12 Football Players Highlight 24 Husker Graduates

A total of 12 current and former Nebraska football players make up half of Nebraska's 24 student-athletes across all sports who will receive degrees during UNL December Commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Graduate commencement will occur on Friday, Dec. 16, at 3 p.m., before undergraduate commencement on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 9 a.m.

The events also will be streamed live at http://www.commencement.unl.edu.

Brian Buschini, Braxton Clark, Tyreke Johnson, Matt Masker, Darius Moore, Simon Otte, Lawrence Pete, Phalen Sanford, Ryan Schommer and Markese Stepp make up the 10 Husker football players earning undergraduate degrees on Saturday, while quarterback Casey Thompson (Applied Science) and linebacker Chris Kolarevic (Business) will earn their master's degrees on Friday. Pete, an All-Big Eight and honorable-mention All-America middle guard for the Huskers as a senior in 1988, spent six years with the Detroit Lions after being drafted in the fifth round by the team in 1989. He went on to a successful career in both the banking and real estate industries. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

Alex Talley, a five-time All-American in the throw events at the NCAA Championships, highlights the Husker graduates from the men's track and field program. Talley was the 2022 Big Ten Indoor Champion in the weight throw and added a silver medal in the shot put indoors before being named the Big Ten Men's Field Athlete of the Championships. He was also Nebraska's Outstanding Male Newcomer across all sports last season. The 2022 CoSIDA Academic All-American will earn his master's degree in engineering management on Friday afternoon. Fellow men's track and field student-athletes Matthew Brown (Jamaica) and Tony Nou (Estonia) add to the list of Huskers earning undergraduate degrees.

The Nebraska baseball (Mason Ornelas, Kyle Perry) and softball (Mya Felder, Peyton Glatter) programs both add a pair of graduates. Felder, who will earn her master's degree in educational administration on Friday, was an All-Midwest Region and second-team All-Big Ten infielder for the Big Ten Champion Huskers last season. She was also a member of the Big Ten All-Tournament Team and the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

Kirsten Baete added another All-Big Ten performer to the list of graduates after taking fourth at the 2022 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships. A four-time WGCA Scholastic All-American and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Baete was a two-time NCAA Regional competitor for the Huskers. She was also Nebraska's Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winner across all sports in 2022.

Kinga Aletto (Rifle), Maggie Berning (Swimming & Diving), Kaitlyn Higgins (Women's Gymnastics) and Victor Moreno Lozano (Men's Tennis) round out the list of 24 Husker December graduates who came to Nebraska from 13 states and three foreign countries.

Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the nation, while leading NCAA Division I in CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (348) 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 2022 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (24)
Kinga Aletto (Rifle) - Sarasota, Florida (Fisheries & Wildlife)
Kirsten Baete (Women's Golf) - Beatrice, Nebraska (Elementary & Special Education)
Maggie Berning (Swimming & Diving) - Kettering, Ohio (Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design)
Matthew Brown (Track & Field) - Montego Bay, Jamaica (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Brian Buschini (Football) - Helena, Montana (Criminology & Criminal Justice)
Braxton Clark (Football) - Orlando, Florida (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Mya Felder (Softball) - Fresno, California (Educational Administration - Master's)
Peyton Glatter (Softball) - Omaha, Nebraska (Communication Studies)
Kaitlyn Higgins (Women's Gymnastics) - Walworth, Wisconsin (Nutrition & Health Sciences)
Tyreke Johnson (Football) - Jacksonville, Florida (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Chris Kolarevic (Football) - Traverse City, Michigan (Business - Master's)
Matt Masker (Football) - Kearney, Nebraska (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Darius Moore (Football) - Tiffen, Iowa (Ethnic Studies)
Victor Moreno Lozano (Men's Tennis) - Madrid, Spain (Biological Systems Engineering)
Tony Nou (Track & Field) - Viljandi, Estonia (Economics)
Simon Otte (Football) - York, Nebraska (Mechanical Engineering)
Mason Ornelas (Baseball) - Fort Worth, Texas (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Kyle Perry (Baseball) - Omaha, Nebraska (Sports Media & Communication)
Lawrence Pete (Football) - Wichita, Kansas (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Phalen Sanford (Football) - Benkelman, Nebraska (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Ryan Schommer (Football) - Norfolk, Nebraska (Advertising & Public Relations)
Markese Stepp (Football) - Indianapolis, Indiana (Communication Studies)
Alex Talley (Track & Field) - West Fargo, North Dakota (Engineering Management - Master's)
Casey Thompson (Football) - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Applied Science - Master's)