Kai Kroeger set to return to South Carolina

South Carolina senior punter Kai Kroeger will return to Columbia for the 2024 season, GamecockCentral.com has learned.

A former first-team All-American in 2022, the Lake Forest (Illinois) product is a multi-year starter for the Gamecocks and will be a key returning piece as a fifth-year player.

South Carolina Transfer Portal Resources:

• South Carolina Target Watchlist
• South Carolina Portal Tracker
• On3 National Portal Tracker 
• Get portal news notifications with the App

The On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average of the four major recruiting media services, ranked Kroeger as a three-star prospect out of high school and as the nation’s 2nd-best punter prospect.

Kai Kroeger South Carolina Bio

* 2023 co-The President’s Outstanding Student-Athlete Award
* 2022 First-Team All-America (ESPN.com, The Athletic)
* 2022 Second-Team All-America (Walter Camp, AFCA)
* 2022 Fourth-Team All-America (Phil Steele)
* 2022 First-Team All-SEC (AP, Coaches, USA Today, Phil Steele)
* 2022 Second-Team All-SEC (ProFootballFocus)
* 2022 Jim Carlen Award – MVP Special Teams
* 2022 Nutrition Award
* 2022 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
* 2021 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
* 2020 SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman Team
* 2020-21 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll

Returning All-American and All-SEC punter… emerging not just as a top punter in the SEC and nationally, but becoming one of the best leaders on the team… leads by example but becoming more of a vocal leader as well… does things the right way both on and off the field… averaging 44.2-yards per punt in his career, which ranks second on the school’s all-time career list behind Joseph Charlton (45.5)… good athlete who is also one of the best holders in the country… is a perfect 6-for-6 in career pass attempts, including three touchdowns.

2022 (Junior)
Turned in arguably the best seasons by a punter in school history… named a First-Team All-American by ESPN.com and The Athletic… was a second-team All-American according to Walter Camp and AFCA and a fourth-teamer according to Phil Steele… named first-team All-SEC by the AP, the SEC coaches, Phil Steele and USA TODAY… awarded the Jim Carlen Special Teams MVP Award and the Nutrition Award… one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award… listed on “Ray’s 8” six times during the season and was the Ray Guy National Punter of the Week following the Georgia State game… one of four finalists for the Mortell Award, which recognizes the nation’s top holder… named the SEC co-Special Teams Player of the Week following the Vanderbilt game and was the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance at Clemson… averaged 46.1 yards per punt, the best mark in the SEC, fifth in the country and the second-best single-season mark in school history… 18 of his 58 punts traveled 50 or more yards, including a season-long 79-yarder, the fourth-longest in FBS… 29 punts (50 pct.) pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line… completed all four of his pass attempts, two on fake punts (vs. Georgia and at Florida) and two on fake field goals (vs. Vanderbilt and vs Notre Dame)… threw for 107 yards and two TDs, logging a passing efficiency rating of 489.7.. appeared on “Ray’s 8” Iist for his performance against Georgia State, Georgia, Texas A&M, Missouri, Vanderbilt and Florida… averaged 49.1-yards on seven punts with a long of 79 in the season-opener against Georgia State, earning Ray Guy National Punter of the Week accolades… averaged 53.6-yards with a long of 69 yards on five punts at Vanderbilt… threw a 48-yard touchdown pass on a fake punt at Florida… saved his best game for last when he averaged 53.7 yards on seven punts at Clemson, with three inside the five-yard line… threw a 23-yard touchdown pass in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against Notre Dame… named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.

2021 (Sophomore)
Averaged 42.9 yards on 59 punts… ranked 10th in the SEC in punting average… logged 14 punts of 50-plus yards with 23 fair catches, 23 inside the 20 and just two touchbacks… boomed a pair of punts that traveled 70-plus yards including a career-long 73-yarder at Texas A&M… also had a 70-yarder against Vanderbilt… is the only Carolina punter to have two 70-yard punts since 1984… named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week and Ray Guy National Punter of the Week for his efforts against Vanderbilt when he averaged 56.8 yards on four punts… listed on “Ray’s 8” list for his efforts against Kentucky when he placed four of five punts inside the 20… threw a 44-yard touchdown pass on a fake punt at Tennessee… named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.

2020 (Freshman)
True freshman who enrolled in August and won the starting punting duties in fall camp… also served as the holder on placements… named to the SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman team after averaging 43.3-yards per punt… boomed 39 punts for 1,690 yards with a long of 53… totaled seven punts of 50-plus yards and placed eight inside the 20 with just two touchbacks… ranked eighth in the SEC in punting average… got off to a slow start, with his first 10 punts over two games averaging just 37.8 yards… averaged 45.2 yards the rest of the season… averaged a single-game best 48.5 yards on two punts in the rain at Vanderbilt… boomed five punts for 242 yards (48.4 avg.) including a season-best 53-yarder, with three balls spotted inside the 20 in the win over Auburn, earning him SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors… averaged 44.5 yards on two punts against Texas A&M, then averaged 44.7 yards on a season-high seven punts against Missouri… averaged 46.0 yards on four punts, including a 52-yarder, against Georgia… completed his lone pass of the season, a 22-yarder to Dakereon Joyner on a fake punt for a first down at Kentucky… named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.

HIGH SCHOOL
Graduated from Lake Forest (Ill.) High School in 2020… helped lead the Scouts to a 7-5 record and a spot in the 2019 state quarterfinals… named to the 2019 IHSFCA honorable mention 6A all-state team… averaged over 40 yards per punt as a junior… selected for all-conference honors and earned a spot on the News-Sun and Pioneer Press all-area teams in 2018… named the North Suburban Conference Special Teams Player of the Year in 2018… coached by Chuck Spagnoli… considered the 41st-best prospect in Illinois and the third-best punter in the country according to the 247Sports Composite rankings… is the top-ranked player at his position in the country according to Kohl’s Kicking.

PERSONAL
Kai Martin Kroeger was born June 11, 2002… is a history major… represented football on SAAC in 2022-23 and again in 2023-24 and is the 2023 South Carolina representative on the SEC Football Council.

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.

*** GamecockCentral.com’s Chris Clark contributed to this report

Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!