Dec. 4, 2007

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State All-American Jaycee Carroll has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2007-08 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year, it was announced on Tuesday.

Carroll, a 6-2 senior guard from Evanston, Wyo., is the only player from the state of Utah to be selected for this award and one of just two candidates from the Western Athletic Conference, joining Boise State's Matt Nelson.

Prior to the 2007-08 season, Carroll was voted as the WAC's preseason Player of the Year by both the coaches and media, and was listed as one of the top-15 seniors in the nation by SportsIllustrated.com and a first-team high-major All-American by Collegehoops.net. He was also named as one of 50 preseason candidates for both the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy, which is annually given to the top collegiate player in the country.

The Lowe's Senior CLASS 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 during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.

Now in its seventh year for basketball, the award has developed into the nation's premier tribute for college seniors. Since originating with basketball, Lowe's has expanded the award to include a total of eight NCAA sports.

"At Lowe's, we take pride in acknowledging hard work and outstanding accomplishments both on and off the court," said Bob Gfeller, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing and advertising. "That commitment extends beyond our employees and customers and into the communities we serve where these student-athletes become real-life mentors. We're thrilled to honor each candidate's contributions and look forward to recognizing the award recipients at the men's Final Four."

From the list of 30 nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in January 2008. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the male recipients.

Carroll, who earned first-team all-WAC and honorable mention Associated Press All-America honors in 2007, is currently averaging 20.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 49.1 percent from three-point range and 92.1 percent from the free throw line. One month into his senior season, Carroll leads the WAC and ranks 33rd in the nation in scoring, and leads the league and ranks 22nd in the country in three-point shooting.

The award was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman. It was inspired by the remarkable story of former Duke University basketball player Shane Battier, who could have been an NBA lottery pick but returned to college for his senior season and led the Blue Devils to the National Championship in 2001.

Previous winners of the men's award include Juan Dixon of Maryland (2002), David West of Xavier (2003), Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph's (2004), Wayne Simien of Kansas (2005), J.J. Reddick of Duke (2006) and Alando Tucker of Wisconsin (2007).

For more information, visit www.seniorclassaward.com.

-USU-

2007-08 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidates

Name                Ht.    Pos.    Yr.    School            ConferenceKeiron Achara       6-10   F/C     Sr.    Duquesne          Atlantic 10Jarell Brown        6-2    G       Sr.    U.S. Military     PatriotBrian Butch         6-11   F/C     Sr.    Wisconsin         Big 10Jaycee Carroll      6-2    G       Sr.    Utah State        WACWill Daniels        6-8    F       Sr.    Rhode Island      Atlantic 10Randal Falker       6-7    F       Sr.    Southern Illinois Missouri ValleyShan Foster         6-6    G/F     Sr.    Vanderbilt        SECKentrell Gransberry 6-9    C       Sr.    South Florida     Big EastA.J. Graves         6-1    G       Sr.    Butler            HorizonCliff Hammonds      6-3    G       Sr.    Clemson           ACCJustin Hare         6-2    G       Sr.    Belmont           Atlantic SunMitch Henke         6-7    F       Sr.    Santa Clara       West CoastRoy Hibbert         7-2    C       Sr.    Georgetown        Big EastJoseph Jones        6-9    F/C     Sr.    Texas A&M         Big 12Sasha Kaun          6-11   C       Sr.    Kansas            Big 12Eugene Lawrence     6-1    G       Sr.    St. John's        Big EastJack Leasure        6-3    G       Sr.    Coastal Carolina  Big SouthChris Lofton        6-2    G       Sr.    Tennessee         SECDrew Neitzel        6-0    G       Sr.    Michigan State    Big 10Matt Nelson         6-9    F       Sr.    Boise State       WACDeMarcus Nelson     6-4    G       Sr.    Duke              ACCDavid Padgett       6-11   F/C     Sr.    Louisville        Big EastBrian Roberts       6-2    G       Sr.    Dayton            Atlantic 10Ty Rogers           6-3    G       Sr.    Western Kentucky  Sun BeltDrew Shubik         6-4    G       Sr.    Sacred Heart      NortheastSean Singletary     6-0    G       Sr.    Virginia          ACCPeyton Stovall      6-1    G       Sr.    Ball State        Mid-AmericanJonathan Wallace    6-1    G       Sr.    Georgetown        Big EastDane Watts          6-8    F       Sr.    Creighton         Missouri ValleyKyle Weaver         6-6    G       Sr.    Washington State  Pac-10