Bradley University Athletics

Brackmann Named Senior CLASS Award Finalist

Duane Zehr

Women's Basketball 2/5/2020 3:00:00 PM

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Originally one of 30 national candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, Bradley Women's Basketball senior forward Chelsea Brackmann (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower) has been named of 10 finalists for the annual award announced Wednesday.

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.

The finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 candidates announced earlier in the season. 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 23. 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 2020 NCAA Women's Final Four®.

One of four Bradley Women's Basketball players named as a candidate for the award, Brackmann is the first in program history to be selected as a finalist. In fact, she is the first women's basketball finalist from the Missouri Valley Conference since 2016-17 (Drake's Lizzy Wendell). In addition, she is the fifth finalist for the honor from Bradley in any sport, joining Bobby Smith (men's soccer - 2011), Dodie Dunson (men's basketball - 2010-11), Grant Escue (baseball - 2009) and Eitan Barbalat (baseball - 2008).

Currently second in the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding at 8.4 boards per game, Brackmann is scoring 9.6 points per outing this year. She broke Bradley's career rebounding record last month and is currently 19th in Missouri Valley Conference history in career rebounding. Brackmann passed Bradley Head Coach Andrea Gorski on the school's all-time scoring list last weekend and is six points from becoming the 20th player in program history score 1,000 career points.

A health science major with a 3.57 cumulative grade point average, Brackmann was a First-Team All-MVC selection last year after leading the Valley in rebounding and breaking the Bradley single-season record with 327 boards. She was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in August 2018 prior to her record-breaking season in which she collected a MVC best 16 double-doubles.

This season, she helped Bradley to its first 7-0 start to MVC play in program history and the Braves are currently tied for second in the league standings at 7-2 at the halfway point of the league schedule. Brackmann also helped the Braves to a 16-2 overall start to the year for the team's best record through 18 games in program history with Bradley posting two win streaks of seven games or better in the same season for the first time in school history.

Overall, Bradley owns a school-record 15-game home win streak dating back to last season, which is tied for the seventh longest active streak in the nation.

Brackmann and the Braves return to action Friday, closing out a three-game road swing at I-74 rival Illinois State.

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