Trasolini, a cum laude graduate in Finance in March, 2012 with a 3.62 grade point average, is in his fourth quarter of work on his MBA at the prestigious Leavey School of Business.
"Ever since I was named Academic All-District my sophomore year, being named to the national list was a goal and it was something I worked very hard to achieve. Being only one of 15 college basketball players this year to receive this honor makes me feel really blessed. I am proud of all the hard work I have put in in the classroom," said Trasolini. "A lot of the credit needs to go to my parents for pushing me to work hard both on and off the court to make sure I am well-rounded. I have taken full advantage of the great opportunity I have had at a great private school like Santa Clara University."
"What a great honor for Marc and our program," said Bronco head coach Kerry Keating. "We are proud of Marc as he continues to take advantage of his time here at Santa Clara on and especially off the floor. After recovering from his injury successfully and voluntarily returning to pursue an MBA, this honor couldn't have come to a better, more deserving person. Congratulations to Marc and his family, in addition a special achievement to note for our academic staff and entire program as well!"
On the court Trasolini is No. 11 on the Bronco career scoring list. He is in the top 10 in career field goal percentage, field goals made, rebounds, minutes played, blocks, personal fouls, games started and when he plays in the Portland game on Saturday, he will tie the school record for career games played. This season Trasolini leads the team in rebounds per game and blocks per game and he is second in points per game. Entering the week, Trasolini is all over the WCC stat sheets coming in at No. 1 in offensive rebounds , No. 2 In blocked shots , No. 3 in rebounding, No. 4 in FG percentage and No. 7 in scoring.
To be eligible for the award, the senior must have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in October.
Trasolini was the only player in the West Coast Conference and Pac 12 to be named to the CoSIDA All-District Academic All-American list three straight competition years this Feb. (2010, '11, '13).
Keating had this to say about Trasolini in the community for his nomination to the Senior CLASS Award. "On our annual trip to the Great America park to spend the day with Courageous Kids (kids with cancer) Marc has been front and center each year. At 6-9 240, he is easily visible, but the kids feel his heart when he spends time with them because he is a good person, not because he is a basketball player and tall. Marc has been a fixture at our annual summer camp and relishes his role as teacher and role model, and has developed a comfort in being easily noticeable but has more so developed strength in being a role model and good citizen."
Aaron Craft was chosen as the winner of the Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year award for Division I men's basketball. The West Coast Conference was featured on the First, Second and Third Team this year.
The first team includes Aaron Craft of Ohio State, Mason Plumlee of Duke, Matthew Sullivan of Brown, Kelly Olynyk of Gonzaga and Cody Zeller of Indiana.
The five-person second team is Peyton Siva of Louisville, Matthew Dellavedova of Saint Mary's, Ben Averkamp of Loyola (Ill.), Nathan Healy of Appalachian State and Andrew Smith of Butler.
The third team includes Trasolini, Jordan Hulls of Indiana, Mathias Ward of Montana, Mike Muscala of Bucknell and Darren White of Campbell.