Twenty seniors who have led their teams on and off the ice have been named candidates for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award, the award announced Wednesday.

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.

Candidates include representatives of all six conferences. Five have been drafted by NHL teams. Three are returning All-Americans and/or Hobey Baker Finalists, while seven earned all-conference recognition last year.

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 20 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.

The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Men’s Frozen Final Four in April.

2015 Senior CLASS Award Candidates