OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – Penn State men's soccer student-athletes Danny Bloyou, Brandon Hackenberg and Pierre Reedy have been named three of 30 candidates for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate soccer as announced Thursday.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior or graduate-student and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character, and competition.
The three Nittany Lions make it the third-straight season of having at least one candidate for the award. Penn State's three candidates are also the most of any school, and it is one of four schools with multiple candidates for the 2021 award.
Danny Bloyou
Bloyou, a forward from Accra, Ghana, was named a candidate for the first time in his career.
Bloyou is majoring in communication arts and sciences and currently maintains a 3.41 cumulative GPA. He's worked hard to balance transferring into a new school during a global pandemic while also taking classes online during the 2020-21 school year. Through it all, Bloyou made the Dean's List in the spring semester, the same semester he competed a season for the Nittany Lions.
Bloyou is one of the hardest workers on a team full of hard workers. He's always putting the team first and doing whatever he needs to do to ensure the team is successful. He is a member of the Athletic Director's Leadership Institution as part of the Emerging Leader program where he represents men's soccer.
Bloyou is an active member of the Penn State and State College community, as well as his local soccer community back home in Philadelphia. He's always made an effort to help kids learn the game he loves.
On the pitch, Bloyou is an incredible soccer player. He was named a Third Team All-American by United Soccer Coaches at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season. He also earned a spot on the All-Big Ten first team and the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. He led the Nittany Lions last season with eight goals and two assists for 18 total points which were career highs in every category.
Brandon Hackenberg
Hackenberg, a defender from Palmyra, Va., is a two-time candidate as he was also selected as a top-30 candidate in 2020-21.
Hackenberg has worked hard in the classroom, culminating in his graduation of a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations in December 2020. In 2020-21, he was named a United Soccer Coaches First Team Scholar All-American for the first time in his career. He is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree as well as a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. Hackenberg is now working on a Graduate Certificate in Business Management Foundations which he expects to complete in December 2021.
Hackenberg's character shines in his leadership role as a two-time team captain, as voted by his teammates. He continues to work hard to grow team culture and strive towards a common goal of championship behavior on and off the field of play. He is also a member of Penn State's Athletic Director's Leadership Institute.
Hackenberg has been an important part of the State College and Penn State community in the last five and a half years. He always makes sure to take the time postgame to sign autographs and interact with fans because he knows he is a role model and that these fans are also a contributing part of the team's success. He also volunteers to read to local kindergarten students at one of the elementary schools in town with some of his teammates.
Hackenberg has contributed many valuable minutes on the pitch for the Nittany Lions, now in his sixth season with the team due to the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He's played in 65 total games and has helped pitch 16 shutouts as a member of the backline. He is a two-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree (2019, 2020-21) and he also earned First Team All-North Region honors from United Soccer Coaches last season. He's helped the Nittany Lions to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament as well as a trip to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game in 2020-21 for the first time since 2011.
Pierre Reedy
Reedy, a midfielder from Kutztown, Pa., was named a candidate for the first time in his career.
Reedy is the definition of a student-athlete with his outstanding work in the classroom. He has already completed both an undergraduate (Bachelors in Security and Risk Analysis, May 2020) and a masters degree (Masters in Corporate Finance, May 2021), finishing with above a 3.60 GPA in both. He is now working on his third Penn State degree, a bachelor in sociology. In 2020-21, he was named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American as well as a First Team Scholar All-American by United Soccer Coaches. Reedy is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
Reedy's character shines in his leadership role as a three-time team captain, as voted by his teammates. He is dedicated to developing relationships with the team to ensure success on and off the field. He is also a member of the Athletic Directors Leadership Institute where he works with fellow student-athletes and athletics staff to enhance his leadership skills, learn from professionals, as well as working toward a personal leadership philosophy. He uses these experiences and lessons to implement them back to the men's soccer program to help build a better environment and culture. Reedy's hard-work and never-give-up attitude can also be recognized from his ability to come back and play after missing back-to-back seasons with injuries, as well as leading his team during the uncertain times of a global pandemic and a postponed season.
Reedy is a valued member of the State College and Penn State community for the last five and a half years. In February 2020, he was a dancer for THON, Penn State's dance marathon, a student-run philanthropy committed to enhancing the lives of children and families impacted by childhood cancer. As a dancer, he stood for 46-straight hours without sitting or sleeping while interacting with THON children and their families in the fight against childhood cancer. He also organized a one-day soccer tournament fundraiser, resulting in over 200 Penn State students registering to participate and a $1,200 fundraised. Reedy has also volunteered for The Acres Project at State, an organization that connects Penn State students and the Acres Project to develop new opportunities for individuals with autism.
On the pitch, Reedy had a breakout season in 2020-21, culminating in a career-high five goals scored and four assists added for a career-best 14 total points. For that he earned Third Team All-America status from United Soccer Coaches as well as First Team All-Big Ten honors and an All-Big Ten Tournament Team nod. He's helped the Nittany Lions to back-to-back seasons with trips to the NCAA Tournament as well as a Big Ten Tournament Championship game appearance in 2020-21 for the first time since 2011.
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 candidate class 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 selected one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character, and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2021 NCAA Men's College Cup® championship in December.
The Nittany Lions play at Michigan State Friday evening at 7 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich. as they return to conference competition.
