June 30, 2008

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest's Charlie Mellies was selected to the Lowe's All-Senior All-America Team. A first team selection, Mellies was one of 10 finalists in the country for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The top five finalists earned first team honors, while the second group of five was on the second team.

Mellies is the only candidate from Wake Forest to appear on the ballot in the two-year history of the baseball award. He was the only student-athlete from the ACC to be named a finalist for the 2008 award.

The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, honors seniors who excel in the classroom, are active in their community, exhibit extraordinary character and stand out on the field. With a developing trend of college athletes opting to enter the professional leagues before receiving their college degree, this award values the importance of senior leadership and dedication to their university's program.

Mellies was sidelined toward the end of the 2006 season due to elbow surgery. After returning for only five games during the 2007 campaign, Mellies started 14 games his senior season in 2008. He went 4-5 with a 4.57 ERA in a team-high 90.2 innings. Mellies struck out 68 batters against just 17 walks. He threw three straight complete games to end the season.

In his five-year career with the Demon Deacons, Mellies went 15-17 with a 4.51 ERA in 66 games, including 34 starts. A three-year captain, he struck out 180 batters in 261.1 innings pitched.

Off the field, Mellies graduated with a double major in political science and sociology. He made the Dean's List every semester at Wake Forest, was named to the ACC Honor Roll each of the past four years and was an All-ACC Academic Team honoree in 2006.

Mellies was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), a national leadership honor society, in April 2007. He was president of Wake Forest's chapter of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a member of the Wake Forest Leadership Academy.

Mellies volunteered his time on campus and in the community with such projects as Athletes Care Team, Eat with the Deacs, Baseball Bears, Project Pumpkin, YES Clinic and Santa's Helpers. He was also one of three baseball players who organized Wake Forest's Operation Wounded Soldier--a project that raised over $5,000.

Rice's Cole St. Clair was presented with the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award during an on-field presentation at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. This marks the second year for the baseball division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Alabama infielder Emeel Salem was the inaugural winner in 2007.