BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Gideon Betz of Campbell University has been chosen as one of 10 men's soccer candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.  To be considered for the honor, 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.
 
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. 
 
A nationwide voting system of media, coaches and fans will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
 
Fans may vote for the award here: http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/mens_soccer_2019/
 
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup^® championships in December.
 
A native of Schlüchtern, Germany, Betz was named preseason Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year.  As a junior in 2018, he led Campbell to its first league title and NCAA College Cup appearance since 2007.  The 2018 Big South tournament MVP and men's soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Betz was also chosen first-team Google Cloud Academic All-America® by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
 
This fall, Betz has led the Camels to a 12-2-1 record – their best start through 15 matches since 1993 – and to a 6-0 record in Big South Conference play.  Campbell carries a nine-game winning streak – the program's longest since 2008 – into Tuesday's match vs. nationally-ranked North Carolina in Buies Creek.
 
A three-time member of the Big South Conference Presidential Honor Roll, he was named to the Big South Conference All-Academic Team in 2017 and 2018. He owns a 3.79 grade-point average as a business administration major.
 
A member of the Campbell University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (2018-19, 2019-20), Betz has served as team captain since his sophomore year (2017, 2018, 2019).  He was nominated to serve on the CAMELS LEAD group, a program designed for Campbell junior and senior student-athletes to grow their leadership abilities within the team and across the department.
 
In addition, Betz has been involved in volunteer and community outreach programs like Operation INASMUCH, Freshman Move-In, and Night to Shine.
 
A starting center back, Betz is a 3-time Big South All-Conference team member (2018, 2017, 2016), including a first-team selection in the last two seasons. A 2018 Big South all-tournament team choice, Betz scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the league final.  He was also named to the 2016 Big South Conference all-freshman team.
 
2019 Senior CLASS Men's Soccer Finalists
Tanner Beason, Stanford
Gideon Betz, Campbell
Drake Callender, California
Anders Engebretsen, Saint Mary's
Dayonn Harris, Connecticut
Cal Jennings, Central Florida
Garret McLaughlin, Southern Methodist
Elliot Panicco, Charlotte
Mauricio Pineda, North Carolina
Jack Skahan, North Carolina