Cain Leads Three Big Ten Distinguished Scholars

Nebraska women’s basketball student-athletes Kate Cain, Kristian Hudson and Grace Mitchell were named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars when the conference office announced its annual awards on Wednesday, July 1. Across all of its sports, Nebraska set a record with 100 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.

Cain, a 6-5 senior-to-be from Middletown, N.Y., earned her second Big Ten Distinguished Scholar award in 2020. She is also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten choice and a six-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll as a management major. On the court, Nebraska’s school-record holder in career blocks earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades and claimed her second spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team in 2020.

Mitchell captured her third career honor as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. The 6-2 senior forward from Wellington, Kan., is putting the finishing touches on an outstanding academic career for the Huskers. In April, Mitchell earned a pair of major awards, including a prestigious Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500) and an N-Club Postgraduate Scholarship ($2,500). The four-time letterwinner who played in 107 games during her Husker career was also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten choice and a 2020 recipient of Nebraska’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for women’s basketball. The nutrition and health sciences major plans to attend the University of Nebraska Medical Center following her graduation.

Hudson completed her two-year career as a Husker by earning her master’s degree in applied science in May. The 5-5 guard from Birmingham, Ala., earned her first Big Ten Distinguished Scholar award after being named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar. Hudson was a 2020 Academic All-Big Ten selection and was a four-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll member. Hudson also represented Nebraska with her selection to participate in the WBCA’s “So You Want To Be A Coach” program. 

To be eligible for selection, students must be a recipient of Academic All-Big Ten recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled full-time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year (excluding any summer grades).