Nov. 1, 2012

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Both the men’s and women’s Fighting Irish basketball teams have something to cheer about today, as Scott Martin (Valparaiso, Ind.) and Skylar Diggins (South Bend, Ind.) have been nominated for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award.

The Senior CLASS Award, with CLASS acting as an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, encourages student-athletes to use their talents outside the court and lead initiatives to make positive impacts within their communities. The Award strives to honor the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The program is designed exclusively for collegiate seniors who use their complete athletic eligibility and remain committed to their university to pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bestow. The Senior CLASS Award is managed by Premier Sports Management.

Martin, beginning his second year as a team captain, was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA in early May of 2012 and looks to once again be a key presence on the men’s team this year.

Senior captain Scott Martin (14) flies above Providence in Notre Dame’s final home game of the 2011-12 season, securing yet another home court win for the Irish at Purcell Pavilion.

Says head coach Mike Brey, “Scott’s the ‘glue’ that holds us together and his maturity and leadership both on and off the court keyed our success last year with such a young team.” Martin becomes the 20th different player in the 108-year history of the Irish men’s basketball program to serve two full seasons as a team captain.

Martin has started all 66 games he has played in for the Irish since transferring from Purdue after his freshman campaign, and has scored 633 points for a 9.6 scoring average and grabbing 346 rebounds (averaging out to 5.2 per game) in his time at Notre Dame. In 2011-12, he averaged 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while helping the Irish finish with a 22-12 overall record. Over the past two seasons that Martin has played, Notre Dame is 49-19 overall and 27-9 in BIG EAST play.

Diggins is no stranger to success either, both on and off the court. Diggins was named to the 2012-13 preseason “Wade Watch” list in mid-September for the State Farm Wade Trophy, given annually to the NCAA Division I Player of the Year. She joins the likes of Elena Delle Donne (Delaware), Brittney Griner (Baylor) and Sugar Rodgers (Georgetown) on the preseason list. At BIG EAST Media Day on October 18, Diggins was named the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, earning the coaches’ nod for this award in 2011 as well.

Of Diggins, women’s head coach Muffet McGraw says, “She finds people and yet she can still take a big shot, which we like her to do. This year is going to be another step for her.” Last season, Diggins won the BIG EAST 2011-12 Player of the Year award, as well as the Nancy Leiberman Award for being the nation’s top point guard. Outside of her seasonal awards, Diggins has also been chosen twice as the NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player and has been a member of the NCAA Women’s Final Four All-Tournament team in both 2011 and 2012.

Notre Dame guard Skylar Diggins (4) shoots past Baylor forward/center Destiny Williams (10) during the second half in the 2012 NCAA Women’s Final Four college basketball championship game, in Denver, Tuesday, April 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Diggins already ranks amongst the top 10 on nine separate Fighting Irish statistical charts — scoring average (4th – 15.3 ppg), 20-point games (4th – 33), free throws made (4th – 414), free throws attempted (5th – 541), points (6th – 1,726), assists (6th – 520), steals (6th – 267), double-figure scoring games (6th – 88), double-doubles by a guard (6th – 6) and games started (9th – 107). She is entering her senior season needing a mere 74 rebounds to become the first player in Notre Dame’s history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists in her career as a student-athlete.

Martin, a graduate student at Notre Dame, graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in history and computer applications from the College of Arts and Letters. Diggins is enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business at Notre Dame as a management-entrepreneur major.

A total of six BIG EAST schools were recognized amongst the Senior CLASS Award candidate lists, with Notre Dame being the only university to have two athletes featured on both the men’s and women’s lists. Both nominee lists feature seven men and seven women who were recognized as 2012 Capital One Academic All Americans by the College Sports Information Directors of America; of those students, five men and 10 women were Associated Press All-Americans as well.

The men’s winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta April 6 and 8, while the women’s winner will be announced during the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans on April 7 and 9.

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

Men‘s Candidates

God’sgift Achiuwa, St. John’s (N.Y.)

O.D. Anosike, Siena

Ben Averkamp, Loyola (Chicago)

Brian Barbour, Columbia

Jared Berggren, Wisconsin

Isaiah Canaan, Murray State

Drew Crawford, Northwestern

Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary’s

Tim Frazier, Penn State

Mike Groselle, The Citadel

C.J. Harris, Wake Forest

Jordan Hulls, Indiana

Gabe Knutson, Lehigh

JP Kuhlman, Davidson

Andrew Lawrence, Charleston

Jonathan Lee, Northeastern

Scott Martin, Notre Dame

C.J. McCollum, Lehigh

Brock Motum, Washington State

Mike Muscala, Bucknell

Robert Olson, Loyola (Maryland)

Brandon Paul, Illinois

Mason Plumlee, Duke

Colt Ryan, Evansville

Peyton Siva, Louisville

Andrew Smith, Butler

Michael Snaer, Florida State

Marc Trasolini, Santa Clara

Jeff Withey, Kansas

Nate Wolters, South Dakota State

Women‘s Candidates

Kayla Alexander, Syracuse

Anne Marie Armstrong, Georgia

Alex Bentley, Penn State

Brittany Chambers, Kansas State

Layshia Clarendon, California

Tiffany Clarke, Vanderbilt

Elena Delle Donne, Delaware

Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame

Caroline Durbin, New Mexico

Shante Evans, Hofstra

Jennifer George, Florida

Angel Goodrich, Kansas

Lily Grenci, Siena

Brittney Griner, Baylor

Whitney Hand, Oklahoma

Tayler Hill, Ohio State

Jacqui Kalin, Northern Iowa

Marissa Kastanek, North Carolina State

Kevi Luper, Oral Roberts

Anna Martin, DePaul

A’dia Mathies, Kentucky

Victoria McGowan, Stetson

Drey Mingo, Purdue

Ta’Kenya Nixon, Eastern Illinois

Kaela Oakes, Idaho State

Chelsea Poppens, Iowa State

Jaime Printy, Iowa

Sugar Rodgers, Georgetown

Rachel Semansky, Montana State

Naama Shafir, Toledo

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