ORLANDO, Fla. – In the midst of a remarkable senior campaign, Yannik Oettl has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. This is a step up from a few weeks ago when Oettl was named as one of 30 candidates for the award back on Mar. 24.
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.
The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates announced earlier in the season. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through May 3. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2020-21 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in May.
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. Each of the 10 finalists has displayed a strong work ethic in the classroom and on the pitch. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates also have been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.
Many people know of Oettl's success on the field the past few seasons as he has won back-to-back American Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Year awards. This season, Oettl has collected four clean sheets in seven appearances and has an .886 save percentage, on pace to shatter his personal season best. Oettl is a leader on and off the pitch and is one of two captains this season.
As a person, Oettl represents UCF with pride and humility. He is eager to help build up others but knows that it starts with him. Oettl exercises his leadership skills as captain while practicing self-discipline and determination in all aspects of his life.
Oettl stays busy off the pitch, giving his time back to the UCF campus and community. He's held three leadership positions off the pitch at UCF, most recently as a member of the UKnighted Nations Committee, which was formed in 2020 to focus on promoting social justice and equality amongst UCF student-athletes and the student body.
More on Oettl's areas of excellence can be found on his page on the Senior CLASS Award website, which is linked to this article.
Cal Jennings was a Senior CLASS Award finalist in 2019. Prior to that, Shaqueem Griffin was a finalist and wound up winning the award in 2017. The first Knight to earn the Senior CLASS Award was UCF women's soccer's Tishia Jewell, who won the honor in 2012 after an incredible athletic and academic career. Another Knight goalkeeper, Aline Reis, was a finalist in 2011, just a season prior to Jewell. Oettl is the only player from the American this season up for the men's soccer award.
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The Knights will wrap up their regular season schedule and look to earn their third straight regular season conference title on the road at Memphis on Friday at 8 p.m.
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