Baseball’s Joseph Runco Named as Candidate for Senior CLASS Award

Official Release | Runco Senior CLASS Bio
 
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Thirty NCAA® baseball student-athletes who excel both on and off the diamond were selected as candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate baseball. One of those 30 players is Fordham senior infielder Joseph Runco (Springbrook Township, Pa./North Pocono).

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.

Here is a breakdown of Runco's bio for the award:

CLASSROOM
Runco is scheduled to graduate in May with a degree in business administration with a concentration in management, holding a 3.627 GPA. He also is on pace to finish his pre-dental requirements for dental school. He was a 2015 First Team Capital One/CoSida Academic All-District selection and earned Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team honors for the second straight year last season. He also is a three-year member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and a four-year honoree at Fordham's Breakfast for Champions, which salutes all athletes with a 3.0 GPA or higher.  Runco has made the dean's list after the following semesters: Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014 and Spring 2015. He is on pace to make it again his senior year.

CHARACTER
Runco is a four-year starter at second base for the Rams and has tremendous character in tough situations on the diamond. He always seems to keep the team ready for the next play and does all of the right things on and off the field. He is a guy who can be counted on to do the right thing.

"Runco is honest, dependable, committed and hard-working. You can't say enough great things about his make-up and character. He is an easy guy to nominate/recommend for this award, a job or just about anything." - Kevin Leighton, Fordham Head Coach

In addition to his leadership on the field, he is a part of Fordham's Leadership Academy for Student-Athletes and is one of the students on this year's Block F Dinner committee, giving the student's take on Fordham's annual award dinner for Athletics.

COMMUNITY
Runco has been a large part of the Rams' efforts to raise money for childhood cancer with the Vs. Cancer foundation. Last year with a goal of $10,000, Fordham baseball raised $14,445. Runco also has also been involved in Team Impact, through which the team adopts a child facing a life-threatening disease. That child, Jonathan, has been a "member" of the team, and the Rams try to improve his quality of life through involvement with the team.

Runco has been a part of Fordham Baseball's efforts to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project through the team's Wounded Warrior Weekend. He has also worked at Coach Leighton's baseball camps, teaching young kids during the summer.

COMPETITION
After being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team as a freshman, Runco earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors as a sophomore after leading the league in stolen bases. He started every game for Fordham into his junior season when an April injury kept him out of the lineup for several games. Despite the injury, he finished the year at 160 career starts and still managed to tie for the Atlantic 10 lead in stolen bases with 32 and lead Fordham in runs scored with 38.

Entering his senior season, Runco had 71 career stolen bases, which was sixth all-time at Fordham. Through games of March 19^th, he now has 79 swipes, just six behind Danny Leach for third on the Rams' all-time list.  He is on pace to become only the second Ram to reach 100 career stolen bases.  

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 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular 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 Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 College World Series® in June.