Sam Merrill

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State senior guard Sam Merrill is one of 30 men’s basketball players in the nation nominated for the Senior CLASS Award, as announced by the organization.

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.

The candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in February, and those 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 the candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C’s of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2020 NCAA Men’s Final Four

Merrill leads the Aggies in scoring this season with 17.7 points per game and is second on the team with 3.6 assists per game. Merrill recorded his first 30-point outing of the season in the Aggies’ last game at Boise State, scoring a game-high 30 points and adding three rebounds and three assists. Merrill is rapidly ascending several career records, becoming just the first player in school history to surpass 1,800 career points, 400 career assists and 100 career steals. Merrill is currently sixth in school history with 1,886 career points, third in school history with 417 career assists and ninth in school history with 114 career steals.

Merrill is one of four players from the state of Utah on the list, joining BYU’s Yoeli Childs, TJ Haws and Jake Toolson.

 

2020 Senior CLASS Award Nominees

Udoka Azubuike                University of Kansas 

Maik Kotsar                        University of South Carolina 

Keith Braxton                     Saint Francis University

Skylar Mays                        LSU 

Desure Buie                        Hofstra University

Anfernee McLemore       Auburn University 

Yoeli Childs                         BYU

Sam Merrill                        Utah State

Jordan Cohen                     Lehigh 

Emmanuel Nzekwesi       Oral Roberts University 

Kameron Edwards            Pepperdine 

Myles Powell                      Seton Hall University 

James Foye                         Dartmouth College 

Trevon Scott                       University of Cincinnati 

Harald Frey                         Montana State University 

Nate Sestina                       University of Kentucky

Byron Frohnen                  UTSA 

Ethan Stair                          Mercer 

Tommy Funk                      Army West Point 

Lamar Stevens                   Penn State

TJ Haws                                 BYU 

Jake Toolson                       BYU

Markus Howard                 Marquette University 

Breein Tyree                       Ole Miss 

Michael Jacobson             Iowa State University 

DJ Vasiljevic                        Miami

Justin Kier                            George Mason University

Charles Williams               Howard University

Nathan Knight                   William & Mary 

Cassius Winston                Michigan State University



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