OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Sixty NCAA men's and women's basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court were tabbed as candidates today for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and Bradley University is one of just five institutions to be represented in both gender categories. Bradley men's basketball guard Dodie Dunson (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington H.S.) and women's basketball forward Jenny Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia H.S.) are among the 30 candidates in their respective genders being considered for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
The other four schools with candidates in both genders are California, Duke, Michigan State and New Mexico.
Van Kirk gives Bradley a women's basketball candidate for the second straight year, following former teammate Kelly Krumwiede in 2008-09, while Dunson becomes the Bradley men's basketball program's first-ever candidate for the national award. The two basketball Braves also become the fifth and sixth Bradley student-athletes to be considered for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the last three years, following soccer's Todd Reedy in 2007, baseball's Eitan Barbalat in 2008 and Grant Escue in 2009 and Krumwiede. While neither Reedy nor Krumwiede advanced to the 10-person finalist pools in their respective sports, both Barbalat and Escue made the first cut in the baseball category and were tabbed Lowe's Senior CLASS All-Americans.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as a NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in SchoolTM, 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.
Dunson, who began his college career at Iowa State in 2006-07 and made a stop at Vincennes University in 2007-08 before transferring to Bradley, is in his second year with the Braves. After struggling in the classroom during his first summer on the Bradley campus in 2008, he was diagnosed with a severe form of dyslexia. Dunson has not allowed the learning disability to hinder his academic career, however, and he has overcome the disorder by dedicating himself to his studies. He meets daily with a learning specialist and routinely visits the basketball team's study center for extra study sessions. The additional work has paid off: after earning a 3.5 semester grade point average to earn a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll during his first semester on The Hilltop in the fall of 2008, Dunson followed by posting a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2009 Spring semester. Majoring in social work, Dunson now boasts a 3.30 cumulative grade point average at Bradley.
Known for his infectious, outgoing personality, Dunson was selected a Bradley co-captain in a team vote last fall before having ever played a game for the Braves. He went on to excel on the court in his first season at Bradley, finishing third on the 2008-09 squad by averaging 10.1 points per game. His scoring average was hampered by a broken bone in his shooting hand suffered Feb. 21 at Loyola-Chicago. Dunson missed only one game due to the injury and played with a heavy wrap on his hand throughout the postseason while helping the Braves (21-15) reach the championship game of the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
Enrolled in Bradley's Individualized Major Program with plans to attend medical school, Van Kirk boasts a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average and has been named Bradley's Carl Grose Service Award winner each of the last two years, while also earning the Missouri Valley Conference/State Farm Good Neighbor Award in 2009. She was a National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics I-AAA Scholar All-American and a second-team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V selection last year. Van Kirk also was a second-team Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete and named the Bradley Scholar-Athlete of the Week three times during the 2008-09 season.
A two-year co-captain, Van Kirk has started 42 games during the last two seasons and has been described by her coaches as the glue for the Bradley Women's Basketball team. She averaged 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while helping Bradley to a program-record 21 victories in 2008-09, and she was one of only three players on the Bradley roster with more assists (55) than turnovers (38).
Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS AwardTM winner for men's basketball at the 2010 NCAA Men's Final Four® in Indianapolis in April and for women's basketball at the 2010 NCAA Women's Final Four® in San Antonio in April. The two lists of 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists each 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 finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character, community and competition.
For more information on the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, visit http://www.seniorCLASSaward.com. The bios for the 60 men's and women's basketball candidates soon will be posted to the site.
