Three Big 12 standouts - Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence of West Virginia and Oklahoma State’s Courtney Dike – are among the 10 finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award. The three Big 12 student-athletes on the list were the most of any conference in the nation.
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. 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.
A native of Brampton, Ontario, Buchanan is a three-time NSCAA All-American and a two-time first team honoree. She is the four-time reigning Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Under her leadership, the WVU backline has allowed just 56 opponent goals since 2013.
The WVU defense denied a Big 12 opponent a goal in regular-season play this year, becoming the first program in conference history to post a shutout season in league play. The Mountaineers show 12 clean sheets on the year and have allowed just six opponent goals, the second-fewest allowed nationally.
A three-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree, Buchanan, a multidisciplinary studies major, also has been named the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, the Dean’s List and the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll.
A Toronto native, Lawrence earned NSCAA All-America First Team honors in 2015 and has been named to the All-Region First Team each year since 2013. A four-time All-Big 12 honoree, she now ranks No. 3 on WVU’s all-time career assist list with 26. The 26 assists rank No. 10 on the NCAA active career leaders list. Additionally, Lawrence’s 0.30 assists/game career average ranks No. 22 on the NCAA career leaders list.
Buchanan and Lawrence are active in the Morgantown community and in their hometowns. At WVU, they help raise funds for breast cancer research through the program’s annual 4v4 Tournament and individual fundraising. They also have participated in activities with Stepping Stones and have volunteers at WVU women’s soccer camps and youth clinics. When training with the national team in all parts of Canada, the duo volunteers with local soccer clubs, speaking to and coaching youth soccer players.
Dike is the fourth finalist for the award in OSU program history, joining Yolanda Odenyo (2008), Krista Lopez (2011) and AD Franch (2012).
A native of Edmond, Okla., Dike is in the final season of a standout career at OSU where she has excelled on and off the field.
In the classroom, she carries a 3.84 grade point average and will graduate with honors in May 2017. She is working concurrently on bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting while also minoring in Spanish. A three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection, she has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll six times, while she has been on the OSU's Dean's Honor Roll five times and the OSU President's Honor Roll three times. She is a three-time OSU Academic Achievement Award winner and is also the co-founder of the Business Honors College Club at OSU.
On the field, Dike is a two-year captain for the Cowgirls who ranks in the top five on OSU's career lists in goals (30), assists (21), points (81) and shots (198). Named the 2016 Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year and an All-Big 12 First Team forward, she leads the conference with 25 points and nine goals and is second with seven assists.
Dike is one of only four players in OSU history to achieve all-conference status four times in a career, and she is also a two-time NSCAA All-Central Region performer.
Last year, Dike became the first native Oklahoman to play in the Women's World Cup when she earned two caps for Nigeria at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, and she also starred for Nigeria at the 2014 Under-20 Women's World Cup, leading the team to a runner-up finish.
Also heavily involved in the Stillwater and Edmond communities, Dike works with the Oklahoma City Boys & Girls Club and has been involved in the Litter Blitz Trash Pickup. She is a long-time participant in annual Thanksgiving food drives and dinner events, and she also volunteers time with The Salvation Army's Angel Tree program and the Holiday Heroes Christmas Event. On the OSU campus, Dike actively participates in the Orange and Black Gives Back program, a community service organization made up of OSU student-athletes. She recently participated in a bird release program with OSU's Avian Exotic and Zoological Service.
The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 men’s candidates and 30 women’s candidates announced in September. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner and fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website (http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/womens_soccer_2016/) through November 21. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Cup® championships in December.
Senior CLASS Award Finalists
Kadeisha Buchanan, West Virginia
Courtney Dike, Oklahoma State
Christina Gibbons, Duke
Savannah Jordan, Florida
Serina Kashimoto, Butler
Simone Kolander, Minnesota
Rose Lavelle, Wisconsin
Ashley Lawrence, West Virginia
Casie Ramsier, Auburn
Tabitha Tindell, Florida Gulf Coast