Huskers Return to Action at Johnnie-O

The Nebraska men’s golf team returns to competition at The Johnnie-O at Sea Island, March 9-10.

The two-day, 54-hole event gets underway with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. (CT) for two rounds on Monday, March 9 in St. Simons Island, Ga. The teams will wrap up the three-round event on the the par-70, 6,933-yard layout of the Sea Island Golf Club on Tuesday, March 10 at 8 a.m. (CT).

The Huskers return to the Sea Island Golf Club for the third consecutive year to face a 15-team field that includes Cincinnati, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, Kansas, Kennesaw State, Memphis, NC State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Princeton, UNC Greensboro, West Virginia and the hosts from Rutgers.

Last season, the Huskers tied for fifth in a 13-team field. Rudy Sautron tied for eighth with a 139 (-1) in a tournament shortened to 36 holes by inclement weather.

Nebraska is coming off a solid showing to open the spring with a tie for eighth in a 14-team at the Hal Williams Collegiate in Semmes, Ala.

Sautron led the Big Red by sharing the individual title with a school-record 195 (-15) on the 7,129-yard, par-70 layout of the Crossings Course at the Magnolia Grove Country Club.

Sautron opened with a school-record 62 (-8), before adding a second-round 65 (-5) and a final-round 68 (-2). His performance in Alabama also earned him a share of Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week honors for the second time this season and the third time in his Husker career.

Sautron, who owns a team-best 70.10 stroke average, vaulted 87 spots in the national rankings to No. 119 with his performance in Alabama. He will lead the No. 69 Huskers out of the top spot in the lineup in Georgia. 

Caden Mickelson produced his fourth top-25 finish of the season by tying for 23rd with a 209 (-1) at the Hal Williams Collegiate. The true freshman from Kansas City took third with a school freshman record 201 (-12) at the Git-R-Done Invitational. He owns a 71.11 stroke average over 19 rounds.

Evan McDermott returns to the Husker lineup in the No. 3 spot in Georgia. The redshirt junior carries a 72.76 stroke average over 17 rounds, but did not compete in Alabama to open the spring.

Jackson Benge and Brodie Cunningham round out Nebraska’s five-player lineup at The Johnnie-O. Both sophomores have played all 20 rounds for the Big Red this season, with Benge ranking third among the Huskers with his 71.50 stroke average. Benge owns four top-25 finishes on the year and was Nebraska’s No. 1 or No. 2 finisher in five of six fall events.

Live updates and scoring for The Johnnie-O can be found at HuskersGolf on Instagram and X, and Scoreboard.clippd.com. Complete coverage can be found at Huskers.com.

The Johnnie-O at Sea Island
Simons Island, Ga. (Host: Rutgers)
Sea Island Golf Club (Par 70, 6,933 Yards)

Schedule
Monday, March 9 (Rounds 1 & 2) - 8 a.m. CT (shotgun)
Tuesday, March 10 (Round 3) - 8 a.m. CT (shotgun)

Live Scoring: Scoreboard.clippd.com

Participating Teams (14)
Cincinnati, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, Kansas, Kennesaw State, Memphis, Minnesota, Nebraska, NC State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Princeton, Rutgers, UNC Greensboro, West Virginia

Lineup (5-count-4)
1. Rudy Sautron, Jr., Reunion Island, France
2. Caden Mickelson, Fr., Kansas City, Missouri
3. Evan McDermott, RJr., Spring Lake, Michigan
4. Brodie Cunningham, So., Glasgow, Scotland
5. Jackson Benge, So., Omaha, Nebraska

Sautron Owns Top Spot in Pathway to Progression
Nebraska’s Rudy Sautron earned the top spot in the PGA Tour Underclass Elite Ranking (Feb. 11). The Pathway to Progression Underclass Elite Ranking is a new enhancement within the PGA Tour Development program designed to evaluate and recognize the top emerging collegiate golfers, highlighting a diverse group of elite underclass athletes - predominantly African American players - from across the country. It supports players who are in their freshman, sophomore and junior years.

Sautron has maintained the top spot since the initial ranking was released in November. Argyle Downes (Rutgers), Sascha Robinson (Florida A&M), Roman Solomon (USF) and Jayden Lizama (Gonzaga) round out the top five.

The top player in the final ranking receives an exemption into The Monroe Invitational, an elite summer amateur event in Pittsford, N.Y. The top 15 players earn invitations to participate in the Pathway to Progression Underclass Elite Showcase at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois (July 13-16).

Huskers Go Low Early During 2025-26 Season
A trio of Huskers have consistently shot below par during the 2025-26 campaign.

Junior Rudy Sautron leads Nebraska with a 70.10 stroke average. Through 20 rounds, Sautron’s average is 1.10 strokes below par per round. He is coming off the best performance in school history with an NU record 195 (-15) to share the individual title at the Hal Williams Collegiate (Feb. 16-17). His effort included a school-record 62 (-8) in the opening round.

Sautron’s fall season included a then-school-record 200 (-13) at the Git-R-Done Invitational, which included a final-round 64 (-7). It was just one stroke shy of his previous school-record 63 (-9) that he carded in Alabama at the Steelwood Collegiate in the fall of 2024.

True freshman Caden Mickelson owns a 71.11 average, which is -0.11 strokes per round below par. His fall included a school freshman-record 201 (-12) in a third-place finish at the Git-R-Done Invitational, when he fired an opening-round 66 (-5). Eight of his 19 rounds have been below par.

Sophomore Jackson Benge also owns eight rounds below par  this year and carries a 71.50 stroke average (+0.20).

In addition to the Husker regulars in the lineup, newcomers Thomas Bryson and Bryson Oots both put together even-par stroke averages of 71.50 over six fall rounds outside the Husker lineup.

Huskers Hope to Break Through with 2026 NCAA Bid
Nebraska believes its 10-man roster has the ingredients to break through with its first team NCAA Regional berth since 2007.

Nebraska, which has made significant jumps in the final national rankings in each of Coach Judd Cornell’s three seasons, including a No. 83 ranking to end 2024-25, has a balanced roster with experienced seniors and talented juniors and sophomores leading the way.

Fourth-year Husker seniors Quinn Yost (56 rounds) and Davis Johnson (38 rounds) have seen significant time in NU’s lineup during their careers.

Two-time NCAA Division II All-Midwest Region selection Bryson Oots adds to the talent and experience of Nebraska’s 2026 senior class.

Juniors Rudy Sautron and Evan McDermott have experience playing in the heart of Nebraska’s lineup. Both were leaders for the Big Red as sophomores in 2024-25, and both are focused on continuing NU’s drive for postseason play.

Brodie Cunningham leads a talented sophomore class that includes Jackson Benge and James Ackerman. Cunningham set Nebraska’s freshman stroke average record a year ago, while Benge got a strong taste of collegiate action.

Freshmen Caden Mickelson and Thomas Bryson hope to make impacts on the Husker lineup in their first season. Both players were individual high school state champions and four-time all-state selections during their prep careers. Mickelson was NU’s top finisher (T12th) with a school freshman-record 207 (-9) at the Island Resort Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 1). He shattered that freshman mark just three weeks later by taking third at the Git-R-Done Invitational (Sept. 22-23) with a 54-hole total of 201 (-12).

Husker Trio Named Big Ten Golfers to Watch
The Nebraska trio of Rudy Sautron, Evan McDermott and Brodie Cunningham were included in the group of Big Ten Golfers to Watch for the 2025-26 men’s golf season.

Sautron, a junior from Reunion Island, France, rewrote the Nebraska record book in his first season with the Huskers, setting the school stroke average record (71.70) while helping NU set the team single-season stroke average record (288.38). He produced four top-10 finishes, including a tournament title in his NCAA Division I debut at the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 8-9) with a school sophomore record 208 (-5). He closed the fall with another record-setting performance, firing a school-record 63 (-9) in the final round of the Steelwood Collegiate to tie his own sophomore record with a 208 (-8). Sautron also finished with a team-leading six eagles on the season.

McDermott, a redshirt junior from Spring Lake, Mich., was a consistent contributor to the Nebraska lineup in 2024-25. He closed with a 73.44 stroke average over 32 rounds, which ranked as the second-best average by a sophomore in school history. McDermott and Hamish Murray were the only Huskers to compete in all 32 rounds for NU last year. McDermott ended the season with four top-25 individual finishes.

Cunningham added one of the best freshman seasons ever by a Nebraska golfer with a school freshman-record 72.61 stroke average over 23 rounds in 2024-25. The young player from Glasgow, Scotland also tied the Husker single-round freshman record with a 66 (-4).

Cunningham became a consistent force for the Huskers in the spring with four straight top-15 finishes, including a tie for 14th to lead NU to a season-best runner-up finish at the Robert Kepler Invitational (April 18-19).

NU Adds Pair of Talented Freshmen for 2025-26
Freshmen Thomas Bryson (Lincoln, Neb.) and Caden Mickelson (Kansas City, Mo.) both bring impressive credentials to Lincoln.

Bryson continues a rich family tradition as both his father, Kevin (2000-03) and mother, Beth Anne (Cherry) (2002-05) were both four-year golf letterwinners at Nebraska.

Thomas was a four-year Nebraska Super-State pick after winning the Class A individual state title as a freshman at Lincoln Southeast in 2022. He was also the 2021 Nebraska Junior PGA Champion and the 2022 Nebraska Amateur of the Year.

He made his college debut at the Bluejay Invite in Omaha (Sept. 15-16), tying for 16th with a 215 (-1) over three rounds at Shadow Ridge CC.

Mickelson, who was the Kansas City metro area high school player of the year in 2025, was the Missouri Class 5 state champion in 2023 before adding runner-up finishes at state in 2024 and 2025. He was the No. 1 recruit in Missouri in 2025 and a four-time Class 5 All-State selection.

Mickelson was Nebraska’s top finisher with a school freshman record 207 (-9) at the Island Resort Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), before earning the top spot in the Husker lineup for the Gopher Invite (Sept. 7-8). After finishing 40th with three rounds of 72 (+1) at the Bearcat Invitational (Sept. 15-16), Mickelson shattered his NU freshman record with a 201 (-12) to take third at the Git-R-Done Invitational (Sept. 22-23).

Mickelson was back in the top-25 again at the Purdue Fall Invite, taking 23rd with a 219 (+3) at the Kampen-Cosler Golf Club (Oct. 13-14).

Schedule to Challenge Huskers From Start to Finish
The Huskers opened 2025-26 with a sixth-place finish and an 838 (-26) at the Island Resort Invitational in Michigan (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), before settling for 10th at the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 7-8). NU journeyed to Cincinnati for the Bearcat Invitational (Sept. 15-16), where they posted a fourth-place finish in a strong 18-team field, before capping four straight weeks of action at by winning the Git-R-Done Invitational at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln (Sept. 22-23). The Huskers set a school record with an 823 (-29) to win their first team title since September of 2012.

After a three-week break, the Big Red took fifth in a 15-team field at the Purdue Fall Invitational (Oct. 13-14), before closing the fall at the Steelwood Collegiate in Loxley, Ala. (Oct. 25-26).

The Huskers opened the spring back in Alabama at the Hal Williams Collegiate (Feb. 16-17), before traveling to The Johnnie-O in St. Simons Island, Ga. (March 9-10) and the All-American Intercollegiate in Houston (March 16-17). The Big Red head to Arizona for the Bell Bank “Pay It Forward” Collegiate (March 23-24), ahead of a trip to Missouri for the Tiger Intercollegiate (April 6-7). NU closes the regular season at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate in Chapel Hill, N.C. (April 11-12), before traveling to Oregon for the Big Ten Championship (May 1-3).

2025-26 Season Bests
Team Total: 823 (-29), Git-R-Done, Sept. 22-23
Team to Par: -29 (823), Git-R-Done, Sept. 22-23
Team Finish: 1st, Git-R-Done, Sept. 22-23, 2025
Individual Finish: T1st
Rudy Sautron, Hal Williams, Feb. 16-17
Rudy Sautron, Git-R-Done, Sept. 22-23
Individual Total: 195 (-15), Rudy Sautron, Hal Williams, Feb. 16-17
Individual to Par: -15 (195), Rudy Sautron, Hal Williams, Feb. 16-17
Individual Round: 62 (-8), Rudy Sautron, Hal Williams, 1st, Feb. 16
Individual Round to Par: -8 (62), Rudy Sautron, Hal Williams, 1st, Feb. 16
Eagles (12):
Brodie Cunningham, No. 18 (Par 5), 3rd, Island Resort, Sept. 1
Jackson Benge, No. 9 (Par 5), 1st, Gopher, Sept. 7
Bryson Oots, No. 14 (Par 4), 1st, Bluejay, Sept. 15
James Ackerman, No. 12 (Par 5), 2nd, Bluejay, Sept. 15
Thomas Bryson, No. 16 (Par 5), 2nd, Bluejay, Sept. 15
Evan McDermott, No. 12 (Par 5), 3rd, Bluejay, Sept. 16
Brodie Cunningham, No. 8 (Par 5), 2nd, Git-R-Done, Sept. 22
Brodie Cunningham, No. 16 (Par 5), 1st, Purdue, Oct. 13
Rudy Sautron, No. 4 (Par 5), 1st, Steelwood, Oct. 25
Rudy Sautron, No. 5 (Par 4), 1st, Steelwood, Oct. 25
Evan McDermott, No. 18 (Par 5), 1st, Steelwood, Oct. 25
Caden Mickelson, No. 6 (Par 5), 2nd, Hal Williams, Feb. 16