Lincoln – A total of 22 Husker student-athletes will earn degrees during the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s “Go Big Grad: A Graduation Celebration” on Saturday at 9 a.m. (CT).
A live video stream will be available at commencement.unl.edu with graduates and their families encouraged to view the online celebration, which will feature a conversation with 1951 Nebraska graduate Warren Buffett. At the end of the celebration, Chancellor Ronnie Green will confer degrees with a turning of the tassel moment.
Nebraska’s collection of 22 December graduates includes eight Husker football student-athletes, four members of the Nebraska swimming and diving program, three baseball players including an All-American and Major Leaguer, two All-America volleyball players, an All-American women’s gymnast and student-athletes from the women’s basketball, track and field, wrestling and men’s tennis programs.
Current members of Coach Scott Frost‘s football team who are set to graduate on Saturday include offensive linemen Brenden Jaimes, Boe Wilson and Broc Bando, along with linebackers Will Honas and Collin Miller and tight end Brian Perez. Former Huskers Barret Pickering and Eli Sullivan are also set to receive their Nebraska degrees.
AVCA All-Americans Lauren Stivrins and Lexi Sun provide impressive representatives of Coach John Cook‘s Nebraska volleyball program. Both earned their degrees after majoring in communication studies and expect to help lead the Huskers in national title contention this spring.
Former Major Leaguer Cody Asche headlines a group of three Husker baseball graduates. Asche was a fourth-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011 following an All-America career at Nebraska. Asche was a first-team All-Big 12 selection both on and off the field as a junior in 2011 for the Huskers. He played four Major League seasons with the Phillies as a third baseman from 2013 to 2016, before making his most recent Major League appearance with the Chicago White Sox in 2017. Carter Cross and Ty Roseberry added to the strength of Nebraska baseball’s graduating class.
Taylor Houchin adds another All-American to Nebraska’s group of graduates. Houchin was named a WCGA First-Team All-American on vault last season while also capturing WCGA Scholastic All-America honors. The 2020 WCGA Region 4 Gymnast of the Year, Houchin also claimed All-America honors in 2018 and 2019 for the Big Red and was a three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection.
Nebraska school-record-setting swimmer Tori Beeler joined a trio of three-time Academic All-Big Ten performers, Carla Gonzalez, Lindsey Stalheim and Gwen Worlton, in representing Coach Pablo Morales‘ Nebraska swimming and diving program.
Grace Mitchell will represent Coach Amy Williams‘ Nebraska women’s basketball program at commencement. Mitchell was a four-year contributor on the court for the Huskers before earning a Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship in 2020. Catherine Mick (pole vault), Chris Dean (men’s tennis) and Zemua Baptista (wrestling) round out Nebraska’s collection of December graduates.
The December graduates came from near and far to call Nebraska home during their careers. The group came to Lincoln from 12 states and Venezuela.
Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the country, while leading the nation in the number of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (340) and NCAA Top 10 Award winners (18) across all sports.
December 2020 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (22)
Cody Asche (Baseball) – O’Fallon, Missouri (Economics)
Broc Bando (Football) – Lincoln, Nebraska (Business Administration)
Zemua Baptista (Wrestling) – Friend, Nebraska (Agricultural Economics)
Tori Beeler (Swimming & Diving) – Parkville, Missouri (Nutrition & Health Sciences)
Carter Cross (Baseball) – Fairview, Pennsylvania (Mechanical Engineering)
Chris Dean (Men’s Tennis) – Papillion, Nebraska (Criminology & Criminal Justice)
Carla Gonzalez (Swimming & Diving) – Merida, Venezuela (Accounting/Finance)
Will Honas (Football) – Wichita, Kansas (Nutrition & Health Sciences)
Taylor Houchin (Women’s Gymnastics) – Republic, Missouri (English)
Brenden Jaimes (Football) – Austin, Texas (Criminology & Criminal Justice)
Catherine Mick (Track & Field) – Carleton, Nebraska (Science Education (7-12)
Collin Miller (Football) – Fishers, Indiana (Criminology & Criminal Justice)
Grace Mitchell (Women’s Basketball) – Wellington, Kansas (Nutrition & Health Sciences)
Brian Perez (Football) – Hartley, Iowa (Biological Sciences)
Barret Pickering (Football) – Birmingham, Alabama (Management)
Ty Roseberry (Baseball) – Kearney, Nebraska (Agricultural Economics)
Lindsey Stalheim (Swimming & Diving) – Omaha, Nebraska (Nutrition & Health Sciences)
Lauren Stivrins (Volleyball) – Scottsdale, Arizona (Communication Studies)
Eli Sullivan (Football) – Longmont, Colorado (Mechanical Engineering)
Lexi Sun (Volleyball) – Encinatas, California (Communication Studies)
Boe Wilson (Football) – Lee’s Summit, Missouri (Criminology & Criminal Justice)
Gwen Worlton (Swimming & Diving) – Fox Point, Wisconsin (Nutrition & Health Sciences)
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