Recipients of 2016-17 Endowed Scholarships Announced
Aug. 31, 2016 COLUMBIA, S.C. ââ’¬” University of South Carolina Athletics announced today the recipients of nine endowed scholarships across five sports. Four members of the group are All-Americans and six have appeared on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Recipients for endowed scholarships are selected each year by the sport’s head coach.
“Our student-athletes are able to have a ‘championship experience’ here and large part of that is due to the generosity of our Gamecock Club members,” South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner said. “These endowed scholarships represent the special commitment that our Gamecock Club members and student-athletes make. We are very appreciative of the support from our Gamecock Club members.”
The 2016-17 recipients of endowed scholarships are:
Baseball
The Ken Branch and Kathy Falls Endowed Baseball Scholarship ââ’¬” Josh Gregory
The Everette and Beverly Newman Endowed Pitcher’s Scholarship ââ’¬” Clarke Schmidt
The Ken Rosefield Family Endowed First Baseman’s Scholarship ââ’¬” Alex Destino
Women’s Basketball
The Aleighsa Welch Endowed Women’s Basketball Scholarship ââ’¬” Alaina Coates
Football
The Marcus Lattimore Endowed Football Scholarship ââ’¬” T.J. Holloman
The Tommy Suggs Endowed Quarterback Scholarship ââ’¬” Perry Orth
The Wraellen and Larry Winn Endowed Tight End Scholarship ââ’¬” Hayden Hurst
Women’s Golf
The Kenneth T. Lytle Endowed Women’s Golf Scholarship ââ’¬” Katelyn Dambaugh
Track & Field
The Schreiber Family Endowed Scholarship ââ’¬” Josh Awotunde
A two-way player, Gregory is a freshman this season, joining the Gamecocks as the No. 4 high school prospect in the state of South Carolina and the top high school left-handed pitcher in the state after a standout career at Gaffney High School. Schmidt earned All-America and All-SEC honors last season. The junior is a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection. Destino, another junior, earned a spot on the NCAA Regional All-Tournament team last season, helping the Gamecocks into the Super Regionals.
Coates is a three-time All-SEC selection and who pulled down 10.3 rebounds per game last season, becoming the first Gamecock to average double-figure rebounds overall since 1992-93 and in SEC play since 1993-94. A 2016 Wade Trophy finalist, the senior center is just the fourth player in program history to amass at least 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds. Heading into her final season, she already holds school records for career defensive rebounds (642), rebounds in SEC play (433) and double-doubles in SEC action (19).
Holloman is a senior linebacker who earned a spot on the preseason watch list for the 32nd annual Butkus Award in July. In addition to piling up 140 career tackles in 36 games over the last three seasons, the 2015 team captain is a two-time member of the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. Orth earned this scholarship for the second-straight season and is competing for the starting quarterback role in his senior season. Hurst played in all 12 games in 2015 as a true freshman and entered this fall as a co-starter at tight end.
Earning this endowed scholarship for the second-straight season, Dambaugh is set for a stellar senior season after capturing WGCA First-Team All-America honors last season, which she capped by winning the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. Her school-record 71.62 stroke average in 2015-16 was second in NCAA Division I women’s golf, and she posted the Gamecocks’ best score in nine of their 11 tournaments. With one season to play, she ranks second in program history in career top-five finishes (10) and fifth in top-10 showings (14).
Awotunde is the first recipient of the Schreiber Family Endowed Scholarship as he heads into his junior season as the Gamecocks’ premier shot putter. He placed seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn First-Team All-America status after earning Second-Team All-SEC honors at the conference indoor meet earlier in the season. His throw at the NCAA event was the program’s best since 1999 and came shortly after missing two months due to injury. Awotunde was also a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2015.
In addition to these eight endowed scholarships, South Carolina Athletics has several other planned gift endowed scholarships. For more information on endowed scholarships, please contact Steve Eigenbrot, Associated Athletics Director/Development at 803-777-8116.
