Huskers Sign Former Midwest PGA Student-Athlete of the Year

Lincoln, Neb. --- Head Coach Mark Hankins has added another key piece to his class of 2020 from Prairie Village, Kansas, native Will Harding.
 
"Will really climbed the rankings this past year and was a top player in the Kansas City area, the state of Kansas, and the Midwest.  He has a fundamentally sound golf game and provided leadership in a top high school program at Shawnee Mission East, winning multiple state championships.  Will has the potential to go low and earned some top accolades throughout his junior career, we are excited to watch his progress this off-season and welcome him to Lincoln in the fall," said Coach Hankins.
 
Harding was a Kansas 6A first-team all-state recipient and led the Shawnee Mission East Lancers to back-to-back state championships in 2018 and 2019. Harding was the top finisher for the Lancers in both 2018 and 2019 with fifth and seventh place finishes respectively. He is a three-time varsity letterwinner and was voted team captain for the 2019 season. In 2019, Harding recorded two individual tournament titles and two runner-up finishes and never finished lower than eighth. Harding also holds the junior course record at the Kansas City Country Club where he shot a 64 in 2017. He was the Kansas City Junior Amateur Champion and the runner-up in the U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier in 2019. He was also the recipient of the 2019 Midwest PGA Student-Athlete of the Year award this past October. 
 
Harding chose Nebraska over Kansas State because of the direction of the program and the student-athlete support provided by Nebraska Athletics and the University.
 
"Nebraska invests so much in the success of their athletes from both an academic and athletic standpoint," Harding said. "I am excited to have Coach Hankins as my coach and to be part of a team that is really focused on building a championship program. I can't wait to be surrounded by teammates and a coach that are eager to work hard, improve as golfers, and help make Nebraska one of the top teams in the country," said Harding. 
 
Off the course, Harding was an honor roll student with a 3.7 GPA. Harding was also chosen to be one of eight students who will lead Shawnee Mission East high school in over 50 service projects this school year.