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Two Ducks among 10 finalists for 2022 Senior CLASS Award®

May 5, 2022

EUGENE – Oregon closer Kolby Somers and left fielder Tanner Smith are finalists for the 2022 Senior CLASS Award® for baseball. 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.
 
Smith, from Newport Beach, Calif., graduated after the winter term with a 3.22 GPA in political science. He earned third-team Collegiate Baseball All-America honors in 2021, finishing last season batting .324 with five home runs and 36 RBI while batting leadoff for the Ducks. He had a Pac-12 best 24 doubles, which set a new Oregon single-season record for two-baggers, while reaching base at a .417 clip and slugging .533. The Ducks' left fielder ranked third among all Pac-12 players with 33 extra-base hits. His 24 doubles ranked fifth nationally and his 0.44 doubles per game were the best in the Pac-12 and 12th overall in the country. Smith also tripled four times, which was good for second in the Pac-12 and 28th nationally.
 
This season, Smith is batting .319 with nine home runs, 26 RBI and 46 runs scored while starting all 44 games in left field. He leads the team in runs while ranking second in home runs. Earlier this season, Smith set Oregon's career runs scored record and also ranks in the top 10 all-time in games started, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, walks, hit-by-pitches, outfield assists and multiple-hit games. Smith earned a spot on the 2021 Dean's List and is a leader off the field taking part in O Heroes, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Team Impact.
 
Somers, a senior from Hillsboro, Ore. has already graduated with a degree in general social science – business and is working on his master's in sports product management. He claimed first-team All-Pac-12 Conference honors and NCBWA All-America honors last season, and was dominant closing out games for the Ducks in 2021. The lefty finished the season with a 2-2 record and a 3.08 ERA with 11 saves. He fanned 37 in 26.1 innings pitched while holding opposing hitters to a .149 batting average. He ranked third in the Pac-12 in saves, as well as ranking sixth all-time in single-season saves at Oregon. His seven saves in conference games were the second most in the league, one behind the leader.
 
This season, Somers has been equally impressive. He is 4-3 with a 2.88 ERA while leading the Pac-12 in saves with eight. Somers has allowed just eight earned runs on 23 hits in 25.0 innings pitched with 33 strikeouts and just 14 walks. He is holding opposing batters to a .237 batting average. Second all-time in career saves at Oregon, Somers has been involved with Team Impact, O Heroes and the Miracle League.
 
The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 candidates announced earlier in the season. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through June 6. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner.