Siena’s Camper named candidate of prestigious senior CLASS award
LOUDONVILLE, NY » Siena Men’s Basketball senior captain Manny Camper has been named one of just 30 men’s basketball candidates nationally for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the honor, 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.
Camper becomes Siena’s College’s 22nd Senior CLASS Award candidate, with all having come since 2010. Siena Athletics’ first candidate in two years, the Chestertown, Maryland standout is the just the third men’s basketball student athlete in program history to receive recognition, joining Brett Bisping (2017) and O.D. Anosike (2012).
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.
Throughout his career, Camper has excelled in each of the four criteria outlined in the Senior CLASS Award: community, classroom, character, and competition.
In the community, Camper has taken an active role both within the Siena community as well as his local community at home in Maryland. An active participant in Siena Athletics’ “Saints in the Community” program, he along with his teammates have made annual trips to local elementary schools as part of National Grid’s “Hoops for the Stars” initiative, served meals and spent time vis
iting with children and their families at the Ronald McDonald House of Albany, and participated in several clinics with the local Boys and Girls Clubs, just to name a few. Back home, Camper has volunteered his time to speak with over 80 local schoolchildren about his path to success and never giving up, and, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, assisted his uncle distributing food to the local community while working alongside the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice.
In the classroom, Camper has been a model student as he has maintained a solid 3.18 cumulative grade-point average. He earned recognition on Siena College’s Dean’s List after achieving a stellar 3.52 GPA during the Spring 2020 semester. Camper was named Siena’s Leo Dufort Male Student Athlete of the Month for December 2018, and was honored as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s Male Student Athlete of the Week on Jan. 24, 2019.
A two-time team captain, Camper’s strong character has served as an example for his peers both on the men’s basketball team and amongst the Siena community. He is a founding member of E.D.I.T., Siena Athletics’ Education, Diversity, Inclusion, and Togetherness Committee, which seeks to engage in healthy conversation to bring about awareness and create meaningful change through social justice initiatives. Camper has been a leader in the weight room as well, where he was one of just four Siena student athletes to receive the 2019-20 Siena Strength and Conditioning “Iron Saint” Award for putting in the hard work, creating a positive atmosphere, and leading by example in the weight room.
Camper has excelled on the court as well, averaging a double-double each of the past two seasons. A unanimous 2020-21 Preseason First Team All-MAAC selection, he returned to Siena for his senior season after having initially declared for the 2020 NBA Draft. Named the MAAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Jan. 11, Camper currently ranks 10th nationally in rebounding with 10.7 caroms per contest, while adding 13.2 points per outing. A 2019-20 First Team All-MAAC honoree, he was one of just 29 Division I players nationally to average a double-double last season, posting averages of 13.7 points and 10.4 rebounds while leading Siena to the program’s first MAAC Championship in a decade.
The 30 Division I men’s basketball candidates for the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award will be narrowed down to a field of 10 finalists who will be placed on the official ballot later this month. 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 2021 NCAA Men’s Final Four.
For more information on Camper’s candidacy, and all of this year’s candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.