Smith Earns Minnesota Player of the Year Award

Nebraska’s Kate Smith captured a major award in her home state this week when the Minnesota Golf Association named her its 2020 Women’s Co-Player of the Year.

Smith, a fifth-year senior from Detroit Lakes, Minn., put together an outstanding summer by claiming the 2020 MGA Women’s Amateur Championship at the Stillwater Country Club in July. She capped the summer by finishing in the top 16 in the stroke play portion of the 120th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in Rockville, Md., before adding a top 32 finish in the match play rounds of the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Smith shared the Minnesota state honor with Taylor Ledwein from New Prague, Minn. Smith’s laundry list of top awards in her home state include being a five-time Minnesota Class 2A state high school champion (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) before earning the Minnesota Ms. Golf Award in 2016. The Minnesota Junior Player of the Year in 2013, Smith won her first MGA Women’s Amateur Championship in 2017.

In 2020 as Nebraska’s top women’s golfer, Smith captured the first Big Ten Mary Fossum Award in Husker history. The award is presented to the Big Ten player with the best stroke average relative to par in the conference each year. Smith was also a first-team All-Big Ten selection before being named a WGCA Scholastic All-American and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. 

Smith is one of the most recent Huskers in a long line of top players from the state of Minnesota, including Leah Herzog (Red Wing, current sophomore), Cassie Deeg (Hugo, 2013-16), Steffi Neisen (New Prague, 2011-14), Chrissie McArdle (Eden Prairie, 2004-07) and Jackie Beste (Sauk Centre, 2003-06).