Saint Louis University student-athlete Jackie Kemph has been chosen as a candidate for the 2017-18 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate women’s basketball. Kemph is among 30 candidates nationwide and is the only representative of an Atlantic 10 Conference institution to be selected.
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 award program is designed exclusively for NCAA Division I seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must have notable achievements in four areas – community, classroom, character and competition.
Kemph is an integral part of Saint Louis women’s basketball’s extensive community-service outreach. She has served as a mentor at Bryan Hill Elementary – the team’s “adopted” school – and in the local Girls on the Run program. She has visited patients and families at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House in addition to playing and interacting with children in St. Louis’ Special Needs Soccer Association. Kemph also has helped make blankets, written notes for local hospice patients and helped local residents with gardening as part of SLU’s Make A Difference Day.
Kemph already has earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting, graduating summa cum laude with a 3.90 grade-point average, and is pursuing a master’s degree in accounting. She was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection as a sophomore, an A-10 All-Academic choice as a sophomore and junior, and a member of the A-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll in each of her first seven semesters. Kemph is a member of the national leadership honor society Omicron Delta Kappa and the international business honor society Beta Gamma Sigma. She received a John Cook School of Business Excellence Award last spring.
This season, Kemph was named to the Naismith Trophy and Nancy Lieberman Award (best point guard) watch lists for a second consecutive year. She is one of only six players in Division I women’s basketball history to hold her school’s career records for both points and assists, achieving the points mark Dec. 31 after securing the assists record during her junior season. Kemph is on pace to set SLU’s career record for free throws made and is among the program’s top 10 in career 3-point field goals.
Kemph was selected A-10 Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior, and she became the first SLU women’s basketball player to earn All-America plaudits (Associated Press honorable mention) in her sophomore season as she helped the Billikens win their first-ever conference championship. Last year, she earned a place on the A-10 Championship All-Tournament team and led SLU to a second consecutive WNIT berth. Kemph has finished among the nation’s top six in assist average and has set the SLU season record for assists in each of the past two seasons.
Kemph was an A-10 All-Rookie pick as a freshman, and she has garnered eight A-10 Player of the Week awards.
The 30-candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists in February, 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 2018 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
