Two Huskers Earn Degrees

Lincoln - A total of 40 Husker student-athletes will earn degrees Saturday at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s commencement exercises at Pinnacle Bank Arena, including two softball players. 

Coach Rhonda Revelle’s softball program contributed a pair of 2018 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars to the group of Husker graduates, including Caitlin Bartsch and Gina Metzler. Both Huskers were also three-time Academic All-Big Ten selections.                                       

A elementary education and special education major, Bartsch played for the Huskers from 2015 to 2018. She made 15 appearances in her career and pitched 18.1 innings. In the classroom, Bartsch was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten pick and a seven-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. Additionally, she was named the 2018 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Winner and was named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Metzler earned her degree in dietetics. She started 75 games for the Huskers from 2015 to 2018 and finished with a .273 batting average and 72 runs scored. She was named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team four times in her career and was an eight-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. Additionally, Metzler was a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten pick. She also earned Nebraska's Heart & Soul Award in 2018. 

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 (333) and NCAA Top 10 Award winners (17) across all sports. A complete list of graduates across all sports is below.

December 2018 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (40)

Student-Athlete (Sport) - Hometown (Major)

Luis Alvarado (Baseball) - Salinas, Puerto Rico (Hospitality, Restaurant & Tourism Management)

Avery Anderson (Football) - Surprise, Arizona (Advertising & Public Relations)

Lia Baldo (Soccer) - Glenview, Illinois (Advertising & Public Relations)

Jalin Barnett (Football) - Lawton, Oklahoma (Psychology)

Landon Bartel (Track & Field) - Ashland, Missouri (Classics & Religious Studies)

Caitlin Bartsch (Softball) - The Woodlands, Texas (Elementary & Special Education K-6)

Kelly Belzeski (Bowling) - Schererville, Indiana (Social Science Education)

Sam Bransby (Track & Field) - Naperville, Illinois (Elementary Education)

Danielle Breen (Women’s Gymnastics) - Ames, Iowa (Accounting)

Cole Conrad (Football) - Fremont, Nebraska (Criminology & Criminal Justice)

Brison Cronenbold (Baseball) - Thousand Oaks, California (Psychology)

Kaiwan Culmer (Track & Field) - Nassau, Bahamas (Construction Management)

Jordan Ehly (Swimming & Diving) - Las Cruces, New Mexico (Advertising & Public Relations)

Haley Hanson (Soccer) - Overland Park, Kansas (Communication Studies)

Haley Harsin (Track & Field/Cross Country) - Syracuse, Nebraska (Biological Sciences)

Virginia Hill (Track & Field) - Haymarket, Virginia (Political Science [Master’s Degree])

Byron Hood (Baseball) - Roca, Nebraska (Management)

Matt Jarzynka (Football) - Loup City, Nebraska (Agribusiness)

Audrey Judd (Women’s Golf) - Olathe, Kansas (Management/Marketing)

Kyle King (Men’s Gymnastics) - Mesquite, Texas (Ethnic Studies)

Sedrick King (Football) - Plant City, Florida (Economics)

Eric Lee (Football) - Milton, Massachusetts (Management)

Wyatt McGuire (Track & Field/Cross Country) - North Platte, Nebraska (Elementary Education)

Gina Metzler (Softball) - Omaha, Nebraska (Nutrition & Health Sciences)

Tre Mitchell (Track & Field) - Ladera Ranch, California (Psychology)

Jordan Ober (Football) - Las Vegas, Nevada (Communication Studies)

Devine Ozigbo (Football) - Sachse, Texas (Advertising & Public Relations)

Morgan Pieri (Track & Field) - Prior Lake, Minnesota (Sociology)

Bryan Reimers (Football) - Lincoln, Nebraska (Management)

Sami Reinhard (Soccer) - Long Beach, California (Advertising & Public Relations)

Zac Repinski (Baseball) - Prior Lake, Minnesota (Communication Studies)

Alexis Rienks (Soccer) - Lincoln, Nebraska (Food Science & Technology)

Austin Rose (Football) - Lincoln, Nebraska (Criminology & Criminal Justice)

Lauren Smith (Soccer) - Glenview, Illinois (Psychology)

Mitch Steinhoff (Baseball) - Crete, Nebraska (Business Administration/Management)

Toni Tupper (Track & Field) - Lincoln, Nebraska (Child, Youth & Family Studies)

Nikki Turney (Soccer) - Surrey, British Columbia, Canada (English)

Aaron Williams (Football) - Atlanta, Georgia (Communication Studies)

Grace Williams (Women’s Gymnastics) - Linden, Michigan (Elementary & Special Education K-6)

Dedrick Young II (Football) - Peoria, Arizona (Supply Chain Management)