Jason Kerst

Jason Kerst was hired as a student assistant for the Gamecocks’ women’s tennis program in August 2021.

Kerst, a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, came to Carolina from the University of Iowa where he was a five-year member of the men’s tennis team. As a true senior in 2019-20, Kerst helped lead the team to a 12-2 start and a top-20 national ranking, the highest in program history, before the season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He also served as President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2019-20.

During his time as a Hawkeye, Kerst and his teammates had wins over numerous top-20 opponents, including No. 19 Michigan, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 14 Dartmouth and No. 16 Cornell. He notably clinched the win over No. 50 VCU on February 29, 2020, with a 7-6 victory in the deciding set.

At Iowa, Kerst received numerous accolades on and off the court, including Hawkeye of the Year, the ITA Central Region Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award, the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.

Kerst graduated from Iowa in May 2020 with a BBA in Management and minors in Sport and Recreation Management and Spanish. He used his extra year of eligibility to compete in the spring of 2021 and completed a Certificate in Leadership Studies. Now, Kerst is enrolled in the One-Year MBA program with the Darla Moore School of Business, set to graduate in May 2022.