Men’s soccer co-captain Mike Casey ’15, M.B.A. ’16, was one of 30 NCAA Division I student-athletes nationally named as a candidate for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award, announced by the organization in September.

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. 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.

Casey completed his undergraduate studies in the spring of 2015, earning a bachelor’s degree in finance and graduating magna cum laude with a 3.52 cumulative GPA. He is currently enrolled in graduate school and is on pace to obtain his M.B.A. in the summer of 2016. A seven-time member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, he received URI’s College of Business Administration Student-Athlete Award for exhibiting excellence both on the field and in the classroom. He also was selected to travel to New York City to attend the three-day Global Asset Management Education Forum as a student participant during the spring of 2015.

Now in his third year as a team captain, Casey missed the 2013 season with an ACL injury, but returned in 2014 and—while battling through a back injury that caused him to miss six games—helped lead Rhode Island to a 13-5-3 record, as well as the A-10 regular season title and URI’s first national ranking in nearly a decade.

Outside of the team setting, Casey has been active in URI’s Peer Advocacy Program, working with students and on-campus leaders to increase awareness regarding partner violence, stalking, sexual abuse and harassment. Casey has been involved in a variety of community outreach activities as a two-year member of URI’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, including spending time reading to students at nearby elementary schools.

To give back to the game of soccer, he has volunteered his time coaching at numerous youth camps and clinics over the last five years, while also serving as an assistant coach for his local U15/U16 club soccer teams.

The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Men’s College Cup® championship in December.