Lehigh University Athletics
Decker named candidate for Senior CLASS Award
2/22/2016 11:17:00 AM | Softball
Senior CLASS Award
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Lehigh senior third baseman Morgan Decker has been named as one of 30 candidates for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. The award encompasses community, classroom, character and competition. A two-year captain for the Mountain Hawks, Decker has excelled in all four areas as one of the top hitters and third basemen in the region and as a behavioral neuroscience major who hopes to pursue a Master's degree in Educational Leadership before applying to Physicians Assistant School.
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Decker is one of two Patriot League softball student-athletes to be named a candidate, joining an impressive list which features All-Americans, Academic All-Americans and more. The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the 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 candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.Â
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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.
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The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 Women's College World Series.
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Decker has excelled in the classroom, posting a 3.73 cumulative grade point average in Lehigh's rigorous Behavioral Neuroscience program, while minoring in Psychology. A three-year member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, Decker is a two-time Academic All-Patriot League honoree and garnered CoSIDA Academic All-District Laurels in 2014. She has made Lehigh's Dean's List (GPA of 3.60 or better) in six of her first seven semesters including a 4.0 GPA semester in the fall of 2015. Decker has received seven Lehigh Faculty Athletics Council Academic Awards for posting semester GPAs of 3.20 or better and has been recognized on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Academic Team. She will be applying to Physicians Assistant School and is considering pursuing her Master's in Educational Leadership in her gap year.
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The Jamison, Pa., native is so well respected by her teammates that she was voted a captain prior to both her junior and senior seasons. A wrist injury limited Decker in the fall of 2014 and while she still had a very strong junior campaign in the spring of 2015, her batting average was below .400 for the first time in her Lehigh career and she hit just four home runs after totaling 18 in her first two seasons. Still, Decker played in every game last spring and was a leader for a Lehigh team that won the Patriot League regular season and tournament championships and returned to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year hiatus.
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In addition to her softball captain duties, Decker has been heavily involved in Lehigh's athletic department. She has been involved in Lehigh's chapter of Student-Athletes Leading Social Change (SALSC). In Lehigh's Leadership Academy, Decker graduated from the Emerging Leaders program, where she learned how to be an effective vocal and leader by example on her team and within the Lehigh community; and the Leadership Legacies program where she learned how to interact with coaches and teammates in order to effectively lead a team as a captain. She also is involved in Lehigh's Student-Athlete Mentor and PRIDE programs which help Lehigh first-year student-athletes adapt to college life.
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Last spring, Decker was recognized with Lehigh's Class of 1904 award, which is awarded on the basis of character, scholarship, qualifications indicating promise of future leadership, and extracurricular activities as a scholarship award for a student's senior year. She also earned Lehigh's Contribution to Student Life award, which recognizes underclass students who have significantly contributed to the improvement of the quality of student life during their time at Lehigh. Criteria includes: good academic standing and specific contributions to student life through involvement in campus activities, academic initiatives, student governance, community service, leadership and their pursuits to support and empower their peers.
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Decker has been involved in several community outreach programs at Lehigh, most notably the annual Adopt-A-Family initiative around the holidays. Each Lehigh Athletics team adopts an underprivileged family; they then raise money throughout the semester to purchase holiday presents for their adopted family. The event wraps up with an event where all the student-athletes present the gifts to the families. Last year, the Lehigh student-athletes raised more than $30,000. In addition to being a student and an athlete, Decker has assisted Lehigh Athletics as the Timeout Coordinator for home Lehigh football games in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons. She has also spent the last two summers as a ball girl for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, who play their home games not far from Lehigh's campus.
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Decker enters her senior season as a three-time All-Patriot League selection (two-time first team) and a two-time first team NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region selection. In 2013 Decker became the first Patriot League student-athlete to be named the league's Player and Rookie of the Year, after winning the Patriot League's "Triple Crown" in leading the league in batting average, home runs and RBIs. She was also named ECAC Co-Rookie of the Year in 2013. Decker won her second consecutive Patriot League Player of the Year award in 2014. Decker owns a .387 career batting average, which ranks seventh in school annals and sits third in home runs with 22. She has drawn 88 walks which ranks second in school history.
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As a freshman, Decker received Lehigh's John S. Steckbeck award, given to the Athletic Department's top first year female athlete. As alluded to above, Decker won the Patriot League Triple Crown, batting .415 with nine home runs and 46 RBI. In three years, Decker has won seven Patriot League Player of the Week awards. She has been a mainstay at third base and the No. 3 spot in Lehigh's batting order. In her first three seasons, Lehigh has posted an impressive 107-45-1 record. The Mountain Hawks have won the Patriot League regular season title in each of Decker's three seasons, and added the tournament crown in 2015. Lehigh went 1-2 in the NCAA Norman Regional in 2015, posting the program's first NCAA Tournament win in six years.
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Decker is the second Lehigh softball player in as many years to be named a Senior CLASS Award candidate, joining Emily Bausher '15. Prior to that, Julie Fernandez '12 was a finalist and a Senior CLASS All-American in 2012.
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The Mountain Hawks will open the 2016 season this weekend with five games in three days at the UNCG Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. Lehigh will play both Youngstown State and UNC Greensboro twice as well as Iona beginning Friday.
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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Lehigh senior third baseman Morgan Decker has been named as one of 30 candidates for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. The award encompasses community, classroom, character and competition. A two-year captain for the Mountain Hawks, Decker has excelled in all four areas as one of the top hitters and third basemen in the region and as a behavioral neuroscience major who hopes to pursue a Master's degree in Educational Leadership before applying to Physicians Assistant School.
Â
Decker is one of two Patriot League softball student-athletes to be named a candidate, joining an impressive list which features All-Americans, Academic All-Americans and more. The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the 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 candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.Â
Â
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.
Â
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 Women's College World Series.
Â
Decker has excelled in the classroom, posting a 3.73 cumulative grade point average in Lehigh's rigorous Behavioral Neuroscience program, while minoring in Psychology. A three-year member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, Decker is a two-time Academic All-Patriot League honoree and garnered CoSIDA Academic All-District Laurels in 2014. She has made Lehigh's Dean's List (GPA of 3.60 or better) in six of her first seven semesters including a 4.0 GPA semester in the fall of 2015. Decker has received seven Lehigh Faculty Athletics Council Academic Awards for posting semester GPAs of 3.20 or better and has been recognized on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Academic Team. She will be applying to Physicians Assistant School and is considering pursuing her Master's in Educational Leadership in her gap year.
Â
The Jamison, Pa., native is so well respected by her teammates that she was voted a captain prior to both her junior and senior seasons. A wrist injury limited Decker in the fall of 2014 and while she still had a very strong junior campaign in the spring of 2015, her batting average was below .400 for the first time in her Lehigh career and she hit just four home runs after totaling 18 in her first two seasons. Still, Decker played in every game last spring and was a leader for a Lehigh team that won the Patriot League regular season and tournament championships and returned to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year hiatus.
Â
In addition to her softball captain duties, Decker has been heavily involved in Lehigh's athletic department. She has been involved in Lehigh's chapter of Student-Athletes Leading Social Change (SALSC). In Lehigh's Leadership Academy, Decker graduated from the Emerging Leaders program, where she learned how to be an effective vocal and leader by example on her team and within the Lehigh community; and the Leadership Legacies program where she learned how to interact with coaches and teammates in order to effectively lead a team as a captain. She also is involved in Lehigh's Student-Athlete Mentor and PRIDE programs which help Lehigh first-year student-athletes adapt to college life.
Â
Last spring, Decker was recognized with Lehigh's Class of 1904 award, which is awarded on the basis of character, scholarship, qualifications indicating promise of future leadership, and extracurricular activities as a scholarship award for a student's senior year. She also earned Lehigh's Contribution to Student Life award, which recognizes underclass students who have significantly contributed to the improvement of the quality of student life during their time at Lehigh. Criteria includes: good academic standing and specific contributions to student life through involvement in campus activities, academic initiatives, student governance, community service, leadership and their pursuits to support and empower their peers.
Â
Decker has been involved in several community outreach programs at Lehigh, most notably the annual Adopt-A-Family initiative around the holidays. Each Lehigh Athletics team adopts an underprivileged family; they then raise money throughout the semester to purchase holiday presents for their adopted family. The event wraps up with an event where all the student-athletes present the gifts to the families. Last year, the Lehigh student-athletes raised more than $30,000. In addition to being a student and an athlete, Decker has assisted Lehigh Athletics as the Timeout Coordinator for home Lehigh football games in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons. She has also spent the last two summers as a ball girl for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, who play their home games not far from Lehigh's campus.
Â
Decker enters her senior season as a three-time All-Patriot League selection (two-time first team) and a two-time first team NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region selection. In 2013 Decker became the first Patriot League student-athlete to be named the league's Player and Rookie of the Year, after winning the Patriot League's "Triple Crown" in leading the league in batting average, home runs and RBIs. She was also named ECAC Co-Rookie of the Year in 2013. Decker won her second consecutive Patriot League Player of the Year award in 2014. Decker owns a .387 career batting average, which ranks seventh in school annals and sits third in home runs with 22. She has drawn 88 walks which ranks second in school history.
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As a freshman, Decker received Lehigh's John S. Steckbeck award, given to the Athletic Department's top first year female athlete. As alluded to above, Decker won the Patriot League Triple Crown, batting .415 with nine home runs and 46 RBI. In three years, Decker has won seven Patriot League Player of the Week awards. She has been a mainstay at third base and the No. 3 spot in Lehigh's batting order. In her first three seasons, Lehigh has posted an impressive 107-45-1 record. The Mountain Hawks have won the Patriot League regular season title in each of Decker's three seasons, and added the tournament crown in 2015. Lehigh went 1-2 in the NCAA Norman Regional in 2015, posting the program's first NCAA Tournament win in six years.
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Decker is the second Lehigh softball player in as many years to be named a Senior CLASS Award candidate, joining Emily Bausher '15. Prior to that, Julie Fernandez '12 was a finalist and a Senior CLASS All-American in 2012.
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The Mountain Hawks will open the 2016 season this weekend with five games in three days at the UNCG Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. Lehigh will play both Youngstown State and UNC Greensboro twice as well as Iona beginning Friday.
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