Rene White and Regsan Watkins Named Candidates for 2021-22 Senior CLASS Award

NJIT fifth-year seniors Rene White and Regsan Watkins join a list of 60 NCAA men's and women's student-athletes selected as the 2021-22 Senior CLASS Award candidates.

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.

A season ago, White was selected as a candidate for the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award.

White, from Bloomfield, NJ, ranks first in the NCAA in career goals (45) and second in points (98) while teammate Watkins, from Capetown, South Africa sits in second in goals (38) and tied for third in points (91) with Rhode Island's Patrick Agyemang.

A 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-America first-team honoree, White ranks third all-time in the record books in goals and fourth in points while holding the NJIT Division I record for total goals.

The 2019 ASUN Player of the Year, ASUN first-team and ASUN All-Tournament team honoree was NJIT's DI single season leader in goals (17) and ranked fifth in the nation in goals.

White netted 17 goals in 19 NJIT matches, posting his second career hat trick in the Highlanders 5-0 shutout victory over Jacksonville to clinch the ASUN Conference regular season title - the first-ever ASUN title for an NJIT team at the Division I level.

A two-time ASUN Conference All-Academic team and United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-East Region selectee, White completed his undergraduate degree in December 2020, cum laude, boosting a 3.668 GPA in business with a concentration in financial technology.  White, who was named to the Dean's List for six semesters, is enrolled in the master's program of Science & Management.

White was selected in the third round of the 2021 Major League Soccer SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake.  He becomes the second Highlander to be drafted to the MLS in the last four years -- Mamadou Guirassy (Portland Timbers; fourth round selection in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft).

This season, White ranks tied for sixth in the nation in total goals with seven.  His 16 total points ranks tied for 11th.
 

Watkins, the 2021 America East Conference Striker of the Year, ranks fourth all-time at NJIT in goals and fifth in points.  The Highlander forward played two seasons at Bloomfield College prior to attending NJIT, tallying 22 goals.

He was selected to the 2021 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men's Scholar All-Region team, scored the hat trick after powering NJIT to a 3-2 men's soccer America East Conference win at Stony Brook. Watkins was selected America East Conference Player of the Week and College Soccer News National Team of the week on April 6 for his three-goal performance at Stony Brook. 

This season, Watkins has combined for three goals, two assists for eight points.  He scored a pair of goals against then-ranked No. 22 Seton Hall on September 9.
 

Each of the 60 candidates has displayed a strong work ethic in the classroom and on the pitch. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates have also been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.

Each of the two candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists 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 select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character, and competition. 

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2021 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup ® championships in December.

Stay up to date during the 2021 NJIT men's soccer season by following @NJITSoccer on Twitter and Instagram and liking the NJIT Men's Soccer page on Facebook.