Robinson Named a Candidate for 2016 Senior CLASS Award

HANOVER, N.H. — Thirty NCAA baseball student-athletes who excel both on and off the diamond were selected as candidates today for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award in college baseball, and Dartmouth right-handed pitcher Duncan Robinson was among those chosen. 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.

A native of Houston, Texas, Robinson was selected as the 2015 Ivy League Pitcher of the Year by the conference coaches, boasting a 6-2 record with a 2.62 ERA. He tied for the league lead in wins while ranking second in innings (65.1), third in strikeouts (52) and fifth in ERA. Against the other conference teams during the regular season, Robinson cut his ERA in half (1.31) while posting a stellar strikeout to walk ratio of 29-to-2. As a sophomore the year prior, he was named to the All-Ivy First Team as a reliever, tying for the league lead with seven victories while ranking ninth with a 2.96 ERA and a pair of saves over 54.2 innings. Entering this season, Robinson owned a 13-5 record and 2.96 ERA over 136.2 innings with 101 strikeouts while opponents have hit just .243 against him.

Robinson is a government major with a 3.31 grade-point average, earning Academic All-Ivy League honors last spring. The Dartmouth team co-captain has volunteered with the CHaD HERO Half Marathon — a fundraiser for the children's hospital in the Upper Valley — each of the last four years. In January, he served as a volunteer at the Upper Valley Special Olympics Winter Games as well. Robinson also volunteered last fall with the Big Green Readers, teaching and reading to elementary students at a local school.

“Duncan is a highly respected teammate, as the team demonstrated by voting him as a co-captain for the 2016 season,” said Dartmouth head coach Bob Whalen. “The best teams I have coached have had their best and most talented players be the hardest workers and lead not only in words but by example. Duncan truly personifies those traits.”

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.

The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in late April, 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 candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 College World Series in June.

This is the third consecutive year, and fourth in the past five, that Dartmouth has had a player among the 30 candidates. Robinson joins Joe Sclafani (2012), Jeff Keller (2014) and Nick Lombardi (2015) as the Big Green players to earn the honor, while Keller progressed as one of the 10 finalists two years ago. Robinson is also the only Ivy League player among the 30 candidates this year.

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