March 5, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -
For her excellence in the classroom and on the softball field, Illinois State senior softball player Tiffany Prager was selected as a candidate for the softball division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award as the nation's outstanding senior student-athlete in NCAA Division I softball, the award's selection committee announced Wednesday. Prager was one of 30 of the nation's best collegiate softball players to be honored as a candidate, and the only Missouri Valley Conference player represented on the 30-member candidate list.
The award, presented annually to NCAA Division I student-athletes in eight sports, focuses on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition.
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ILLINOIS STATE SOFTBALL |
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"Tiffany is a tremendous leader, both on-and-off the field," Illinois State head softball coach Melinda Fischer said. "She is the epitome of a student-athlete; she does what you need her to do. Tiffany has high expectations and goals for both herself and her teammates, and she figures out a plan to achieve those goals. She is a great role model for younger players in our program and one of very few athletes that I've coached who leaves everything on the field. She feels that competition is an opportunity and a privilege, which is everything that you could ask for in a student-athlete."
A highly respected student-athlete at Illinois State, Prager has been selected as the Redbird softball team captain for two-straight seasons. In the classroom, the Bloomington, Ill., native carries a 3.64 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) in business administration. She was an ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District V First-Team selection in both 2006 and 2007, and was named to the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team.
"I had the goal of graduating in four years when I started at Illinois State as a freshman in the fall of 2004," Prager said. "In 2007, I took eight hours over a six-week period in the summer in order to stay on track with my degree and graduate this May (2008). I hold myself to a higher standard because that was how I was raised. Getting my degree is something that is going to take me where I want to go in the future."
Prager has excelled on an equal level on the softball field, as she currently ranks No. 17 all-time in the Illinois State softball career record books for fielding percentage (.980). She led the Missouri Valley Conference in doubles in 2007 with 16, while she ranked seventh in the nation in sacrifice hits per game (0.42). A 2007 preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference Team selection, Prager has complimented her Redbird softball achievements with selections to both the 2006 All-Valley Second Team and the 2006 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference All-Tournament Softball Team.
In the community, Prager has volunteered for several worthwhile causes, including the Breakfast for the `Birds, the Redbird softball program's Community Cleanup effort and as a volunteer coach during the Illinois State softball team's annual hitting and pitching clinics for local youth players.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: classroom, community, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards that a senior season can bring. A national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in late March, and then a nationwide vote of coaches, media and fans will select the final award recipient at the 2008 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City in late May.
