Huskers Open Season in Michigan

The Nebraska trio of Rudy Sautron, Evan McDermott and Brodie Cunningham were included in the group of Big Ten Golfers to Watch for the 2025-26 men’s golf season. The golfers to watch were announced by the conference Aug. 27 ahead of the collegiate campaign.

Sautron, a junior from Reunion Island, France, rewrote the Nebraska record book in his first season with the Huskers, setting the school stroke average record (71.70) while helping NU set the team single-season stroke average record (288.38). He produced four top-10 finishes, including a tournament title in his NCAA Division I debut at the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 8-9) with a school sophomore record 208 (-5). He closed the fall with another record-setting performance, firing a school-record 63 (-9) in the final round of the Steelwood Collegiate to tie his own sophomore record with a 208 (-8). Sautron also finished with a team-leading six eagles on the season.

McDermott, a redshirt junior from Spring Lake, Mich., was a consistent contributor to the Nebraska lineup in 2024-25. He closed with a 73.44 stroke average over 32 rounds, which ranked as the second-best average by a sophomore in school history. McDermott and Hamish Murray were the only Huskers to compete in all 32 rounds for NU on the year. McDermott ended the season with four top-25 individual finishes.

Cunningham added one of the best freshman seasons ever by a Nebraska golfer with a school freshman-record 72.61 stroke average over 23 rounds in 2024-25. The young player from Glasgow, Scotland also tied the Husker single-round freshman record with a 66 (-4) in the final round of the Tiger Intercollegiate (April 8).

Cunningham became a consistent force for the Huskers in the spring with four straight top-15 finishes, including a tie for 14th to lead NU to a season-best runner-up finish at the Robert Kepler Invitational (April 18-19). He managed rounds of 73, 72 and 77 to finish at 222 (+9) on the par-71, 7,455-yard layout of the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. His effort in Ohio included his fourth eagle of the season on the par-5 fourth hole in the second round (April 17).

Sautron Spectacular in 2024-25 Nebraska Debut
Rudy Sautron made his NCAA Division I debut as a Husker by capturing the tournament title at the 2024-25 season-opening Gopher Invitational (Sept. 8-9).

A transfer from NCAA Division II Cameron University in Oklahoma, Sautron tied the Nebraska sophomore tournament record with a 208 (-5) at the Windsong Farm Golf Club.

Sautron’s three-round total included an opening-round 69 (-2) that featured Nebraska’s first eagle of the season on No. 18. He added a second-round 70 (-1) before closing with a final-round 69 (-2). His 208 matched the NU sophomore record set by former PGA pro Brady Schnell (2004-05) and Seth Porter (1999-2000).

Sautron’s effort also earned him a share of the first Big Ten Conference Men’s Golfer-of-the-Week award for the 2024-25 season announced Sept. 12.

Sautron added a second top-five finish with his tie for third to help the Huskers to another third-place finish in a loaded 13-team field at the Qubein Cup in Greensboro, N.C. (Oct. 14-15). Sautron finished with a three-round total of 213 (+3) that included an opening-round 69 (-1).

He closed the fall by tying his Husker sophomore record with a 208 (-8) at the Steelwood Collegiate (Oct. 26-27), which included a school-record 63 (-9) in the final round.

Sautron added a fourth top-10 finish by tying for eighth at The Johnnie-O at Sea Island (March 17-18) with a two-round total of 139 (-1). 

He capped his first season as a Husker by earning PING All-Midwest Region honors from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

Huskers Hope to Break Through with 2026 NCAA Bid
Nebraska believes its 10-man roster has the ingredients to break through during the 2025-26 season with its first team NCAA Regional berth since 2007.

Nebraska, which has been making significant jumps in the final national rankings in each of Coach Judd Cornell’s three seasons, including a No. 83 ranking to end 2024-25, has a balanced roster with experienced seniors and talented juniors and sophomores leading the way.

Fourth-year Husker seniors Quinn Yost (47 rounds) and Davis Johnson (32 rounds) have seen significant time in Nebraska’s lineup during their careers. Both help set a competitive tone each day in practice and both provide great leadership off the course in the classroom and in the community.

Two-time NCAA Division II All-Midwest Region selection Bryson Oots adds to the talent and experience of Nebraska’s 2026 senior class. The summer signee out of William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., could add an important piece to Nebraska’s lineup throughout the season.

Juniors Rudy Sautron and Evan McDermott have experience playing in the heart of Nebraska’s lineup. Both were leaders for the Big Red as sophomores in 2024-25, and both are focused on continuing NU’s drive for postseason play.

Brodie Cunningham leads a talented sophomore class that includes Jackson Benge and James Ackerman. Cunningham set Nebraska’s freshman stroke average record a year ago, while Benge got a strong taste of collegiate action. Cunningham and Benge will be playing out of the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in Nebraska’s lineup at the season-opening Island Resort Invitational.

Freshmen Caden Mickelson and Thomas Bryson hope to make impacts on the Husker lineup in their first season. Both players were individual high school state champions and four-time all-state selections during their prep careers. Mickelson earned a spot in the top five in Nebraska’s season-opening tournament.

Oots Joins Nebraska as Senior Transfer in July
Bryson Oots became the most recent addition to the Nebraska roster when the Kansas City native joined the Huskers on July 1, 2025.

Oots, who was the Kenneth Smith Award winner as the Kansas City male high school golfer of the year in 2022, spent his first three collegiate seasons at NCAA Division II William Jewell.

A two-time PING All-Midwest Region pick at the Liberty, Mo., school, Oots produced a 72.17 stroke average over 34 rounds last season and captured four individual tournament titles on his way to a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional. The Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2024-25, Oots was a two-time first-team All-GLVC performer.

He continues a recent trend of successful NCAA Division II players transferring to Nebraska, including current Husker Rudy Sautron and 2025 NU senior Hamish Murray, who both came to the Big Red from Cameron University in Oklahoma.

NU Adds Pair of Talented Freshmen for 2025-26 Season

Thomas Bryson (Lincoln, Neb.) and Caden Mickelson (Kansas City, Mo.) signed letters of intent to join the Husker program in November of 2024, and both bring impressive credentials to the Big Red.

Bryson brings a rich family tradition with him from Lincoln Southeast High School. Bryson’s father, Kevin, was a four-year letterman for the Husker men’s golf program from 2000 to 2003, while his mother, Beth Anne (Cherry), was a four-year letterwinner for the Husker women’s golf team from 2002 to 2005.

Thomas was a four-year Nebraska Super-State pick after winning the Class A individual state title as a freshman at Lincoln Southeast in 2022. He was also the 2021 Nebraska Junior PGA Champion and the 2022 Nebraska Amateur of the Year.

Mickelson, who was the Kansas City metro area high school player of the year in 2025, was the Missouri Class 5 state champion in 2023 before adding runner-up finishes at state in both 2024 and 2025. He was the No. 1 recruit in the state of Missouri in 2025 and a four-time Missouri Class 5 All-State selection.

Mickelson earned a spot in Nebraska’s season-opening tournament through team qualifying ahead of the Island Resort Invitational.

Schedule to Challenge Huskers from Start to Finish
The Huskers open 2025-26 at the Island Resort Invitational in Michigan (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), before traveling to the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 7-8). NU journeys to Cincinnati for Bearcat Invitational (Sept. 15-16), before capping four straight weeks of action at the Git-R-Done Invitational at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln (Sept. 22-23).

After a three-week break, the Big Red head to Indiana for the Purdue Fall Invitational (Oct. 13-14), then close the fall at the Steelwood Collegiate in Loxley, Ala. (Oct. 25-26).

The Huskers open the spring back in Alabama at the Hal Williams Collegiate (Feb. 16-17), before traveling to The Johnnie-O in St. Simons Island, Ga. (March 9-10) and the All-American Intercollegiate in Houston (March 16-17). The Big Red head to Arizona for the Bell Bank “Pay It Forward” Collegiate (March 23-24), ahead of a trip to Missouri for the Tiger Intercollegiate (April 6-7). NU closes the regular season at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate in Chapel Hill, N.C. (April 11-12), before traveling to Oregon for the Big Ten Championship (May 1-3).