Feb. 24, 2011
Overland Park, Kans. -
Fordham University senior pitcher Max Krakowiak was named as one of 30 candidates for this year's Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for baseball, it was announced today. He is the third Fordham athlete to be listed as a Senior CLASS Award candidate, joining Kevin Meyer in 2006 from men's soccer and Katie McDermott from earlier this year in women's soccer.
Krakowiak was also one of two Atlantic 10 players listed for the award, as he joined Charlotte's Cory Tilton.
Each of the 30 candidate classes 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 male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the winner June 24 at the NCAA College World Series® in Omaha.
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.
In the classroom, Krakowiak currently stands with a 3.28 GPA, which ranks among the top GPA's on the baseball team, heading into the 2011 season. He is majoring in Finance with a minor in Economics and is scheduled to graduate this spring.
He has been listed on the Atlantic 10's Commissioner's honor roll at Rose Hill, while also being honored at the Athletic Department's "Breakfast for Champions", which acknowledges all Fordham student-athletes with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
For character, Krakowiak has evolved one of the team leaders on the baseball squad over the past three seasons, not only motivating through words, but even more so through his actions.
"Max has great character and poise on the field. It's like having a coach on the field, making him a great choice as a captain this year," said Fordham head coach Nick Restaino.
After a non-descript freshman season, Max learned quickly what the recipe for success would be. He battled through arm issues his sophomore season, but was always there for the team. Following a start at Charlotte, Max was shut down from pitching in games for about three weeks. He returned to the mound in mid-April as the Rams were beginning a nine-game conference stretch against the top teams in the Atlantic 10, which would make or break the season.
Max made a rare relief appearance against Duquesne with Fordham ahead in a one-run ballgame. He would strike out two of the three batters he faced to earn the save and win series for Fordham. The Rams earned a crucial tie-breaker and would go on to the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament that season.
"Max truly wants this team to be successful and that makes him happier than any personal achievement he accomplishes. He has tremendous work ethic from his diet and nutrition, to lifting and sleep, and to his work on and off the field. He has a great overall makeup and will be looked at heavily this season to continue his baseball career at the next level," said Restaino.
"It's an absolute pleasure to have a person like Max on our pitching staff. His work ethic and the example he sets for our players is extraordinary. He is a team first person, with his own accomplishments a distant second. He knows what he needs to do to get this team going. It's a pleasure to work with him each day," added Fordham pitching coach Trevor Brown.
In the community, Krakowiak has been a contributor off the field as well, giving his time to others, when not pitching at Fordham or in a summer league. While at Fordham, he has served as camp instructor at the Complete Baseball Player Academy, as well as a referee at the Special Olympics held in New Haven, Connecticut.
He has also worked at soup kitchens in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and taken part in Meals on Wheels, delivering meals to homebound adults.
This past Christmas, Krakowiak was a primary factor in the baseball team hosting a Christmas Party at Fordham Bedford Children's Center, supplying food and gifts for the children's after school holiday party.
Krakowiak begins his third season as a part of the Rams' weekend pitching rotation, and his second as the Rams' ace. He has steadily progressed from his freshman season, where he was mainly a middle of the week starter to the top of the Rams' rotation as a junior, while helping his team reach the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament in each of the last two seasons.
The 2010 campaign was a breakout one for Krakowiak, posting a 7-4 record with a 4.10 ERA, 69 strikeouts, and three complete games. He was the workhorse on the staff, throwing 98.2 total innings, which is the fourth-most in Fordham's 150-year history of baseball. He was also a perfect 7-0 in Atlantic 10 play, which included all three of his complete games. For his efforts, he was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10.
In 2011, Krakowiak was selected by his peers as one of the team's tri-captains, showing the faith he has instilled in his teammates. In addition, as a part of Collegiate Baseball Insider.com's Atlantic 10 Conference preview, the coaches of the Atlantic 10 were surveyed about the top players in the league. Krakowiak was listed as one of the top three starting pitchers in the league, as well as the starting pitcher you least wanted to face.
In the Rams' opening series of 2011, Krakowiak got off to an excellent start. He posted eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work, allowing just one run on three hits and earned Fordham's first win of the year.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's 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 baseball candidate section of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award site can be found at www.seniorCLASSaward.com. Krakowiak's player card can also be found on the site by clicking here.
