CHICAGO (February 6, 2019) – Clayton Custer (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest/Iowa State), a redshirt senior guard on the Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team, has been selected as a finalist for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award it was announced today. To be eligible for the award, student-athlete must be classified as NCAA Division I seniors and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
Joining Custer as finalists for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award are Mike Daum (South Dakota State), Jon Elmore (Marshall), Ethan Happ (Wisconsin), Luke Maye (North Carolina), Drew McDonald (Northern Kentucky), Josh Perkins (Gonzaga), Reid Travis (Kentucky), Dylan Windler (Belmont) and Dustin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra).
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 athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Last season, Custer was an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America selection and was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, helping lead Loyola to a magical run to the Final Four in the program's first NCAA tournament appearance since 1985. This season, the 6-foot-1 point guard is averaging 12.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game for the Ramblers, who sit atop the MVC standings.
Off the court, Custer was named CoSIDA Academic All-District V last year, is a two-time MVC First Team Scholar-Athlete honoree, and also has twice been selected to the Division I-AAA Scholar-Athlete Team. Last spring he was tabbed Kansas City Sports Commission Co-Sportsman of the Year and also received the MVC State Farm Good Neighbor Award.
The Senior CLASS Award finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates announced earlier in the season. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the
Senior CLASS Award website through March 25. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winners. The Senior CLASS Award recipients will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Final Four.
