Though we cannot host a live, in-person CLEMMYs event this year, Clemson Athletics is still proud to celebrate the amazing achievements — on and off the fields of play — of our student-athletes during Spring 2019, Fall 2019 and Winter 2020. Congratulations to all of our nominees and winners and thank you to all Clemson student-athletes for your contributions to our university community over the past year.
Presented to individuals who demonstrate a commitment to academics, devotion to service and excellence in leadership
Nomination Letter: “Harleigh is on track to graduate with a B.S. in Nursing while also competing as a student-athlete for four years. Boasting a 3.47 GPA and All-ACC Academic team accolades from last spring, Harleigh has also completed the most service hours of any Track & Field student-athlete during her time at Clemson (94 total hours in her career). She serves as the Clemson Athletic department’s Women Empowerment group leader, Vice President of the Patuxent United Methodist Church Youth Group and is a member of the Tigers Unite Executive Board, Tiger Leadership Academy, Student Nurse Association and Psi Chi Honors Society. Even while balancing clinicals, classes/labs, sport travel, numerous service ventures and her various leadership positions, Harleigh has also served as a UPIC intern with the nursing program aimed at improving the department’s NURS 1400 course and creating an artificial intelligence lab. Harleigh thoroughly enjoys serving others. She has high expectations for herself and is one of the best student-athlete leaders Clemson University has to offer, which is why I believe she is deserving of this award.”
In recognition of an outstanding scholar student-athlete in their final season of competition or not intending to use remaining eligibility. The nominee must have a cumulative GPA of a 3.50 or higher and been an outstanding citizen and role model, serving in leadership positions and performing community service. Finally, nominees will have performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team, earning conference, regional, and/or national recognition.
Nomination Letter:
Academic Achievement: Carson is a senior Management major with a minor in Athletic Leadership; currently has a 3.50 cumulative GPA; has been on either the honor roll or dean’s list every semester; is a two-time All-ACC Academic selection and a three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll memberAthletic Achievement: Carson came to Clemson as a two-way player and quickly became one of the top reliever’s in 2018; became the team’s primary closer in 2019; tied for 8th in Clemson history in saves; in 2019, he was a Third-Team All-ACC selection and a member of the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch listLeadership: Member of SAAC for two years; two-time co-captain of the baseball team; earned the Tiger Baseball Award in 2019 which is given to the team’s best leader; on the subcommittee for the Palmetto Series Food Drive, helping with planning and distribution; has completed 28 hours of community service during his time at Clemson; on the subcommittee of the Men of Culture group to help create ideas to connect and educate all male student-athletes.
Academic Achievement: Ana Paula is a Communication major with an Entrepreneurship minor and currently has a 3.51 GPA; plans to pursue a professional golf career following her graduation; three-time All-ACC Academic team member; three-time member of the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Academic Scholars; honored by the ACC with the Weaver-James Honorary Postgraduate Award.Athletic Achievement: Ana Paula has seven career top 10 finishes, including an individual win in her home country of Mexico in 2019 at Battle of the Beach; in 2019, AP was Clemson’s top finisher at the ACC Tournament and the second-best Clemson golfer at the NCAA Regional in Auburn.
In recognition of a student-athlete that has made a significant and consistent improvement in his/her academic coursework
Presented to individuals who exemplify the characteristics of a Clemson student-athlete through leadership, athletic performance, service, academics and sportsmanship
Selected by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
Presented to graduating student-athletes that are planning to attend graduate or professional school and throughout his/her Clemson career has demonstrated academic and athletic achievement while adhering to high ethical standards
Academic Achievement: AVS major with Biology and WFB minors (3.43 GPA); recipient of Weaver James Post-Grad Award; recipient of the CLEMMYs Athletic Director’s Award. Pre-Vet and Swine Club member; CAFLS-funded UG researcher; 2019 Academic All-ACC; 2018 CRCA National Scholar-AthleteAthletic Achievement: Team captain; 2019 All-ACC Second team; two-time Clemson Rower of the YearLeadership/Ethical Standards: Founder and Co-President of Student-athlete Commission on Diverse Empowerment; SAAC member; Tiger Leadership Academy; Tiger Leadership Summit participant; ALD Member
Presented to senior student-athletes that have earned either NCAA or ACC postgraduate scholarships
Presented to a senior support staff member who has gone above and beyond, demonstrating an unwavering dedication to the program
Nomination Letter: “Kevin spends countless late-night hours at the baseball facility doing laundry after our 60-game schedule and never complains. He goes above and beyond the call of duty with uniforms, equipment, setting up for practices and setting up the locker room. He also travels with the team, providing services on our four-day road trips. He aspires to become an equipment manager at the professional level.”
Nomination Letter: “Many outside observers feared Amari Rodgers would be lost for the 2019 season when he tore his ACL in his high knee in late March. Instead, Rodgers’ dedication and perseverance in his rehab led to his return to game action only 166 days after his injury when he played in Week 2 against Texas A&M. One week later, he caught four passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns in a win at Syracuse, including an 87-yard catch-and-run for a score that tied the fourth-longest pass play in Clemson history. He earned team offensive player of the week honors for the performance. He collected honorable mention All-ACC honors at both wide receiver and all-purpose slots in 2019, catching 30 passes for 426 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing twice for 50 yards and a touchdown in 453 offensive snaps in 14 games (10 starts).”
Presented to a standout individual who demonstrated outstanding athletic performance and has been instrumental to the team’s success
Nomination Letter: “One of the most dominant athletes for the program, Smith became the No. 3 performer in Clemson Track & Field history for the women’s 60 meter dash, running 7.23 seconds on two different occasions. Smith was the lone Clemson student-athlete to qualify for the finals of two different events at the ACC Championships, finishing third in the 60 meter dash and fourth in the 200 meters.”
Nomination Letter: “Robbie Robinson compiled one of the best seasons in Clemson men’s soccer history, as the junior earned the MAC Hermann trophy, was a first-team All-American, first-team All-Region, first-team All-ACC, ACC Offensive Player of the Year and a two-time ACC Offensive Player of the Week. Robinson was selected No. 1 overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft by Inter Miami, becoming the first soccer player to drafted No. 1 in a professional draft from Clemson and becoming just the second-ever student-athlete drafted No. 1 overall. By the end of the season, Robinson led the nation in goals, points, goals per game and points per game. Robinson became the first Tiger since 1998 to record multiple hat-tricks in a season and scored three game-winning goals and accumulated four multi-goal games.”
Presented to an individual or team who broke school, regional or national records
One year after he tied the ACC single-season records for total touchdowns in 2018, running back Travis Etienne staked his claim as one of the conference’s all-time greats in 2019 when he broke conference records for career rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns. By electing to return for his senior season in 2020, Etienne will have the opportunity to add to his 56 career rushing touchdowns and 62 career total touchdowns.
Presented to a rookie who demonstrated outstanding athletic performance during competition
Nomination Letter: Amari started 29 of 30 games she played in as a freshman this season (injured for one game she didn’t start). She averaged 10.7 points per game (2nd on team), 6.0 rebounds per game (1st on team) and had a shooting percentage of .457. She had 17 games scoring in double figures, with two 20-plus point games. She had a career-high 27 points against NC A&T. She was named ACC Freshman of the Week and was the US Basketball Writers Association National Freshman of the Week (week of Jan 28). She was named a member of the ACC All-Freshman Team and the ACC All-Academic Team.
Nomination Letter: Philip Mayaka experienced an outstanding freshman campaign, garnering national and conference accolades throughout the season. Mayaka was the lone freshman or sophomore to be named a semifinalist for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy in 2019 (college soccer’s top honor). Mayaka was also named second-team All-American, first-team All-South Region, ACC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-ACC and was a part of the ACC All-Freshman team. Mayaka was a member of the ACC All-Tournament team during his squad’s runner-up finish and was named the No. 2 freshman in the country by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
Presented to an individual with a striking performance which led to an outstanding victory
Previously 0-59 in Chapel Hill, Clemson basketball snapped a 95-year old winless streak at UNC with a resounding 79-76 overtime victory over North Carolina. The Tigers were down 10 points with 2:08 left to play and stormed back to tie the game at 70-70 with an Aamir Simms 3-pointer to force overtime. The Tigers scored on multiple back-door layups in OT and survived a last-second 3-point attempt from the Tar Heels to snap the streak. Coach exclaimed “It’s over!” as the buzzer sounded and the players stormed the floor in jubilation.
Presented to a team with a striking performance which led to an outstanding victory
Trevor Lawrence connected with Travis Etienne with 1:49 left in the fourth quarter to give No. 3 Clemson the lead and Nolan Turner intercepted Ohio State’s Justin Fields in the end zone with 37 seconds remaining, as the Tigers erased a 16-point first half deficit to defeat No. 2 Ohio State, 29-23, in the College Football Playoff National Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. The victory qualified Clemson to play in its fourth championship game appearance in five years. It also extended Clemson’s win streak to 29 games, tying the ACC record. The Tigers trailed 16-0 in the first half, representing the fifth-largest comeback in school history.
Athletics Director’s Award
This award is presented to graduating senior student-athletes that have been on the honor roll for seven consecutive semesters.
All-Academic Team
This award is presented to the student-athlete from each team that has earned the highest cumulative grade point average following sixty or more hours earned at Clemson University.
ACC Top Six
Presented by The ACC to the six student-athletes with the highest number of community service hours.
Maura Chozick: Maura is always eager to get involved in her local community. She spends an abundance of hours volunteering in a retirement community, she mentors at the local elementary school and is a volunteer for ClemsonLIFE–Clemson University’s college program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Maura also spent time overseas helping build an elementary school in Senegal.
Isabella Beckler: Bella served on an international service trip to Senegal where she helped build an elementary school for the local children in the area. Bella is also involved in the Women Empowering group, a program for female student-athletes at Clemson. With this program she participated in a women’s build and helped build a house for Habitat for Humanity. In addition to those opportunities, Bella also serves weekly to help shed light in the community by participating in other various opportunities.
Grace Wagner: Grace serves as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) executive member by leading other student-athletes in community service. She plans and develops volunteering projects for Clemson student-athletes to get involved with. Last summer, Grace also served abroad in Senegal where she helped build a school for local children in the community.
Harleigh White: Harleigh is a mentor at a local elementary school in Clemson, where she meets with a student weekly to help them improve their academic and social skills. Harleigh even goes beyond these weekly meetings and visits her mentee outside of the classroom, sometimes going for lunch on the weekends. Harleigh also had the opportunity to travel abroad and help build a local elementary school in Senegal, where she completed 48 hours of service.
Lisie Kit: In the Fall of 2018, Lisie joined Clemson University’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders. With this organization, Lisie had the opportunity to serve on a service trip to Uganda during the following summer, where she helped build a primary school in the small village of Jinja. She spent a total of 50 hours completing service during this international trip.
Elise Sum: Elise engages in a variety of service opportunities, whether it be playing bingo in a retirement home, participating in 5k walks to raise awareness for breast cancer, or wrapping gifts for children in hospitals. Elise is passionate about volunteering and encourages her fellowteammates and other student-athletes to get involved in the community as much as possible.She is an advocate for the community and goes above and beyond to stay involved.
Academic Team Award
Presented to the male and female teams with the highest GPA
