Two Huskers among Summer Graduates

Former Huskers Todd Sears and R.D. Spiehs are among the 14 Husker student-athletes scheduled to take part in graduation ceremonies on Saturday morning at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Sears, who was a three-year letterman as a first baseman for the Nebraska baseball program from 1995 to 1997, completed his bachelor's degree in business administration after a long professional baseball career. Sears made Major League stops with the Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres from 2002 to 2004, before ending his pro career in 2006. The Ankeny, Iowa, native was a third-team All-American and a first-team All-Big 12 pick for Nebraska in 1997, batting .421 with 17 homers and 79 RBIs as a junior.
 
Spiehs, a Grand Island, Neb., native, was a pitcher on some of the most successful baseball teams in Nebraska history. The right-hander helped guide NU to its first College World Series appearance and first Big 12 regular-season title in 2001, to go along with a trio of Big 12 Tournament titles in his three-year Husker career. He compiled a 21-6 career record at NU, before spending six seasons in affiliated minor league baseball with the San Franciso Giant and Seattle Mariner organizations. He made 250 career professional appearances, climbing as high as the Triple-A level in 2005. Spiehs, who earned his bachelor's degree in communication studies from Nebraska, was recently named the assistant baseball coach at Grayson Community College in Texas.

Nebraska's most recent graduates help continue one of the richest academic traditions in collegiate athletics. Nebraska leads the more than 1,400 NCAA member schools with a nation-leading 269 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans across all teams and all sports. The Huskers also continue to lead the Big 12 Conference with a 93 percent exhausted eligibility graduation rate.