Huskers Hungry for More Success

The Nebraska men’s golf team hopes to continue building momentum and climbing the ladder in the Big Ten and national standings in Head Coach Judd Cornell’s third season leading the program in 2024-25.

An experienced group of returning golfers will be challenged by a talented collection of newcomers in pushing for better scores and stronger performances throughout the season.

Last season, Nebraska closed the year with a school-record 290.66 stroke average while producing its best Big Ten Conference Tournament finish since 2019.

The Huskers will lose the leadership of seniors Harry Crockett, Gentry Scheve and Will Marshall from the 2023-24 team, but the cupboard is far from bare for the Big Red.

Nebraska’s top returning golfer will be Hamish Murray. The senior from Sydney, Australia led the Huskers with a 72.69 stroke average. Murray, who spent his first two seasons at NCAA Division II Cameron University in Oklahoma, was a consistent and reliable contributor at the top of Nebraska’s lineup in 2023-24. He produced five top-20 individual finishes on the year, including a season-best tie for ninth in his Husker debut at the Bearcat Invitational in Cincinnati (Sept. 18-19).

Reed Malleck will be expected to add more stability to Nebraska’s lineup. The fifth-year Husker from York, Neb., earned five lineup appearances on the year. He finished the season with a 74.29 stroke average over 17 rounds, before earning his bachelor’s degree as a finance major in May of 2024. During the summer, Malleck took his game to a higher level by winning the Nebraska Amateur Championship.

An outstanding performer on and off the course, Malleck will be expected to provide leadership to the young Huskers on the roster.

Quinn Yost and Davis Johnson will provide the Big Red with more talent and experience entering the 2024-25 season. Yost, a junior from Albuquerque, N.M., ranked fourth among the Huskers with a 73.38 stroke average over 21 rounds a year ago. He tied for second at the Stampede at the Creek, after producing back-to-back top-20 finishes at the Badger Invitational and Purdue Fall Invitational.

Johnson, a junior from Chaska, Minn., finished his sophomore season strong, including a lineup appearance for the Huskers at the Big Ten Championship. He won the individual title at the Stampede at the Creek with a three-round total of 215 (-1), before competing in the Husker lineup at the Hawkeye Invitational to close the regular season. Johnson finished with a 74.73 stroke average over 15 rounds for the Big Red in 2023-24.

Senior Grant Jabenis from Omaha will add more experience for the Huskers, along with redshirt sophomore Evan McDermott. Jabenis and McDermott give Nebraska six returning letterwinners in 2024-25.

Rudy Sautron hopes to make an instant impact for the Huskers. The sophomore from France follows Hamish Murray as a former golfer from Cameron University. Sautron was a member of the NCAA Division II GCAA All-Freshman Team and a PING All-South Central Region performer in his lone season at Cameron. He was also the Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year. He produced a 71.78 stroke average over 32 rounds in 2023-24.  

Jackson Benge, a newcomer out of Nebraska high school power Omaha Westside, is one of three true freshmen to join the Huskers. Benge helped the Warriors to back-to-back Class A state team titles in 2023 and 2024. The 2022 Nebraska Junior Match Play champion, Benge was also the Class A-1 District champion in both 2022 and 2023 before earning a pair of Class A all-state honors.

Benge is joined in Nebraska’s class of newcomers by 2023 Kansas Class 6A Player-of-the-Year James Ackerman. The freshman from Leawood, Kan., led Blue Valley High School to back-to-back Class 6A team titles in 2021 and 2022.

The Husker newcomers add more international flavor with freshman Brodie Cunningham. The 2023 Barrie Douglas Scottish Junior Masters Champion produced seven top-10 individual finishes in 16 European tournaments from April to October of 2023. He was just 16 years old when he signed with the Huskers in November of 2023.

Redshirt freshman Rhett Hughes will also get his first chance to make an impact on the course for the Huskers this season. Hughes was the runner-up at the Oklahoma Junior Amateur and took 10th at the Oklahoma Class 6A-1 State Championship in 2023.

The Huskers open the 2024-25 campaign at the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 8-9), before playing host to the Git-R-Done Invitational at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln (Sept. 23-24). It will be Nebraska’s first home tournament since April 16-17, 2021.

The Big Red return to the Badger Invitational in Wisconsin (Sept. 29-Oct. 1), before heading to the Qubein Cup in Greensboro, N.C. (Oct. 14-15). Nebraska wraps up the fall portion of its tournament schedule with the Steelwood Invitational in Loxley, Ala. (Oct. 26-27).

The Huskers will open the spring season at the Palmas Del Mar Collegiate in Humacao, Puerto Rico (Feb. 9-11), before spending more than a month preparing their games for The Johnnie-O in St. Simons Island, Ga. (March 17-18).

The Big Red head to Arizona for the Bell Bank “Pay It Forward” Collegiate in Phoenix (March 24-25), before traveling to Missouri for the Tiger Intercollegiate (April 7-8).

Nebraska closes the regular season at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate in Columbus, Ohio (April 18-19), before traveling to Baltimore for the Big Ten Championship (April 25-27).