Williams Named A Senior CLASS Award Candidate

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Iowa State senior shortstop Sami Williams was named one of 30 NCAA Division I softball student-athletes to be considered for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award, recognizing excellence both on and off the field.

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.

Williams completed her degree in software engineering in the spring of 2020, graduating Summa Cum Laude and ranking in the highest 2 percent in Iowa State's prestigious engineering college. She currently has a 3.91 GPA in ISU's Information Systems master's program, which she is on track to complete in just one year.

The native of Laguna Niguel, Calif., is just the fifth softball student-athlete in Big 12 history to be a three-time (2018-20) CoSIDA Academic All-American, and is the first Cyclone ever to do so. She was one of just three softball student-athletes in the entire country to earn her third career CoSIDA Academic All-America nod in 2020, when she was named to the first team.

In 2019, Williams was honored by the Big 12 Conference as the league's Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming just the second player in program history to earn the award.

On the field, her credentials are just as astounding. Williams entered 2021 as perhaps the most accomplished softball player in Iowa State history. She is already the program's all-time leader in home runs (48) and doubles (66), while ranking second in career batting average (.380), hits (257) and runs scored (153). Williams' 66 career doubles are the most ever by a Big 12 player and rank No. 1 among active NCAA DI players.

The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in March, 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 Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2021 Women's College World Series® in June.

For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.