Friday Five: From Media Days to academic honors
Nebraska volleyball knows who it’s sending to Chicago, while track and field, men’s basketball and women’s golf add more classroom recognition.
Media Days are here. Well, not yet for the Big Ten Conference. But soon.
We already knew Justin Evans, Andrew Marshall and Luke Lindenmeyer will represent Nebraska football at Big Ten Media Days later this month. This week, we found out the volleyball plan too.
That leads this week’s Friday Five, along with more academic honors, a challenging rifle schedule and a Husker golfer earning a Korn Ferry Tour opportunity.
Let’s get to it.
Andi Jackson and Bergen Reilly will represent Nebraska at Big Ten Volleyball Media Day
Nebraska volleyball will send seniors Andi Jackson and Bergen Reilly to Big Ten Volleyball Media Day on Aug. 3 in Chicago. They will join coach Dani Busboom Kelly for the fifth annual event.
Jackson is coming off a junior season in which she was named AVCA Middle Blocker of the Year and earned first-team All-America honors for the second straight year. She averaged 2.74 kills per set and led the nation with a .467 hitting percentage, the third-best single-season mark in Nebraska history.
She was even better in conference play, hitting .559 to break the Big Ten record for hitting percentage in league matches. The previous mark had stood since 2008.
Reilly’s junior season was just as decorated. She was a first-team All-American, AVCA Setter of the Year, Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Setter of the Year.
That last honor came with some history. Reilly became only the second player in Big Ten history to be named Setter of the Year three times. She also became Nebraska’s second Big Ten Player of the Year.
Her numbers were strong across the board: 10.47 assists, 2.70 digs, 73 kills, 67 blocks and 19 aces. She also guided Nebraska to a school-record .351 hitting percentage.
The biggest story in Chicago will be how Nebraska builds on Busboom Kelly’s first season leading the program. But sending Jackson and Reilly gives Nebraska two players who can speak for the standard already in place.
Axelina Johansson and Jana Lowka earn Academic All-America honors
Nebraska track and field standouts Axelina Johansson and Jana Lowka were named Academic All-Americans by College Sports Communicators this week.
Johansson earned first-team honors for the third straight season. She is now the first athlete in Nebraska history to become a four-time CSC Academic All-American after also earning second-team recognition in 2023.
At this point, Johansson’s résumé almost sounds made up. She won NCAA indoor and outdoor shot put titles this season, broke the indoor collegiate record and the outdoor championship meet record, owns the indoor and outdoor school records and holds the Swedish national record. She was also a seven-time first-team All-American, the Honda Award winner for track and field, the USTFCCCA Women’s National Field Athlete of the Year, a World Championships bronze medalist, a six-time NCAA medalist and a finalist for The Bowerman.
Academically, Johansson carries a 3.96 GPA in graduate school after earning her degree in journalism and mass communications. She also received an NCAA postgraduate scholarship and was named Nebraska’s Outstanding Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
Lowka earned second-team Academic All-America honors after finishing her Nebraska career with a strong senior season. The javelin thrower from Frankfurt, Germany, won Big Ten silver with a throw of 54.07 meters and finished ninth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
She carries a 4.0 GPA in biological sciences and was named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar earlier this week.
With the selections, Nebraska now has 383 Academic All-Americans, which ranks second in Division I and leads the Big Ten. The Huskers have had at least one Academic All-American for 51 consecutive years.
Academic honors keep coming for Nebraska
The academic awards were not limited to track and field this week.
Nebraska men’s basketball received an NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, which goes to programs with a team GPA of 3.0 or better. It is the third time in the last four years that the Huskers have earned the honor.
Seven players also made the NABC Honors Court: Rienk Mast, Sam Hoiberg, Henry Burt, Cale Jacobsen, Connor Essegian, Berke Buyuktuncel and Pryce Sandfort.
Mast earned the honor for the fifth time in his career. Hoiberg, Burt and Jacobsen were recognized for the third straight year.
That continues a strong academic stretch for the program. Nebraska set a school record with eight Academic All-Americans, while Hoiberg was named a first-team CSC Academic All-American.
Women’s golf also had four players named WGCA All-America Scholars: Lauren Thiele, Hannah Kono, Kaleigh Babineaux and Ailis Tribolet.
The criteria for that honor is not light. Players must have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA, remain amateur and compete in at least half of their team’s scheduled rounds.
Kono, a physics major, produced three top-10 finishes and a 73.13 stroke average last season. Thiele graduated in May and posted a 73.94 stroke average. Babineaux and Tribolet both earned the honor as freshmen while playing significant roles for Nebraska.
Nebraska rifle announces challenging 2026-27 schedule
Nebraska rifle announced its 2026-27 schedule this week and its full of challenges. The Huskers will face six of the seven teams that qualified for the 2026 NCAA Championships. That includes 2025 NCAA champion West Virginia, runner-up TCU and third-place finisher Ole Miss.
Nebraska opens the season at home against Akron on Sept. 26, then heads to Ohio State on Oct. 3. The Huskers will also face Ole Miss and Memphis on the road before hosting Kentucky and Alaska-Fairbanks in late October.
The fall schedule includes a trip to the WVU Fall Classic, where Nebraska will face West Virginia, TCU and Kentucky.
The spring portion includes home matches against UTEP and road competition at Air Force. Nebraska will also host the Patriot Rifle Conference Championships on Feb. 5-6 and an NCAA qualifier against Ohio State on Feb. 20.
The NCAA Championships are set for March 12-13 at Georgia Southern.
Nebraska returns seven shooters for Richard Clark’s third season: Charlie Mick, Grace Corbett, Maddy Moyer, Alivia Perkins, Hannah Gallagher, Katlyn Sullivan and Carley Seabrooke. Freshmen Kenly Downey and Makenzie Larson will join the roster.
The Huskers finished fifth nationally last season, so the schedule fits where the program wants to be. If Nebraska wants to stay in that NCAA conversation, it will have plenty of chances to prove it.
Caden Mickelson earns Pinnacle Bank Championship exemption
Nebraska golfer Caden Mickelson earned a Korn Ferry Tour opportunity this weekend. Mickelson won the Indian Creek Invitational after shooting 67 on Saturday and 68 on Sunday, finishing 9-under over 36 holes. The win gives him an exemption into the Pinnacle Bank Championship at Indian Creek in August.
The sophomore-to-be from Kansas City won by two shots over Omaha native Will Mullin. Trevor Gutschewski, who won the event and sponsor’s exemption in 2024, finished third.
Two future Huskers were right behind them. Zack Erstad and Gavin Gerch tied for fourth at 2-under.
Mickelson gives Nebraska its second straight Indian Creek Invitational winner after Rudy Sautron won the title in 2025.
The Pinnacle Bank Championship begins Aug. 6 and runs through Aug. 9.