TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil women's basketball senior forward Sophie Brunner was one of 30 student-athletes named as candidates for the 2016-17 Senior CLASS Award® in women's basketball, according to an announcement by the Senior CLASS nominating committee on Thursday.
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.
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.
Brunner has been one of the biggest contributors for the No. 19 Sun Devils (10-3, 1-1 Pac-12), who have won eight of their last nine games. ASU's active leader in points (1,121 - 16th on ASU's all-time list), rebounds (767 - 3rd on ASU's all-time list), assists (146) and steals (156), Brunner has started every game this season and currently leads the team in scoring (12.6 ppg), field goal percentage (55.8), rebounding (6.8 rpg) and free throw attempts (43), is third in steals (1.4 spg), and fifth in assists (1.5 apg). Earlier this season she became the 22nd Sun Devil to reach 1,000 career points. Most recently Brunner posted the 18th career double-double (3rd of the season) with 21 points and 12 rebounds while playing season-high 43 minutes in 2OT win over Cal (Jan. 1).
Brunner has been extremely involved in the community since arriving in Tempe as a freshman in 2013. She has volunteered to be a frequent participant in the Sun Devil women's basketball team's Character Code program. Over the last three-plus years Brunner has led assemblies in more than 30 schools across the Valley where she encourages youth to practice good character at home, at school and with friends. In 2014 Brunner joined a group of Sun Devil student-athletes who traveled with Arizona State University American Indian students to Hopi and Navajo lands as part of the ASU Tribal Nations Tour. Sophie joined her peers in the endeavor to interact with tribal members, encourage higher education and wellness, and work on community service projects.
A two-time nominee for the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team®, Brunner's community service efforts have also included being a leader in the Interact Program, where she performed service projects for the underserved, made holiday baskets and kits for Haiti and organized food drives. She also took part in DAWG, a drug and alcohol awareness group promoting sobriety and mentoring her peers.
In the classroom Brunner has been every bit as brilliant as she maintains a 3.69 GPA and has been named to the Pac-12's All-Academic Team each of the last two years. Among the combined 60 nominees for the 2016-17 Senior CLASS Award® (30 men and 30 women), Brunner is one 10 that maintains a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to fields of 10 finalists in February, and those 10 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 male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four® and NCAA Women's Final Four® this spring. For more information on each of the candidates, visit www.seniorclassaward.com.
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.
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.
Brunner has been one of the biggest contributors for the No. 19 Sun Devils (10-3, 1-1 Pac-12), who have won eight of their last nine games. ASU's active leader in points (1,121 - 16th on ASU's all-time list), rebounds (767 - 3rd on ASU's all-time list), assists (146) and steals (156), Brunner has started every game this season and currently leads the team in scoring (12.6 ppg), field goal percentage (55.8), rebounding (6.8 rpg) and free throw attempts (43), is third in steals (1.4 spg), and fifth in assists (1.5 apg). Earlier this season she became the 22nd Sun Devil to reach 1,000 career points. Most recently Brunner posted the 18th career double-double (3rd of the season) with 21 points and 12 rebounds while playing season-high 43 minutes in 2OT win over Cal (Jan. 1).
Brunner has been extremely involved in the community since arriving in Tempe as a freshman in 2013. She has volunteered to be a frequent participant in the Sun Devil women's basketball team's Character Code program. Over the last three-plus years Brunner has led assemblies in more than 30 schools across the Valley where she encourages youth to practice good character at home, at school and with friends. In 2014 Brunner joined a group of Sun Devil student-athletes who traveled with Arizona State University American Indian students to Hopi and Navajo lands as part of the ASU Tribal Nations Tour. Sophie joined her peers in the endeavor to interact with tribal members, encourage higher education and wellness, and work on community service projects.
A two-time nominee for the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team®, Brunner's community service efforts have also included being a leader in the Interact Program, where she performed service projects for the underserved, made holiday baskets and kits for Haiti and organized food drives. She also took part in DAWG, a drug and alcohol awareness group promoting sobriety and mentoring her peers.
In the classroom Brunner has been every bit as brilliant as she maintains a 3.69 GPA and has been named to the Pac-12's All-Academic Team each of the last two years. Among the combined 60 nominees for the 2016-17 Senior CLASS Award® (30 men and 30 women), Brunner is one 10 that maintains a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to fields of 10 finalists in February, and those 10 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 male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four® and NCAA Women's Final Four® this spring. For more information on each of the candidates, visit www.seniorclassaward.com.