Husker All-Americans Lead Group of 33 December Grads

Lincoln - A total of 33 current and former Husker student-athletes across all sports will receive their degrees during University of Nebraska-Lincoln December Commencement ceremonies at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday and Saturday.

Graduate commencement is set for Friday, Dec. 15 at 3 p.m., before undergraduate commencement occurs on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 9 a.m. Doors at PBA open 90 minutes prior to the event on each day.

Five All-Americans highlight Nebraska’s graduating class, which also features 18 student-athletes from the Husker football team. First-team soccer All-American Eleanor Dale is a star in the group of graduates after becoming a national player-of-the-year finalist while leading the nation in goals scored in 2023. The senior from Billingham, England, led the Huskers to the Big Ten Championship before advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight. The Big Ten Forward of the Year is joined by teammates Sydney Marchant, Marissa Popoola and Reagan Raabe in the group of December graduates.

Two-time NCAA wrestling All-American Peyton Robb adds strength to the class. Robb, a 157-pounder from Owatonna, Minn., was the 2023 Big Ten runner-up before finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships. The nutrition and health sciences major also finished fourth at nationals in 2022. He is one of three wrestlers in the graduating class, joining Kyle Burwick and Cale Davidson.

All-Americans Maddie Harris and Jonah Wilson shine the spotlight on five members of the Nebraska men’s and women’s track and field team earning diplomas this weekend. Harris, the 2022 NCAA javelin runner-up, is a two-time Big Ten javelin champion. The sports media and communication major from Lee’s Summit, Mo., is joined by Winsome Harris in representing the Husker women’s team.

Wilson was the 2023 NCAA Indoor shot put runner-up. The talented thrower from Clovis, Calif., earns his master’s degree in applied science after capturing the 2023 Big Ten indoor and outdoor shot put championships. Nick Ronnfeldt and Terrol Wilson also represent the men’s track and field team at graduation.

Two-time NTCA All-American bowler Kendyl Hofmeister rounds out Nebraska’s collegiate athletic All-Americans at this weekend’s commencement. The chemistry/chemistry education major from Essexville, Mich., was also a member of Nebraska’s 2021 NCAA Championship team.

Nebraska’s 18 graduates from the football team include All-Big Ten defensive players Omar Brown and Isaac Gifford, along with Timmy Bleekrode, John Bullock, Daniel Cerni, Turner Corcoran, John Goodwin, Anthony Grant, Jacob Herbek, Rahmir Johnson, Tamon Lynum, Ezra Miller, Riley Moses, Nouredin Nouili, Marco Ortiz, Chubba Purdy, Jeff Sims and Marcus Washington.

Men’s basketball student-athlete CJ Wilcher (Plainfield, N.J.) and softball student-athlete Sarah Harness (Bowling Green, Mo.), both child, youth and family studies major, round out Nebraska’s group of graduates.

Overall, the 33 Husker grads in December came to Nebraska from 14 states and four foreign countries.

Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the nation, while leading the country in the number of College Sports Communicators NCAA Division I Academic All-Americans (351) and NCAA Today’s Top Ten Award winners (18) across all sports. More than 100 Nebraska student-athletes all time have earned prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships.

December 2023 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (33)
Timmy Bleekrode, Football (Atlanta, Georgia) - Business - Master’s
Omar Brown, Football (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
John Bullock, Football (Omaha, Nebraska) - Psychology
Kyle Burwick, Wrestling (Hettinger, North Dakota) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
Daniel Cerni, Football (Canberra, Australia) - International Business
Turner Corcoran, Football (Lawrence, Kansas) - Criminology & Criminal Justice
Eleanor Dale, Soccer (Billingham, England) - Criminology & Criminal Justice
Cale Davidson, Wrestling (Wichita, Kansas) - Communication Studies
Isaac Gifford, Football (Lincoln, Nebraska) - Management
John Goodwin, Football (Lincoln, Nebraska) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
Anthony Grant, Football (Buford, Georgia) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
Sarah Harness, Softball (Bowling Green, Missouri) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
Maddie Harris, Track & Field (Lee’s Summit, Missouri) - Sports Media & Communication
Winsome Harris, Track & Field (Santa Cruz, Jamaica) - Management
Jacob Herbek, Football (Grand Island, Nebraska) - Nutrition & Health Sciences
Kendyl Hofmeister, Bowling (Essexville, Michigan) - Chemistry/Chemistry Education
Rahmir Johnson, Football (New York City, New York) - Advertising & Public Relations
Tamon Lynum, Football (Orlando, Florida) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
Sydney Marchant, Soccer (Grant, Minnesota) - Psychology
Ezra Miller, Football (Holstein, Iowa) - Criminology & Criminal Justice
Riley Moses, Football (Fairmont, Nebraska) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
Nouredin Nouili, Football (Frankfurt, Germany) - Psychology/Criminology & Criminal Justice
Marco Ortiz, Football (Richmond, Virginia) - Applied Science - Master’s
Marissa Popoola, Soccer (Overland Park, Kansas) - Psychology
Chubba Purdy, Football (Queen Creek, Arizona) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
Reagan Raabe, Soccer (Omaha, Nebraska) - Nutrition & Health Sciences
Peyton Robb, Wrestling (Owatonna, Minnesota) - Nutrition & Health Sciences
Nick Ronnfeldt, Track & Field (Lyons, Nebraska) - Animal Science
Jeff Sims, Football (Jacksonville, Florida) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
Marcus Washington, Football (St. Louis, Missouri) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
CJ Wilcher, Men’s Basketball (Plainfield, New Jersey) - Child, Youth & Family Studies
Jonah Wilson, Track & Field (Clovis, California) - Applied Science - Master’s
Terrol Wilson, Track & Field (Kingston, Jamaica) - Mechanical Engineering