Wheaton, Ill. - Corey Kennedy, a December 2019 graduate of Wheaton, was selected as the 2019-20 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Man of the Year as announced by the league on Thursday. Kennedy's selection marks the second-consecutive year that a Wheaton athlete receives the award as he joins the 2018-19 award winner, Leif Van Grinsven, as the only two Wheaton student-athletes to receive the award in its 13 years.

Kennedy said of the recognition, "I am very honored to have received this award. I have deeply cherished my time spent at Wheaton and the great people I have been surrounded by. It is a true testament to the support I received from the facility, my coaches, and my teammates—I would not have been able to do it without them. They pushed me every single day to strive academically, athletically and spiritually."

Kennedy was chosen through a voting process conducted by the CCIW Senior Woman Administrators and Faculty Athletics Representatives. He was chosen among a group of eight other nominees from across the conference: including Augustana's Luke Sawicki (football), Carroll's David Lembke (Men's Track & Field), Carthage's Jacob Allard (men's volleyball), Jay MiIitello of Elmhurst College (men's basketball), llinois Wesleyan's Nick Figus (baseball), North Central's Anthony Rink (wrestling) and Peder Olsen of North Park (men's soccer).

The CCIW Man of the Year award honors senior male student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. The award was established in 2008 to recognize the conference's top male student-athlete, similar to the NCAA's recognition of its top female student-athlete with the Woman of the Year award, which the CCIW participates in by submitting a female nominee at the end of each academic year.

Kennedy graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton in December with a degree in Business/Economics, posting a 3.97 cumulative GPA in his three years at Wheaton. He is a two-time CoSIDA Division III Academic All-American, earning First Team honors in 2019 and 2018. He also picked up CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition twice in his career and three times was a CCIW Academic All-Conference selection. Placed on the Dean's List every semester at Wheaton, Kennedy was a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's Campbell Trophy.

Kennedy joined the Thunder in 2017 after transferring from Northern Illinois University. He started at safety in each of Wheaton's games from 2017 through the 2019 season. He registered 123 tackles in that time, including 10 tackles for loss, with seven career interceptions. His a two-time D3football.com All-North Region performer, earning Second Team honors in 2019 with Third Team recognition in 2018. Kennedy was voted as a First Team All-CCIW selection in 2019 and earned Second Team honors in 2018.

Kennedy helped with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at Wheaton North High School from 2017-19. Additionally, he volunteered for 10 years at Prairie Pals Christian Preschool in Oswego, Illinois. He also served as a Small Group Leader in two of his three years at Wheaton and participated in Wheaton Football Ministry Partnership (WFMP) trips to Mexico and Cuba.