, Yale
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
Fred VanVleet, Wichita State
Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga