An ex-college football standout -- once considered one of the best junior college running backs in the country -- has been convicted of rape ... TMZ Sports has learned.
According the the L.A. County District Attorney's office, 22-year-old Kishawn Holmes is facing up to 18 years behind bars for raping a fellow Cerritos College student back in 2016.
Officials say the victim was a 19-year-old female. We're told she was performing an athletic massage on Holmes before things turned violent.
Along with the prison time, Holmes is facing lifetime sex offender registration.
FYI -- Holmes was fresh off a 1,100-yard rushing season and reportedly had 7 Division 1 scholarship offers prior to the incident.
This was Holmes' SECOND rape case -- as a minor, he pled guilty to rape after he was accused of sexually assaulting 2 different underage girls in 2013.
Holmes is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2nd.