76 Huskers Earn Degrees – University of Nebraska

Lincoln – A total of 76 Husker student-athletes will earn degrees this weekend during the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s commencement ceremonies, with graduate commencement occurring on Friday at 3 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena, before undergraduate commencement is scheduled to be held at Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 10 a.m. If inclement weather becomes a factor for the May 14 ceremony, it could be pushed back to Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

Jay Keasling, a UNL alumnus and a leader in the field of synthetic biology, will deliver the undergraduate commencement address. Marco Barker, vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at Nebraska, will give the address at the graduate and professional degree ceremony on May 13.

The large collection of Husker graduates across all sports is highlighted by a 2022 NFL Draft pick and eight All-Americans who have combined for 24 All-America awards during their impressive competitive careers.

Cameron Jurgens, who was the No. 51 overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2022 NFL Draft, earns his bachelor’s degree as a nutrition and health sciences major. An All-Big Ten selection in 2021, the offensive lineman from Beatrice, Nebraska was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten choice. He heads a class of nine graduates from the Nebraska football team, including linebackers Nick Henrich (Omaha) and Garrett Nelson (Scottsbluff).

Volleyball All-Americans Nicklin Hames and Madi Kubik headline the strong group of Big Red All-Americans. Hames, a four-time AVCA All-America setter from Maryville, Tennessee, earns her bachelor’s degree as a child, youth and family studies major. The Outstanding Player of the 2021 NCAA Austin Regional, Hames will try to lead the Huskers to their third national championship match in the last five years in 2022.

Kubik, a three-time AVCA All-American, will earn her degree as a communication studies major. A member of the 2021 NCAA All-Tournament Team, the 6-3 outside hitter from West Des Moines, Iowa, is a two-time All-Big Ten selection.

The Nebraska swimming and diving team also provides a pair of All-Americans to the list of 2022 Husker May graduates in Autumn Haebig and Audrey Coffey. 

Haebig captured All-America honors in both the 200 and 500-yard freestyles at the NCAA Championships in 2021. The advertising and public relations/sports media and communications double-major also earned a CSCAA All-America certificate in the 200 free in 2020. Nebraska’s first-ever Big Ten swimming champion after racing to the 200 free title in 2021, the senior from Grafton, Wisconsin was also a two-time first-team CSCAA Scholar All-American and a four-time Academic All-Big Ten choice.

Coffey was named a CSCAA All-American in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 2020. The senior from Naperville, Illinois, was also a two-time first-team CSCAA Scholar All-American and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

On the men’s side, four-time NCAA shot put All-American Burger Lambrechts, adds a powerful presence to Nebraska’s list of graduates. Lambrechts who was Nebraska’s Best Male Athlete across all sports in 2021, was also the Big Ten Men’s Field Athlete of the Year following the indoor seasons in 2021 and 2022. He added a fourth-place finish in shot put at the 2022 NCAA Championships after winning the 2022 Big Ten Indoor title. The thrower from Pretoria, South Africa will earn his bachelor’s degree as a mechanized systems management major.

Three-time NCAA wrestling All-American CJ Red also adds clout to the Husker class. Red finished sixth in the 141-pound class at the 2021 NCAA Championships. It followed an eighth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships after opening his career with a seventh-place finish at nationals in 2018. The sixth-year wrestler from Indianapolis, Indiana, earns his bachelor’s degree as a child, youth and family studies major.

Three-time NTCA bowling All-American Cassidy Ray adds impressive athletic and academic accomplishments to the Husker class. The four-time NTCA All-Academic selection was also a three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. The fifth-year senior from Herrin, Illinois, helped Nebraska to the 2021 NCAA title, will earn her bachelor’s degree as a criminology and criminal justice major.

All-American Emily Cheramie adds to the class. Cheramie earned CRCA All-America honors in smallbore, air rifle and in the combined disciplines in 2021, when she was also named the GARC Senior of the Year. The English major was also a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a member of the CRCA All-Scholastic Team.

Other notable Husker graduates include Dylan LeClair, Nebraska’s 2022 Male Student-Athlete of the Year. The three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection as a nutrition and health sciences major from Townsend, Massachusetts also helped the Nebraska men’s gymnastics team to a trio of top-four national team finishes during his career.

Nebraska Outstanding Scholar Award winners Kirsten Baete, Tom Westenberger, Natalie Cooke, Hannah Young and Ashley Zugay also add to the impressive academic standing of the student-athlete class. Baete, who recently competed in her second straight NCAA Regional women’s golf championship after earning All-Big Ten honors, leads a group who compiled at least a 3.9 cumulative GPA over their careers and completed their eligibility in 2021-22.

Westenberger recently completed his career with the Nebraska men’s golf team, while Cooke, Young and Zugay provided a dominant academic presence to the Husker soccer team, which features seven May graduates.

A total of 73 Huskers will claim undergraduate degrees while three more student-athletes will earn master’s degrees as their first degrees from Nebraska. Kobe Webster, a 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-American in men’s basketball, will claim his master’s degree in educational administration, while women’s basketball’s MiCole Cayton and men’s tennis student-athlete Dario Huber will both earn master’s degrees in applied science.

The May graduates came from near and far to call Nebraska home during their careers. The group came to Lincoln from 22 states, including 19 native Nebraskans, while 10 more Huskers came to Nebraska from nine foreign countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Latvia, Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland).

Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the country, while leading NCAA Division I in the number of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (347) and NCAA Top 10 Award winners (18) across all sports.

May 2022 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (76)

Student-Athlete, Sport (Hometown) Major

Taylor Acheson, Swimming & Diving (Overland Park, Kansas) Marketing

Jessica Aragon, Women’s Tennis (Plano, Texas) Management

Jake Archer, Football (Omaha, Nebraska) Marketing

Brant Banks, Football (Houston, Texas) Management

Bryce Barrett, Track & Field (Church Hill, Tennessee) Mechanical Engineering

Katherine Berube, Track & Field (Edina, Minnesota) Marketing

Ian Boerkircher, Football (Aurora, Nebraska) Communication Studies

Vanessa Bouvet, Women’s Golf (Bretagne, France) Advertising & Public Relations

Olivia Brown, Soccer (Ankeny, Iowa) Biological Sciences

Patrick Cacciatore, Men’s Tennis (Tampa, Florida) Management

MiCole Cayton, Women’s Basketball (Stockton, California) Applied Science (Master’s)

Dakota Chan, Soccer (Richmond, British Columbia, Canada) Applied Climate Science

Emily Cheramie, Rifle (Georgetown, Kentucky) English

Audrey Coffey, Swimming & Diving (Naperville, Illinois) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Kenzie Coons, Soccer (Omaha, Nebraska) Psychology

Liam Cronin, Wrestling (Orange, California) Child, Youth & Family Studies

Makayla Curtis, Women’s Gymnastics (Savannah, Georgia) Sports Media & Communication

Anika Dujakovich, Women’s Gymnastics (Lenexa, Kansas) Biological Systems Engineering

Sadio Fenner, Track & Field (Colorado Springs, Colorado) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Mark Foelbaek, Men’s Golf (Jelling, Denmark) Psychology

Audrey Freyhof, Track & Field (Hamilton, Michigan) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Drew Gilin, Baseball (Omaha, Nebraska) Nutrition & Health Sciences

William Gleason, Men’s Tennis (Lincoln, Nebraska) Communication Studies

Colby Gomes, Baseball (Omaha, Nebraska) Child, Youth & Family Studies

Michelle Guarro, Bowling (Guadalajara, Mexico) Management

Autumn Haebig, Swimming & Diving (Grafton, Wisconsin) Advertising & Public Relations/Sports Media & Communication

Sam Haiby, Women’s Basketball (Moorhead, Minnesota) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Nicklin Hames, Volleyball (Maryville, Tennessee) Child, Youth & Family Studies

Nicole Hansen, Women’s Golf (Bloomingdale, Illinois) Finance

Gunner Hellstrom, Baseball (Simi Valley, California) Supply Chain Management

Nick Henrich, Football (Omaha, Nebraska) Psychology

Michael Hoffer, Track & Field (Topeka, Kansas) Management

Maddie Holland, Track & Field (Madison, Indiana) Nutrition & Health Sciences/Biochemistry

Dario Huber, Men’s Tennis (Brittnau, Switzerland) Applied Science (Master’s)

Kaitlynn Johnson, Track & Field (Omaha, Nebraska) Journalism/Psychology

Cameron Jurgens, Football (Beatrice, Nebraska) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Jordan Kelber, Wrestling (Valentine, Nebraska) Management

Kaitlyn Krason, Track & Field (Highlands Ranch, Colorado) Fisheries & Wildlife

Madi Kubik, Volleyball (West Des Moines, Iowa) Communication Studies

Trevor Lakes, Men’s Basketball (Lebanon, Indiana) Child, Youth & Family Studies

Burger Lambrechts, Track & Field (Pretoria, South Africa) Mechanized Systems Management

Kate Leachman, Soccer (Larkspur, Colorado) Supply Chain Management

Dylan LeClair, Men’s Gymnastics (Townsend, Massachusetts) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Oliver Martin, Football (Coralville, Iowa) Finance

Daniel Mattern, Track & Field (Omaha, Nebraska) Marketing

Lat Mayen, Men’s Basketball (Adelaide, Australia) Child, Youth & Family Studies

Chris McGraw, Men’s Basketball (Columbus, Ohio) Child, Youth & Family Studies

Branden Meyer, Men’s Golf (Gilbert, Arizona) Finance

Cade Mueller, Football (Gretna, Nebraska) Mechanical Engineering

Alex Nelson, Track & Field (Omaha, Nebraska) Finance

Garrett Nelson, Football (Scottsbluff, Nebraska) Finance

Vincent Ohlman, Track & Field (Central City, Nebraska) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Zionn Pearson, Track & Field (Maryland Heights, Missouri) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Margaret Pollard, Track & Field (Gilbert, Iowa) Mathematics

Rachel Powers, Swimming & Diving (Elementary Education) Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Analiese Raley, Softball (Clovis, California) Psychology

Cassidy Ray, Bowling (Herrin, Illinois) Criminology & Criminal Justice

Chad Red Jr., Wrestling (Indianapolis, Indiana) Child, Youth & Family Studies

Kynsee Roby, Women’s Gymnastics (Gardner, Kansas) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Casey Rogers, Football (Syracuse, New York) Sports Media & Communication

Beth-el (Algarin) Schlegel, Track & Field (Pierz, Minnesota) Sociology

Callie Schwarzenbach, Volleyball (Kearney, Missouri) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Ashley Scoggin, Women’s Basketball (Dallas, Oregon) Child, Youth & Family Studies

Jack Slagle, Track & Field (Omaha, Nebraska) Accounting

Shamiel Stevenson, Men’s Basketball (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) Criminology & Criminal Justice    

Bailey Timmons, Track & Field (Lone Tree, Colorado) Finance

Ieva Turke, Track & Field (Tukums, Latvia) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Allison Ulness, Soccer (Moorhead, Minnesota) Biological Sciences/Biochemistry

Noah Urwiler, Men’s Gymnastics (Lincoln, Nebraska) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Courtney Wallace, Softball (Omaha, Nebraska) Communication Studies

Kobe Webster, Men’s Basketball (Indianapolis, Indiana) Educational Administration (Master’s)

Tom Westenberger, Men’s Golf (Wuppertal, Germany) Economics

Megan Whittaker, Women’s Golf (Elkhorn, Nebraska) Finance

Camryn Ybarra, Softball (Mission Viejo, California) Child, Youth & Family Studies

Hannah Young, Soccer (Enola, Pennsylvania) Nutrition & Health Sciences

Ashley Zugay, Soccer (Ann Arbor, Michigan) Economics/Mathematics