Recipients of 2017-18 Endowed Scholarships Announced
Aug. 25, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. –
University of South Carolina Athletics announced today the recipients of nine endowed scholarships across five sports. Seven of the nine have appeared on the SEC Academic Honor Roll at least once, with three capturing All-America recognition at least once in their careers. Recipients for endowed scholarships are selected each year by the sport’s head coach.
“Gamecock Club members have been tremendous in their support of our student-athletes,” said South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner. “We strive to provide a ‘championship experience’ for our student-athletes, and the assistance from our Gamecock Club members goes a long way in providing the resources necessary for them to be successful.”
The 2017-18 recipients of endowed scholarships are:
Baseball
The Ken Branch and Kathy Falls Endowed Baseball Scholarship – Adam Hill
The Everette and Beverly Newman Endowed Pitcher’s Scholarship – Cody Morris
The Ken Rosefield Family Endowed First Baseman’s Scholarship – Riley Hogan
Women’s Basketball
The Aleighsa Welch Endowed Women’s Basketball Scholarship – A’ja Wilson
Football
The Marcus Lattimore Endowed Football Scholarship – Bryson Allen-Williams
The Tommy Suggs Endowed Quarterback Scholarship – Jake Bentley
The Wraellen and Larry Winn Endowed Tight End Scholarship – Hayden Hurst
Women’s Golf
The Kenneth T. Lytle Endowed Women’s Golf Scholarship – Ainhoa Olarra
Track & Field
The Schreiber Family Endowed Scholarship – Armand Woodley
Hill, a junior right-handed pitcher, started 14 games for the Gamecocks in 2017 and had a 3.04 earned-run average with 87 strikeouts in 77 innings pitched. The Anderson, South Carolina, native earned SEC All-Freshman honors and garnered Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game in 2016. Morris, a redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher, went 3-2 with a 3.66 ERA in his first action as a Gamecock in 2017. The Laurel, Maryland, native struck out 47 batters compared to just eight walks on the season. Hill and Morris were both named to the 2015-16 SEC First-Year Honor Roll. Hogan, a sophomore infielder, made 24 starts last season and had six doubles, a pair of home runs and 10 runs-batted-in the Gamecocks. The Orlando, Florida, native had a career-high three hits in an SEC Tournament game against Kentucky (May 24) and had four RBI in a win over Liberty (May 10).
The two-time SEC Player of the Year and a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection, Wilson returns for a senior season as yet again one of the premier players in the nation. A team captain as a junior, she has been a finalist for national player of the year honors the last two seasons and has led the Gamecocks to three of their four-straight SEC regular-season championships in addition to the 2017 national championship and a 2015 NCAA Final Four appearance. The 2017 Final Four Most Outstanding Player averaged 17.9 points per game last season and ranked 14th in the nation with a .588 field goal percentage and 19th in blocked shots at 2.6 per game.
Allen-Williams is considered one of the more vocal team leaders after the senior linebacker has played 37 games over the last three seasons and collected 125 tackles, including 14.5 tackles for loss. The mass communications major spent the summer serving as an intern at ABC Columbia. Bentley established himself as a team leader in just half a season on the field. The sophomore quarterback started the last seven games of 2016 and was recognized by his teammates as the Steve Wadiak co-Most Valuable Player. A junior tight end, Hurst has worked his way into being a team captain and All-SEC candidate. Last season, he became the first sophomore in program history to be named a team captain after setting school records for receptions and receiving yards by a tight end. He was also recognized as the Dr. Harris Pastides Outstanding Student-Athlete at the 2017 Garnet & Black spring game.
A 2017 All-America honorable mention selection, Olarra finished her junior year with the fourth-lowest stroke average in program history (72.71). She tied for 10th at the 2017 NCAA Championship – the fifth-best individual finish by a Gamecock in the event history. The San Sebastian, Spain, native has made the SEC Academic Honor Roll all three seasons at South Carolina and enters her senior season with seven career top-10 finishes after tallying four last spring.
Woodley’s meteoric rise to an NCAA Championships berth was one of the highlights of the 2017 South Carolina track & field season. The Orlando, Florida, native entered the outdoor season with a personal best of just over 15 feet, but he set a new personal best at each of the final five regular-season meets of the year, including a victory at the prestigious Penn Relays, where he cleared 16-6 3/4. Two weeks later, he finished fifth and qualified for NCAA Regionals. Woodley entered the postseason seeded 45th in the East Region, but he set yet another personal best (17-2 3/4) to grab the 12th and final ticket to the NCAA Championships in Eugene. Woodley also stood out in the classroom in 2017, earning SEC and USTFCCCA academic honor roll recognition.
In addition to these nine endowed scholarships, South Carolina Athletics has several other planned gift endowed scholarships. For more information on endowed scholarships, please contact Steve Eigenbrot, Senior Associate Athletics Director/Development, at 803-777-8116.
