Shirley a Candidate for 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 2018 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate baseball, and Dartmouth outfielder Dustin Shirley was among those listed. 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 Los Angeles, California, Shirley was named as one of the top 10 draft prospects in the Ivy League for 2018 by Baseball America. Boasting a .333 average and a 10-game hitting streak so far this season, Shirley is a career .274 hitter having played in 134 of the Big Green's 138 games during his stint in Hanover. After three years playing in the infield — primarily at second base — he has been shifted to the outfield to better fit the Dartmouth personnel. Shirley earned All-Ivy League honorable mention as a sophomore when he hit .301 and tied for the conference lead with five triples.

One of the two captains for the Big Green this spring, Shirley is a psychology major with a 3.72 GPA and has been named to the Athletics Director's Honor Roll each of his first three years. Last spring, he was named a finalist for the Dartmouth Scholar-Athlete Award while garnering Academic All-Ivy League honors. Shirley also serves as a volunteer coordinator for Dartmouth Feeding Neighbors, organizing volunteers to make deliveries of leftover food from the college dining halls to the Upper Valley Haven.

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 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 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 2018 College World Series in June.