Courtest Vermont Athletic Communications
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Jim Chapman (Bourne, Mass.) of the University of Vermont baseball team has been named a candidate for the 2007 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Lowe’s announced the 30 candidates for its baseball award Monday.
Candidates are selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete such as personal character and achievements in the classroom and community, and on-the-field performance. This is the first year that Lowe’s will honor a baseball player with its award that began in 2001 when it honored a senior men’s basketball student-athlete.
The list of nominees represents 29 NCAA Division I schools from 19 different conferences. Chapman is the lone candidate from America East and the only selected from a New England school. He is the second UVM student-athlete to be a candidate for a Senior CLASS Award joining former Catamount standout Taylor Coppenrath ’05, who was the national runner-up in men’s basketball in 2005.
A national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in May. Those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote beginning May 9 and concluding June 6. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of the award. The award winner and the college baseball All-Senior All-America Team will be announced this June during the 2007 NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
A team captain for the second straight season, Chapman has been a four-year starter in the Catamounts infield playing shortstop the last two years. In the first 26 games this season he has played every inning and is hitting .303 with 1 homer and 16 RBI. He is on pace to finish his career ranked among the UVM all-time leaders in games played, hits, at bats and runs scored.
A business administration major, Chapman has been named to the America East Academic Honor Roll in each of his first three seasons. Last year he was an integral part in UVM’s America East Regular Season Championship and was named to the 2006 America East Baseball All-Academic Team. Involved in several of the baseball team’s community service activities, Chapman also has served as a youth baseball coach. Following graduation, he will pursue his MBA at UVM.
Vermont (10-16, 1-2 America East) hosts Hartford in a four-game series this weekend, Friday through Sunday, at Centennial Field. Admission is free to all UVM regular season home baseball games.