Caden Mickelson Season 2025-26

Honors & Awards

• Nebraska Freshman 54-Hole Record (201, -12, Git-R-Done Invitational, 2025)
• Five Career Top-25 Finishes (5, 2025-26)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2025)
• Missouri Class 5 State Champion (2023)
• Missouri Class 5 State Runner-Up (2024, 2025)
• Four-Time Missouri Class 5 All-State
• Four-Time All-District
• Four-Time All-Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference
• Kenneth Smith Award (Kansas City Player of the Year, 2025)
• No. 1 Junior Missouri (Junior Golf Scoreboard, 2025)
• U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier (2024)

Freshman (2025-26)
The No. 1 recruit in the state of Missouri in 2025, Caden Mickelson (pronounced MIKE-ull-son) has made an instant impact on the Husker lineup, carrying a 72.12 stroke average over 34 rounds, including 12 rounds below par. His stroke average is on pace to be the best by a freshman in Nebraska history, just ahead of current sophomore Brodie Cunningham's 72.61 over 23 rounds in 2024-25.

Mickelson opened his career as Nebraska's top finisher at the season-opening Island Resort Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) in Bark River, Mich. Mickelson, who was named the top high school golfer in the Kansas City metro area in 2025, fired a Nebraska freshman-record 207 (-9) over three rounds on a 7,375-yard layout at the Sage Run Golf Club. Mickelson's performance included back-to-back rounds of 67 (-5) to close the tournament, after starting with a 73 (+1) in the first round. Mickelson tied for 12th in an 84-player field to lead Nebraska to a sixth-place finish among 12 teams.

He was even better in his home debut at Nebraska's Git-R-Done Invitational (Sept. 22-23). Mickelson smashed the NU freshman record with a three-round total of 201 (-12), including an opening-round 66 (-5), on his way to a third-place individual finish. Mickelson trailed only co-champions Rudy Sautron (Nebraska) and Alex Lindstrom (Kansas State) who tied at 200 (-13) on the par-71, 7,102-yard layout at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln. Mickelson helped the Huskers capture their first team tournament title since 2012, while posting a school-record 825 (-29) over three rounds.

Mickelson followed with a tie for 23rd at 219 (+3) at the Purdue Fall Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind. (Oct. 13-14). He was Nebraska's No. 3 finisher at the 15-team event with rounds of 72, 74 and 73 on a 7,465-yard layout at the Kampen-Cosler Golf Course.

He added his fourth top-25 finish of the season with a tie for 23rd as Nebraska's No. 2 finisher to open the spring season at the Hal Williams Collegiate (Feb. 16-17). Mickelson closed the tournament with a three-round total of 209 (-1), including rounds of 69 (-1) in the first and third rounds on the par-70, 7,129-yard layout at the Magnolia Grove Golf Club in Semmes, Ala.

Mickelson contributed his fifth top-25 showing of the season with a tie for 14th at 208 (-2) to match teammate Rudy Sautron in helping the Huskers to a tie for fifth in a 16-team field at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate (April 11-12). Mickelson opened with back-to-back rounds of 68 (-2) before closing with a 72 on the par-70, 7,020-yard layout of North Carolina's Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill.

He opened Nebraska's second tournament of the fall season strong with an even-par 71, before adding a second-round 74 at the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 7). He fought his way to a final-round 77, but a technical error eliminated his round and dropped him to 83rd in an 84-golfer field.

Mickelson continued to contribute as Nebraska's No. 4 finisher at the Bearcat Invitational (Sept. 15-16). He put up consistent rounds of 72 (+1) to tie for 40th individually on the par-71, 7,279-yard layout at the Coldstream Country Club to help the Huskers to a fourth-place finish in a strong 18-team field in Cincinnati.

He closed the fall with a 154 (+10) in a tie for 71st at the Steelwood Collegiate (Oct. 25-26). Mickelson managed rounds of 78 (+6) and 76 (+4) on a 7,096-yard layout at the Steelwood Golf Club in Loxley, Ala. 

Mickelson ended his first fall campaign in Lincoln with a 71.38 stroke average over 16 countable rounds to trail only Sautron's 71.00 among the Huskers.

Mickelson added a tie for 30th as Nebraska's No. 2 finisher at the All-American Intercollegiate in Humble, Texas (March 16-17). He produced a three-round total of 230 (+14), after facing strong winds on the tournament's opening day. He rallied for a final-round 70 (-2) on the 7,422-yard layout at the Golf Club of Houston.

He matched Brodie Cunningham for Nebraska's No. 4 finish at the Bell Bank "Pay It Forward" Collegiate in Litchfield Park, Ariz. (March 23-24). Mickelson finished with a three-round total of 219 (+3), including rounds of 72, 76 and 71 (-1) on the 7,322-yard layout at the Wigwam Resort to help the Huskers to a third-place team finish in a 17-team field.

Mickelson was Nebraska's No. 4 finisher at the Tiger Intercollegiate (April 6-7), tying for 63rd at 221 (+11) including a second-round 68 (-2) on the par-70, 7,158-yard layout at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Mo. He helped the Huskers to a seventh-place team finish in a 19-team field.

Mickelson added a tie for 75th with a 223 (+7) as Nebraska's No. 4 finisher at The Johnnie-O at Sea Island (March 9-10).

Before Nebraska
Mickelson capped an impressive prep career by being named the Kenneth Smith Award winner as the top male high school golfer in the Kansas City metro area in 2024-25. The 2025 Missouri state high school runner-up after firing rounds of 66 and 69, Mickelson was the district tournament champion. He played in nine spring tournaments with five titles and three runner-up finishes. He won the Missouri Class 5A state championship with a two-round total of 142 (-2) as a sophomore at Liberty North High School in the spring of 2023. He added a runner-up finish at the Missouri state championship as a junior in 2024 with back-to-back rounds of 69, before claiming a third consecutive top-two finish as a senior with a 135 over 36 holes.

Mickelson was the first golfer in Liberty North history to earn all-state, all-district and all-conference honors in each of his four seasons of high school golf.

Mickelson went on to finish sixth in a field of 304 golfers at the 2024 National High School Championships in Frisco, Texas. He fired rounds of 67, 72 and 69 at PGA Frisco.

The top-ranked junior in Missouri in the class of 2025, according to Junior Golf Scoreboard, Mickelson qualified for the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan.

A four-year honor roll member, Mickelson graduated magna cum laude and served on the Liberty North Student Council all four years.

Personal
The son of Chris and Kristy Mickelson, Caden earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll as a finance major in the fall of 2025.

Career Statistics

Year	Rounds	Strokes	Average
2025-26	34	2,452	72.12
Totals	34	2,452	72.12

Nebraska Career Bests
Best Tournament Finish - 3rd, Git-R-Done, 2025
Low 54-hole score - 201 (-12), Git-R-Done, 2025
Low Round - 66 (-5), Git-R-Done, 2025
Low First Round - 66 (-5), Git-R-Done, 2025
Low Second Round - 67 (-5), Island Resort, 2025
Low Third Round - 67 (-5), Island Resort, 2025; 67 (-4), Git-R-Done, 2025
Career Rounds Under Par - 12