Courtesy of Army West Point Athletics Communications
For More Information Read the Army West Point Baseball Release
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Army West Point baseball saw senior pitcher
Cam Opp named a candidate for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award.
Opp is one of 30 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.
"For the three years I have had the privilege of getting to know and coach
Cam Opp, he is someone who has stood out as a tremendous person and team leader," head coach
Jim Fostersaid. "He has turned himself into an elite college baseball player and has always been an extremely bright individual and great cadet-athlete. He is someone who is very committed to being the best he can be in all facets of cadet life. Cam is a two-time Academic All-Patriot League recipient and has worked hard to be primed for a solid senior season.
"To cap off his West Point career, Cam will graduate and serve in the highly-coveted Aviation branch. I think Cam has a very bright future and is an outstanding candidate for the Senior CLASS Award."
Opp excels across all pillars at the Academy and is recognized not only by his teammates but also the academy's leadership for his accomplishments. Academically, Opp boasts a 3.578 grade-point average. For this feat, he dons the golden "wreath and star" on his military uniform for the Superintendent's Award for Excellence to distinguish his top-5 percent ranking across all four pillars. He has earned Dean's List honors every semester he's been enrolled, while also garnering the Distinguished Cadet Award, Master of the Sword Award and a German Proficiency Badge. Opp is the captain of the Fed Challenge Team as well, which is a Federal Reserve-sponsored collegiate competition.
To go along with those academic honors, Opp has been named a two-time baseball Academic All-Patriot League Team member. He has lived in London for 12 years of his life and has seen his military training come full circle after playing a pivotal role in a Joint Military Training Operation with the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.
Opp led the team in 2018 with 25 appearances on the mound. He registered a team-low 2.66 ERA to go along with his 5-2 record in 61.0 innings of work. Opp also recorded four saves, which was second-best on the team. The London, England, native posted 72 strikeouts during his junior campaign and closed out Army's eighth Patriot League title recording the final two outs of the championship game against rival Navy. During Patriot League play, Opp posted a 2.19 ERA in eight appearances, and opponents batted only .213 against the lefty. He was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team.
In eight appearances so far this season for Army, Opp holds the second lowest ERA on the team at 2.70. He has been one of Army's key arms out of the pen and has garnered two wins and one save on the early season. He has allowed 12 hits, eight runs, five of which were earned, in 16.2 innings on the mound. The senior lefty has also compiled 19 strikeouts through the year.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, 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 candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2019 College World Series® in June.
For more information on all the candidates, visit
seniorCLASSaward.com.
ABOUT THE AWARD
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.