126 Huskers Named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars

The Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday afternoon that 126 University of Nebraska student-athletes earned the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award. The honor highlights student-athletes who recorded a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year.

The honorees came from all of Nebraska's 24 athletic programs, including double-figure totals in women's track and field (32), men's track and field (18), soccer (10) and softball (11). Special recognition goes to the 25 student-athletes who posted perfect 4.0 GPAs during the 2022-23 season. That group is listed at the bottom of the release.

Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must have earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition in the previous academic year, must have been enrolled full time at the institution for the entire previous academic year (two semesters or three quarters) and earned a minimum GPA of 3.70 or better during the previous academic year, excluding any summer grades. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student's academic career.

 Husker Student-Athletes with 4.0 GPAs in 2023-24
Ethan Piper (Football)
Matthias Algarin (Men's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Lorenzo Paissan (Men's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Seth Schnakenberg (Men's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Grant Wasserman (Men's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Tyus Wilson (Men's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Alea Hardie (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
McKenna Lovehaug (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Hillevi Carlsson (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Lishanna Ilves (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Darby Thomas (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Lindsey Thiele (Women's Golf)
Asher Cohen (Men's Gymnastics)
Emma Spence (Women's Gymnastics)
Marissa Popoola (Soccer)
Abby Vacek (Soccer)
Brooke Andrews (Softball)
Sydney Gray (Softball)
Caitlynn Neal (Softball)
Abbie Squier (Softball)
Emily Haimes (Swimming & Diving)
JoJo Randby (Swimming & Diving)
Roni Hietaranta (Men's Tennis)
Jillian Roa (Women's Tennis)
Alexis Buchert (Bowling)