Troy Student-Athletes Well Represented at Record Commencement Ceremony

TROY, Ala. – Twenty-eight current and former Troy student-athletes were among the more than 950 students who had their degrees conferred Friday during Troy's spring commencement ceremony in Trojan Arena.

Included among those 28 student-athletes are members of the baseball, softball and track & field teams who will officially receive their degrees in a special ceremony on Tuesday. All three programs are on the road for competition.

Eleven of the student-athletes graduated with honors, including three with Summa Cum Laude distinction – Zachary Bias (track & field), Erika Kulp (track & field) and Reina Terry (volleyball).

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey delivered the keynote address to the largest graduating class in Troy University history. Sworn in as Alabama's 54th governor on April 10, 2017, Gov. Ivey has a rich history in Alabama politics, having been first elected state treasurer in 2002, re-elected in 2006 and elected lieutenant governor in 2010, becoming the first Republican woman to hold the office in Alabama's history. In 2014, she gained the distinction of being the first Republican re-elected to the office since Reconstruction.

Gov. Ivey has been recognized with the 2015 ALFA Service to Agriculture Award, as one of Newmax's 50 Most Influential Female Republicans, and received the 2016 Public Service Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In 2017, River Region Living Magazine named her the Citizen of the Year. She is the first Girls State alumna to be elected to an Alabama Constitutional Office.

A full list of student-athlete graduates can be found below. For more on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com and follow @TroyAthletics on Twitter.

Baseball
Corey Childress – Accounting
Andrew Crane – Sport Management
Joey Denison – Risk Management Insurance
Mason Rogers – Psychology

Men's Basketball
Juan Davis, Jr. – Homeland Security

Women's Basketball
Ta'Kierra Gibbs – Social Science
Amanda Mendoza – Human Services

Football
Ethan Calhoun – Political Science
Andre Flakes – Social Science
Gabe Hill – Social Science
Baron Poole – Social Science
Tyquae Russell – Psychology
Kris Weatherspoon – Psychology

Softball
Erica Davis – Business (Magna Cum Laude)
Cassidy McDilda – Sport Management (Cum Laude)
Meg Willis – Nursing (Magna Cum Laude)

Men's Tennis
Mustapha Belcora – Business
Andy Lau – Sport Management

Women's Tennis
Nancy Karaky – Sport Management (Magna Cum Laude)
Sanae Ohta – Marketing (Cum Laude)

Men's Track & Field / Cross Country
Zachary Bias – Communication Studies (Summa Cum Laude)

Women's Track & Field / Cross Country
Erika Kulp – K-6 Elementary Education (Summa Cum Laude)
Elizabeth Locklier – Biology / Biomedical Sciences (Manga Cum Laude)
Carissa Madson – Biology / Biomedical Sciences (Manga Cum Laude)

Volleyball
Alisha Hinrichs – Business
Lauren Long – Biology / Biomedical Sciences
Avalon Nero – Biology / Biomedical Sciences (Cum Laude)
Reina Terry – International Politics (Summa Cum Laude)

Troy Student-Athletes Well Represented at Record Commencement Ceremony

Players Mentioned

Mustapha Belcora

Zachary Bias

Ethan Calhoun

Corey Childress

Andrew Crane

Erica Davis

Juan Davis, Jr.

Joey Denison

Andre Flakes

Ta'Kierra Gibbs

Gabe Hill

Alisha Hinrichs

Nancy Karaky

Erika Kulp

Andy Lau

Elizabeth Locklier

Lauren Long

Carissa Madson

Cassidy McDilda

Amanda Mendoza

Avalon Nero

Sanae Ohta

Baron Poole II

Mason Rogers

Tyquae Russell

Reina Terry

Kris Weatherspoon

Meg Willis

Troy University Athletics