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March 10, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. -- OU senior Jarod Freeman was announced as one of 30 candidates for the 2008 Lowe's Senior Class Award for baseball on Tuesday.  Freeman's nomination marks the second consecutive year that a Sooner has appeared on the list.  In 2007, Aaron Ivey was a finalist for the award.

Presented annually to NCAA® Division I student-athletes in eight sports, the award focuses on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched in 2001 to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who fulfill their entire athletic eligibility and pursue their degree. Since that time, Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA®, has expanded the award to include other NCAA sports including baseball.

Freeman Bio and Stats | Lowe's Candidate List (PDF)

This marks the second year for the baseball division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. University of Alabama infielder Emeel Salem was the inaugural winner in 2007.

Freeman is hitting .500 this season after played in seven games with three starts.  The Oklahoma City native is highly active in the community service efforts with the OU baseball team and was named to the All-Big 12 Academic second team in 2007.  Freeman is a three-year letterwinner and has started at four different positions throughout his Sooner career (third base, first base, pitcher and designated hitter).

From the list of 30 nominees (complete list attached), a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in mid-April 2008. Those ten names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote that will include coaches, media and fans. The award winner will be announced and recognized at the 2008 NCAA® Men's College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

"With the landscape of baseball over the years, these collegiate seniors deserve to be honored for staying in school, being a leader on their team, working towards their degree and making an impact in their local community," said Bob Gfeller, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing and advertising. "These 30 baseball candidates are tremendous collegiate student-athletes in every sense of the word."