PEARSE TORMEY
CHERON WELLS
BILLY WILLIAMS
SOCCER • 1987-90
BASKETBALL • 1990-92
BASKETBALL • 1977-80
Pearse Tormey played soccer at Clemson from 198790. He was a starter on the 1987 national championship team and was a two-time All-American according to NSCAA. Tormey led the Tigers in assists from 1988-90 and led the team in goals in 1989, while also earning the point-leader title in 1988 and 1989. His top scoring game came as a junior when he had four goals in a game against Presbyterian College on Oct. 3, 1989. He was also named MVP for the 1989 season when he was 20th in the nation in points (38). Twice during his career, Tormey was named offensive MVP of the Clemson Invitational. In October 1990, he was named national player-of-the-week by Soccer America. His successful career landed him All-ACC honors three times (1988-90). He was a starter on the 1990 team that won the ACC regular-season title and finished No. 4 in the national poll with a 16-4-1 record. Tormey is one of just two Tigers in history to finish his career with 40 goals and 41 assists. The other is alltime great Bruce Murray, who won the 1987 Hermann Award. Tormey is eighth all-time in points and third in assists at Clemson. Tormey was one of the most durable players in Clemson history, as he started 80 of 82 games. He is still in the top 10 in school history in matches and starts. A former member of the Ireland National team, Tormey also played professionally with the Charleston Battery, Carolina Shamrocks and Greenville Lions. Tormey is the eighth men’s soccer player to be inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame and the second since 2003.
Cheron Wells played two impactful seasons with the Lady Tigers. She was a two-time, honorable mention All-American according to the American Women’s Federation and was team MVP both seasons. The native of Dayton, Ohio became the first Clemson player to be named to the NCAA All-Region team when she helped the Lady Tigers to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, the only year Clemson has reached that level. Her 14.5 scoring average is seventh best in school history on a per-game basis. In 1991, Wells had one of her most memorable performances, as she had 26 points and 10 rebounds off the bench against top-ranked Virginia in Clemson’s 6562 victory. Wells was named to the ACC All-Tournament team that year and the NCAA East Regional all-tournament team in 1991. She was also the first Clemson women’s basketball player named to the All-NCAA Tournament team. As a senior in 1992, the junior college transfer was named Second-Team All-ACC. For the second straight year, she helped Clemson to a win over the top-ranked team, as the Lady Tigers downed Maryland 72-55 in Littlejohn Coliseum. Wells led the team in minutes and points per game in both seasons at Clemson. She led the team in steals in 1990-91 and assists in 1991-92, an example of her all-around abilities. Her outstanding play contributed to the Lady Tigers being ranked in the top 25 both of her seasons. Clemson was No. 8 in the final 1990-91 poll and No. 19 in the final 1991-92 poll.
Billy Williams played basketball for the Tigers from 1977-80 under Clemson Hall of Fame head coach Bill Foster and was the top scorer on the Tigers’ only team to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Clemson defeated six top-20 teams during that 1979-80 season, including an 87-82 overtime victory over top-ranked Duke, the first time the Tigers defeated the nation’s No. 1 ranked team. That 1979-80 season was his top season, as he averaged 18 points per game overall, but scored a leaguehigh 20 points per game in ACC play. Fourteen times he scored 20 points in a conference game that year, and he continued his fine play in the postseason, as he led Clemson in scoring in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, his 19.0 scoring average for the four games is first in school history for NCAA Tournament play. Williams played in a great era in ACC play, but he was an outstanding shooter against the tough competition. One must wonder what he would have done with a three-point shot (which did not start until 1986-87). He made 229 field goals as a senior, third in Clemson history for a season, and his 53-percent field-goal percentage is first in school history for a guard. In addition to being named First-Team All-ACC in 1979-80, he was named to the Helms Foundation AllAmerica team. The native of Raleigh, N.C., was selected in the second round of the NBA draft by the Rockets in 1980, but Williams ended up playing professionally in Germany, becoming the second-leading scorer in the top division. During the celebration of Clemson’s 100 years of basketball in 2012, Williams was named to the 25-man all-time Tiger team.
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