April 25, 2012

Overland Park, Kan. – University of South Carolina senior left-handed pitcher Michael Roth is one of 10 finalists selected as a finalist for the 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for baseball. 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.

Roth is the 2012 SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was recently the recipient of the President’s Award at the 2012 Gamecock Gala. Roth will earn a B.S. degree in International Business and Marketing in May. He currently is 4-0 on the year with a 2.84 ERA in 10 starts and has hurled 66.2 innings on the year. Opponents are batting just .194 against him.

Last season, Roth was 14-3 on the year with a 1.06 ERA and helped lead the Gamecocks to a national championship. Roth earned All-America honors and was also named to the College World Series All-Tournament team. He was a first-team Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American and a recipient of the NCAA Elite 88 Award, having the highest grade point average of all student-athletes participating in the College World Series last season.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe’s 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 finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in February. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to determine the winner.

Fans are encouraged to vote on the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award website through June 11. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I men’s head coaches’ votes to determine the winner.

Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award® winner during the 2012 NCAA College World Series®, which will be held June 15-26 in Omaha.

For more information on all the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

# # # #Baseball FinalistsTodd Hornsby, Pitcher, Jacksonville StateDavid Lyon, Catcher, Kent StateThomas McCarthy, Third Base, KentuckyAustin Nola, Shortstop, LSUPhil Pohl, Catcher/First Base/Outfield, ClemsonZach Price, Infield, ArmyJames Ramsey, Outfield, Florida StateMichael Roth, Pitcher/First Base, South CarolinaRoss Stripling, Pitcher, Texas A&MPreston Tucker, Infield/Outfield, Florida