Rajon Rondo among 116 UK student-athletes graduating this spring/summer

Nearly 20 years after leaving the University of Kentucky to begin his long and successful NBA career, Rajon Rondo is on the verge of receiving his college diploma.

Rondo, 39, is listed among the 116 current or former UK student-athletes set to graduate in the 2025 spring/summer semesters, the school announced Thursday. The University’s May 2025 Commencement will take place this Friday and Saturday at Rupp Arena. Including the 33 graduates from December, a total of 149 UK student-athletes will have graduated during the 2024-25 school year.

Joining Rondo as men’s basketball players expected to graduate are Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lmaont Butler, Andrew Carr, Grant Darbyshire, Kerr Kriisa, and Jaxson Robinson. Rondo also isn’t the only former UK athlete on pace to graduate this spring/summer, either.

Thanks to the UK Athletics’ Post-Eligibility program, also known as the Cawood Ledford Scholarships, the school’s athletic department “pays for tuition and books for scholarship student-athletes who return to school after completing their eligibility. Since its inception in 1989, more than 160 Wildcats have returned to graduate through the program.” Rondo, along with football player Chris Westry, are two of seven former UK athletes who took advantage of the program.

UK’s 2024 Fall semester was the 25th straight with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher (3.405). In total, 14 Wildcats will receive their master’s degrees. Below is the list of this spring/summer’s expected graduates, which includes KSR intern/volleyball player Eleanor Beavin:

Baseball (18)

Devin Burkes

Evan Byers

Chase Estep *

Simon Gregersen

Cole Hage

Cole Hentschel

Robert Hogan

Dylan Koontz

William Marcy

Nicholas McCay

James McCoy

Shaun Montoya

Mason Moore *

Jackson Nove

Raphael Pelletier

Cooper Robinson

Hayden Smith

Austin Schultz *

Men’s Basketball (8)

Ansley Almonor

Koby Brea

Lamont Butler, Jr.

Andrew Carr

Grant Darbyshire

Kerr Kriisa

Jaxson Robinson

Rajon Rondo *

Football (12)

Trey Dennis

Jantzen Dunn

Fred Farrier, II

Maxwell Hairston

Josaih Hayes

Jordan Lovett

Lucas Padgett

Daveren Rayner

Paul Rodriguez

Jackson Schulz

Demie Sumo-Karngbaye

Chris Westry *

Men’s Golf (2)

Jackson Klutznick – master’s degree

Jansen Preston

Men’s Soccer (3)

Ryan Jack

Casper Mols

Riley O’Neill *

Men’s Swimming and Diving (7)

Max Berg

Nicholas Caruso

Samuel Duncan – master’s degree

Jack Hamilton

Victor Martin Roig

Jackson Mussler

Christopher Nagy – master’s degree

Men’s Tennis (1)

Charlelie Cosnet

Men’s Track and Field (9)

Donsten Brown

Luke Brown

Logan Coles

Brayden Jackson

Alexander Justus

Brandon Miller

Jack Pendergast – master’s degree

Jackson Watts

Justin Swann *

Rifle (3)

Allison Buesseler

Tori Kopelen

Jaden Thompson – master’s degree

STUNT (5)

Aisling Frost

Katherine Larson

Chloe Moxley

Laila White

Alexus Womack

Women’s Golf (1)

Marta Lopez Echevarria

Gymnastics (6)

Hailey Davis – master’s degree

Skylar Killough-Wilhelm

Isabella Magnelli – master’s degree

Jillian Procasky

Anna Riegert

Makenzie Wilson

Women’s Soccer (8)

Kennedy Chambers

Nicole Coryell – master’s degree

Dana Dahm

Marzia Josephson – master’s degree

Lesley Kiesling – master’s degree

Kaile Alford

Gabrielle Ballew

Gabriella Johnson

Softball (4)

McKenzie Bump – master’s degree

Alexia Lacatena

Grace Lorsung

Hallie Mitchell

Women’s Swimming and Diving (5)

Victoria Buerger

Kaelan Daly

Abigail Devereaux

Olivia Mendenhall

Madeline Welborn

Women’s Tennis (5)

Elizabeth Eades

Lidia Gonzalez Garcia

Zoe Hammond

Eleanor Myers

Elizabeth Stevens – master’s degree

Women’s Track and Field (15)

Simi Akinrinsola – Doctor of Pharmacy

Hannah Douglas

Ainsley Edwards

Sophie Galloway

Alexis Glasco

Alysia Johnson

Amya Livingston

Phoebe McCowan

Ariel Pedigo

Victoria Perrow

Payton Phillips

Tesa Roberts – master’s degree

Mollie Roden

Jenna Schwinghamer

Juliann Williams

Volleyball (4)

Eleanor Beavin

Lane Jenkins

Erin Lamb – master’s degree

Megan Wilson

* denotes former student-athlete who participated in Cawood Ledford Degree Completion Program

And for fun, here is a picture of Mark Pope from his graduation.

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