OVERLAND PARK, Kan -- Saint Mary's senior guard Matthew Dellavedova is among 30 NCAA® men's basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court and were selected as candidates for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate basketball.

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. The complete list of candidates follows this release.

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 2012-13 candidate class includes seven men's players who were recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America as 2012 Capital One Academic All-Americans, including Dellavedova. Five of the nominees  were Associated Press All-Americans. Twenty men's candidates have cumulative grade point averages above 3.0. The men's Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Final Four® in Atlanta April 6 and 8.

The candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 men's and 10 women's finalists midway through the regular season, 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 one men's finalist and one women's finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. 


Dellavedova and the Gaels open the 2012-13 season on Saturday, Nov. 10 at home against Sonoma State. 

Season tickets, as well as advance sales to the Gaels' non-conference games, are currently available by visiting the tickets link on SMCGaels.com or by calling the SMC Athletic Ticket Office at (925) 631-GoTx (4689).