Former South Carolina superstars Mike Davis, John Abraham, Tre Kelley return to school to graduate this weekend

Former South Carolina star athletes Mike Davis, John Abraham, and Tre Kelley are among the 107 Gamecock student-athletes graduating this weekend.

The trio, from three eras and two sports, are among the many former South Carolina athletes who take advantage of the university’s resources, which allow them to return to school and finish their degrees, years after their playing careers are over.

The Carolina Degree Completion Program exists to help former student-athletes who were in good academic standing but did not complete their degree due to pursuing a professional career or personal circumstances.

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It allows the former player to apply to return to school to finish his or her degree while taking advantage of a multitude of resources from the school.

Kelley, a point guard for the South Carolina men’s basketball team, scored 1,488 points during his career and is third all-time with 510 assists.

A 2007 All-SEC First Teamer and 2020 SEC Legend, Kelley’s return to school was part of a promise he made when he originally left South Carolina, he told GamecocksOnline’s Brad Muller.

“It was a promise I made to Coach (Dave) Odom, and a promise I made to my family to come back and get my degree,” said Kelley. “When I first came here, my focus was a little different. I came here to play the game of basketball and try to help get my family out of the situation we were in by playing professional basketball. So, that was more of a priority. Where I’m from, there are only certain ways to get out of that situation and professional sports was one of them. At least that was the mindset.

“Now that mindset has changed because I want to coach college basketball, and you need your degree to do that.”

Davis starred for Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks when he rushed for 2,440 yards and 22 touchdowns while adding 70 receptions for 755 yards and two touchdowns from 2012-14.

He left early for the NFL, playing in 87 games, collecting 2,052 career rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 558 carries. He added 171 receptions for 1,066 yards and four touchdowns. Davis spent time in the league with the 49ers, Seahawks, Panthers, Bears, Falcons, and Ravens.

Abraham, a member of the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame, collected 23.5 sacks during his career from 1996-99.

The Lamar High School graduate and Timmonsville, S.C. native, was drafted No. 13 overall by the Jets in the 2020 NFL Draft.

He finished his career with five Pro Bowl selections and a trio of All-Pro honors, collecting 545 total tackles, 133.5 sacks, 48 forced fumbles, and six fumble recoveries.

Overall, more than 8,300 students will graduate from the University of South Carolina system this weekend, including 6,623 on the Columbia campus.

Athletes representing all 21 intercollegiate sports will participate in four ceremonies over the next two days at Colonial Life Arena.

Student-athletes graduating this weekend

Baseball (12):
Matthew Becker
Jordan Carrion
Wyatt Evans
Blake Jackson
Kennedy Jones
Caleb Jones
Roman Kimball
Talmadge LeCroy
Dalton Mashore
Evan Stone
Matthew Vogel
Jase Woita

Men’s Basketball (5):
Tre Kelley
Myles Stute
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk
Jamarii Thomas
Jacobi Wright

Women’s Basketball (2):
Sania Feagin
Raven Johnson

Beach Volleyball (6):
Jordan Benoit
Hanna Bissler
Sadie Nelson
Kristen Schenck
Virginia Blair Trost
Kennedy Westendorff

Equestrian (10):
Ellie Beard
Brianna Carter
Madison Hammon
Tierney Horton
Sophie Mitchell
Mya Pinski
Payton Potter
Ava Pratt
Haley Turner
Chloe VanStone

Football (12):
John Abraham
Jatius Geer
Nick Barrett
Jared Brown
Colin Bryant
Joseph Byrnes
Mike Davis
Juju McDowell
Aaron Morton
Ronnie Porter
Eriq Rice
Larry Scott

Men’s Golf (2):
Nathan Franks
Laurens Schulze- Döring

Women’s Golf (2):
Hannah Darling
Louise Rydqvist

Men’s Soccer (4):
Gabriel Atienza
Jack Burgess
Sonny Quintanilla
Martin Yahia

Women’s Soccer (6):
Emma Bucci
Chidubem Dike
Dru Drake
Jenna Hall
Emma Misal
Lily Render

Softball (10):
Brooke Blankenship
Ella Chancey
Giulia Desiderio
Marissa Gonzalez
Natalie Heath
Kianna Jones
Abigail Knight
Emma Sellers
Alana Vawter
Emily Vinson

Men’s Swimming & Diving (5):
Michael Laitarovsky
Linus Kahl
Liam Kerns
Wilder Kruse
Kaden Smesko

Women’s Swimming & Diving (9):
Isabella Bassock
Paige Collins
Peyton Curry
Elizabeth Isenhour
Makenzy Mills
Pia Murray
Greta Pelzek
Annaliese Streeter
Sophie Verzyl

Men’s Tennis (1):
Casey Hoole

Women’s Tennis (3):
Sarah Hamner
Olympe Lancelot
Misa Malkin

Men’s Track & Field (6):
Rogerio Amaral
Jalen Clark
Channing Ferguson
Anthony Greenhow
Aidan Hatton
Prescott Jefferson

Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country (9):
Brooke Donoghue
Jayla Jamison
Jahnile Registre
Cailyn Scharneck
Emma Stone
Rachel Valentine
Lily Weeks
Ally Wilson
Ella Zeigler

Volleyball (3):
Oby Anadi
Morgan Carter
Claire Wilson

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