Davis Vying For Senior CLASS Award

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Sixty NCAA women's and men's basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court were announced on Monday as candidates for the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award. Tennessee's Rennia Davis is among those in contention for the honor.

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. The complete list of candidates follows this release.

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.

Davis, a 6-foot-2 senior guard/forward from Jacksonville, Fla., is averaging 14.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 78.9 percent from the free-throw line. She is well on her way to becoming one of only five players who rank in the top 10 in both career scoring and rebounding average at UT, standing 10th (14.8) and sixth (8.0), respectively. Davis also is on her way to becoming only the 13th UT woman to average double figures in scoring all four years of her career.

Through 15 games this season, Davis leads the Lady Vols with six double-doubles and has 35 for her career to tie for fifth all-time at Tennessee. She has scored 20+ points on three occasions as a senior, tallying 16 such games during her career to stack up seventh in program annals. Davis also pulled down 20 rebounds vs. No. 12/12 Kentucky on Jan. 24, becoming only the eighth Lady Vol to do that and tying for the fifth-highest total in UT history.

Davis has led No. 16 Tennessee to a 12-3 overall record this season with three victories over teams ranked in the top 15. The Lady Vols currently stand one game out of the lead in the SEC standings at 6-1.

Off the court, Davis is a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member. Additionally, she earned the 2019-20 Chancellor's Honors – Extraordinary Academic Achievement Award at Tennessee.

She is a 2019-20 product of the year-long leadership curriculum of UT's VOLeaders Academy. By using their platform in sport, student-athletes admitted into the VOLeaders Academy learn how to positively impact their team, campus and local and global communities. The program aims to inspire student-athletes to find ways to use their passion of sport and their influence to enact positive change that transcends their athletic success.

Davis arrived at Tennessee after completing an associate of arts degree while attending high school. In three years, the aspiring restaurateur graduated from UT with a degree in hotel, restaurant and tourism management with a minor in business administration. This season, she is pursuing a master's in agricultural leadership, education and communication.

The women's and men's candidates will be narrowed to two fields of ten finalists in late February, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will then select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2021 NCAA Women's Final Four and NCAA Men's Final Four this spring.

For more information on each of the candidates, please visit www.seniorclassaward.com.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Rennia Davis

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