Forrest named finalist for John Wooden Citizenship Cup

By Chuck Walsh

Seminoles.com

Trent Forrest, a senior captain for the No. 9 ranked Florida State men’s basketball team, has been named as one of four finalists for the 16th Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup, awarded annually to the most outstanding role models among student-athletes. He was named a finalist for the prestigious honor along with Claire Kloff of Denison University (soccer), Bria Matthews of Georgia Tech (track and field) and Ryan Culhane of the University of Dayton (football).

Founded by Athletes for a Better World (ABW), a non-profit organization committed to changing the culture of American sports, the Wooden Cup is unique in that it is open to athletes in high school, collegiate, Olympic, and professional sports. Annual nominations are open to every division and conference in college sports, and to athletes in public and private high schools across the country in partnership with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.

The award will be presented at a ceremony in Atlanta in April.

FSU senior Trent Forrest said to be named a finalist for Wooden Cup is “truly humbling.”
Photo special to the Outlook

“I am honored to be named as a finalist for the Wooden Citizenship Cup Award,” said Forrest. “I have always worked very hard to live my life as a good person; it’s how I was raised by my parents. To be named a finalist for an award that has John Wooden as its namesake is truly humbling. I respect Mr. Wooden and the game of basketball so much and am overjoyed to be a candidate for such an incredible award.”

Forrest is one of the top players in college basketball and has led the Seminoles to a 14-2 record and a 4-1 mark in ACC play. He enters Wednesday’s game against defending National Champion Virginia averaging a career-high 12.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Forrest has scored 979 career points and needs only 21 more to become the 38th player in school history to score 1,000 or more career points.

Forrest not only excels on the basketball court but is even more successful in the classroom. He has been named to the Academic Dean’s List twice during his career at Florida State, been named to the All-ACC Academic Basketball Team and to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in each of his first three years as a Seminole. He was a nominee for the 2019 NABC Give Back Team and was named to the 2019 NABC Academic Honors Court. Forrest was a member of the 2017-18 Student Athlete Advisory Council at Florida State and was honored with the Mr. Inspirational Award by the Florida State LYFE (Leaders Yearning For Excellence) Program in 2018. He earned the 2019 Golden Nole for men’s basketball presented for significant contributions on the court, in the classroom and in the community.

Forrest is also a leader among the many Florida State student-athletes in terms of donating his time to community service. Among the projects he is most passionate about is helping those affected by Hurricane Michael in the Panhandle of the state of Florida in his hometown of Chipley, Fla. Forrest and his teammates traveled to Blountstown, Fla., in October of 2018 to provide much-needed food and supplies to residents in one of the areas in the state most affected by the category 5 hurricane.

John Wooden, who won ten national championships during the years 1964-1975 as the head basketball coach at UCLA, is commonly regarded as the greatest college coach of any sport who ever lived. Universally recognized as one of the finest human beings to ever grace the world of sports, his character, conduct and selfless gifts stand at the highest level by any standard. When Coach Wooden learned about Athletes for a Better World, he gave authorization to attach his name to this annual award, and he attended and addressed the inaugural event in Los Angeles in 2005.

In his honor, the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup is presented to four distinguished athletes, one collegiate, one professional or Olympic, and a male and female from the high school ranks, for their character and leadership both on and off the field.