Two Penn State basketball players, Tim Frazier (men’s) and Alex Bentley (women’s), were named as candidates for the 2012-2013 Senior CLASS Award, which honors NCAA Division-I athletes that have stayed in school for their senior year and have exhibited excellence in the following areas: community, classroom, character, and competition.

Frazier, a senior in the Smeal College of Business majoring in Supply Chain Management, has been named twice to the Academic All-Big Ten team. He is now in his second season as team captain and is the team’s representative on the Penn State Student Athlete Advisory Board. He is also an active member of the Athletic Director’s Leadership Institute. On the court, Frazier’s remarkable skills have earned him a spot on the Pre-Season All-Big Ten squad and a ranking as the 54th best player in all of college basketball by CBS Sports, who described him as “capable of starting at the 1 for all but maybe five teams in the country”. Off the court, Frazier is active in THON, the Special Olympics, and the Penn State Pink Zone.

Alex Bentley, a senior majoring in Broadcast Journalism, is also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. She is the Lady Lions’ floor general, and will serve as a team captain for the first time in her career this season. Bentley has excelled in her broadcast journalism career thus far, having interned with WPSU and the WNBA’s Indiana Fever. On the court, she has been recognized for her dominance with a place on this season’s Wade Watch List for the Nation’s best player. Off the court, Bentley is highly involved in the Penn State community, with involvement ranging from the United Way Day of Caring to volunteering in elementary schools to helping the Lady Lions raise money for breast cancer research through the Pink Zone.

CLASS — an acronym for “Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School” — selected a total of 60 candidates among Division-I men’s and women’s basketball players. Out of those 60, 10 men and 10 women will be chosen as finalists. Winners will be announced during the Final Four of the respective tournaments in April.