McCaskill and Pyle Named Candidates For Senior Class Award

Sept. 22, 2017

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – South Carolina’s William Pyle and Savannah McCaskill have been selected as candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate soccer. 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.

Thirty men and 30 women have been identified for the annual honor. Each of the two candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through 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 male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Cup® championships in December.

McCaskill, a striker from Chapin, S.C., recently reached 100 points for her career in Carolina’s 1-0 victory over No. 4 Clemson earlier this month. The senior and 2016 SEC Offensive Player of the Year ranks third in program history in goals (36), and her 14 game-winners are good for the second-best mark all-time. McCaskill has also excelled in the classroom, earning a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in each of her first three years. In the community, she has spent time with local YMCA youth teams and visited multiple hospitals around the Columbia area.

Pyle, a three-year starter in the net from Charlotte, N.C., has been instrumental in back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances by the Gamecocks the past two seasons. In 2016, he became the first goalie in program history since All-American Charlie Arndt (1987-88) to post back-to-back seasons with a goals against average below one. Pyle recently posted his 11th career shutout in Carolina’s 1-0 win over No. 13 Furman on Tuesday night. He’s been a model student earning spots on the C-USA and SEC Academic Honor Rolls the past two years. Last season, Pyle was named CoSida Academic All-District 4. He helped Gamecock men’s soccer to the highest team GPA in C-USA in 2016 and the team has earned NSCAA Team Academic Awards every year Pyle has been in Columbia. He’s also been very involved in the community, working with Street Soccer USA, Habitat for Humanity, Harvest Hope Food Bank and serving as a counselor and mentor at various youth camps and clinics in Columbia and his hometown.

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.

Each of the 60 candidates has displayed a strong work ethic in the classroom and on the pitch with 30 having grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher and 12 being returning All-Americans. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates also have been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.

CLICK HERE for a full list of nominees.