Baseball's Tyler Thomas Named Senior CLASS Award Candidate
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – Baylor baseball’s senior left-handed pitcher Tyler Thomas has been named one of 30 candidates amongst NCAA baseball student-athletes considered for the 2022 Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes excellence both on and off the playing field.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior or graduate student 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.
Thomas, a fifth-year senior from Keller, Texas, is off to a sizzling start as the Bears’ Friday night ace. He has posted a 3-2 record with a 1.30 ERA across five starts. The lefty has struck out 32 batters and walked just five while holding opponents to a .157 batting average.
For his career, Thomas has gone 12-9 with a 3.12 ERA and 210 strikeouts across 190.2 innings. He earned spots on the 2018 All-Big 12 Freshman Team and 2021 All-Big 12 Second Team and was previously named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on March 7 after his career outing against No. 23 UCLA. Additionally, he garnered Most Outstanding Player recognition at the Shriners Children’s College Classic after going 8.2 innings with four hits allowed, one run and a career-high 10 punchouts against the Bruins.
Each year of his career, Thomas has logged multiple hours of community service, including serving with the NACC Disaster Relief, participating in Baylor’s Community Clean Up Day, volunteering with Veteran’s One Stop and dedicating time to the local Boys & Girls Club.
In the classroom, Thomas graduated with a degree in health, kinesiology and leisure studies and is now working towards his master’s in sport management. He is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection, having earned first-team honors last season.
Most notably, Thomas overcame Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and has since returned to full health. Now playing the best baseball of his career, Thomas logged a scoreless innings streak of 19.2 earlier this season and has allowed runs in just four frames of his Big 12-best 34.2 innings of work.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the 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 2022 Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the College World Series in June. More information on each of the candidates can be found at SeniorCLASSAward.com.