EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette baseball's Cory Spera has been selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award, which honors NCAA baseball student-athletes who excel both on and off the diamond. 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.

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.

A right-handed pitcher and Biology major, Spera earned the Patriot League Baseball Scholar Athlete Award in 2014 and was part of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll each of his first three seasons on College Hill. Spera, who has aspirations of attending medical school after graduation, volunteers as a Peer Mentor and a Gateway Ambassador, assisting first-year students to become acclimated to life at Lafayette. He is part of Lafayette's Oaks Leadership Academy, serves as a student representative on the Alcohol and Other Drugs Standing Committee and was a presenter for Lafayette's Leadership Education Committee seminar on The C's of Champion.

Spera was an All-Patriot League First Team selection in 2014, and received the Harold `Moose' Hageman '39 Award for Most Valuable Lafayette Pitcher last season. He serves as a team captain for the current season and was a finalist for the Tom Walter College Baseball Inspiration Award in 2013.

From the list of 30 candidates, a national media committee will select ten finalists for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award in late April. Those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award, which will be announced during the 2015 College World Series in June.

For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.