Senior setter Kevin McCandless of Rutgers University-Newark received the prestigious ELITE 90 award at the 2016 Division III Men's Volleyball Championship banquet Thursday night at the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa in Rochester, N.Y.

The ELITE 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 90 championships.
 
A Computer Science major, McCandless maintains a cumulative GPA of 3.95-plus in one of the most challenging majors at Rutgers University and was the 2015 Rutgers-Newark Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
A Virginia native, the setter was an All-CVC selection for the second-straight season, also earning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) honorable mention All-American accolades earlier this week.
 
Selection Criteria
-Student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically, and in at least his or her second year of eligibilty (in any sport) at his or her current institution.
-Student-athlete is an active member on the roster, eligible for the championship, and a member of the designated squad size at the championship site in sports with squad size limitations.
-Credits completed shall only consist of those credits accumulated at the current institution and shall not include any transfer or AP credits.
-Only undergraduate GPA is applicable.  If the student-athlete has graduated and is in graduate school, he or she is still eligible for the award but consideration will be based strictly on an undergraduate GPA. Graduate students must be in good academic standing with the university.
-Each student-athlete is only eligible to win the award once per academic year, even if he or she participates in more than one sport.
 
McCandless is the first student-athlete to earn the distinction in Rutgers-Newark history and was also selected to be one of two Scarlet Raider speakers at the banquet this year.

"Kevin is the definition of a student-athlete and is the type of young man every coach dreams of having on his or her team," said Head Men's Volleyball Coach Pedro Trevino. "He carries himself with the utmost class on the court and off it, and he sets an example for all of the younger student-athletes in our program."
 
McCandless and the Scarlet Raiders will play in the 'Elite 8' of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon against defending NCAA National Champion and in-state rival Stevens Institute of Technology at 3 p.m.
 
The All-CVC and honorable mention All-American is currently ranked sixth in the nation in assists per set and has been the driving force for the Scarlet Raider offense ranking No. 3 nationally in hitting percentage.

Photo of Kevin McCandless by Rob Kulish