Huskers Open Busy Week at Tiger Intercollegiate

Sautron Owns Top Spot in Pathway to Progression
Nebraska’s Rudy Sautron earned the top spot in the PGA Tour Underclass Elite Ranking (Feb. 11). The Pathway to Progression Underclass Elite Ranking is a new enhancement within the PGA Tour Development program designed to evaluate and recognize the top emerging collegiate golfers, highlighting a diverse group of elite underclass athletes - predominantly African American players - from across the country. It supports players who are in their freshman, sophomore and junior years.

Sautron has maintained the top spot since the initial ranking was released in November. Argyle Downes (Rutgers), Sascha Robinson (Florida A&M), Roman Solomon (USF) and Jayden Lizama (Gonzaga) round out the top five.

The top player in the final ranking receives an exemption into The Monroe Invitational, an elite summer amateur event in Pittsford, N.Y. The top 15 players earn invitations to participate in the Pathway to Progression Underclass Elite Showcase at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois (July 13-16).

Huskers Going Low in 2025-26
A trio of Huskers have consistently shot below par during the 2025-26 campaign.

Junior Rudy Sautron leads Nebraska with a 70.24 stroke average. Through 29 rounds, Sautron’s average is 1.24 strokes below par per round. He produced two of the best performances in school history with an NU record 18-under-par (198) to share the title at The Johnnie-O (March 9-10). It followed a school-record 195 (-15) to share the individual title at the Hal Williams Collegiate (Feb. 16-17). His effort included a school-record 62 (-8) in the first round.

Overall, he has finished 19 of his 29 rounds below par in 2025-26.

Sautron’s fall season included a then-school-record 200 (-13) at the Git-R-Done Invitational, which included a final-round 64 (-7). It was just one stroke shy of his previous school-record 63 (-9) that he carded at the Steelwood Collegiate in the fall of 2024.

Sophomore Jackson Benge owns 11 rounds below par this year and carries a 72.17 stroke average (+0.69 strokes per round above par) after tying for fifth with a 211 (-5) at the Bell Bank “Pay It Forward” Collegiate (March 23-24).

True freshman Caden Mickelson owns a 72.25 average (+0.79 strokes per round above par). His fall included a school freshman-record 201 (-12) in a third-place finish at the Git-R-Done Invitational, when he fired an opening-round 66 (-5). Nine of his 28 rounds have been below par.

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

Nebraska, which has made 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.

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.

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 was NU’s top finisher (T12th) with a school freshman-record 207 (-9) at the Island Resort Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 1). He shattered that freshman mark just three weeks later by taking third at the Git-R-Done Invitational (Sept. 22-23) with a 54-hole total of 201 (-12).

Husker Trio Named Big Ten Golfers to Watch
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.

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 last 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).

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). 

 

NU Adds Pair of Talented Freshmen For 2025-26 Season
Freshmen Thomas Bryson (Lincoln, Neb.) and Caden Mickelson (Kansas City, Mo.) both bring impressive credentials to Lincoln.

Bryson continues a rich family tradition as both his father, Kevin (2000-03) and mother, Beth Anne (Cherry) (2002-05) were both four-year golf letterwinners at Nebraska.

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.

He made his college debut at the Bluejay Invite in Omaha (Sept. 15-16), tying for 16th with a 215 (-1) over three rounds at Shadow Ridge CC.

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 2024 and 2025. He was the No. 1 recruit in Missouri in 2025 and a four-time Class 5 All-State selection.

Mickelson was Nebraska’s top finisher with a school freshman record 207 (-9) at the Island Resort Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), before earning the top spot in the Husker lineup for the Gopher Invite (Sept. 7-8). After finishing 40th with three rounds of 72 (+1) at the Bearcat Invitational (Sept. 15-16), Mickelson shattered his NU freshman record with a 201 (-12) to take third at the Git-R-Done Invitational (Sept. 22-23).

Mickelson was back in the top-25 again at the Purdue Fall Invite, taking 23rd with a 219 (+3) at the Kampen-Cosler Golf Club (Oct. 13-14).

Schedule to Challenge Huskers From Start to Finish
The Huskers opened 2025-26 with a sixth-place finish and an 838 (-26) at the Island Resort Invitational in Michigan (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), before settling for 10th at the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 7-8). NU journeyed to Cincinnati for the Bearcat Invitational (Sept. 15-16), where they posted a fourth-place finish in a strong 18-team field, before capping four straight weeks of action at by winning the Git-R-Done Invitational at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln (Sept. 22-23). The Huskers set a school record with an 823 (-29) to win their first team title since September of 2012.

After a three-week break, the Big Red took fifth in a 15-team field at the Purdue Fall Invitational (Oct. 13-14), before closing the fall at the Steelwood Collegiate in Loxley, Ala. (Oct. 25-26).

The Huskers opened 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 headed 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).

2025-26 Season Bests
Team Total: 823 (-29), Git-R-Done, Sept. 22-23
Team to Par: -29 (823), Git-R-Done, Sept. 22-23
Team Finish: 1st, Git-R-Done, Sept. 22-23

Individual Finish: T1st

Rudy Sautron, Git-R-Done, Sept. 22-23
Rudy Sautron, Hal Williams, Feb. 16-17
Rudy Sautron, The Johnnie-O, March 9-10

Individual Total: 195 (-15) - school record
Rudy Sautron, Hal Williams, Feb. 16-17

Individual to Par: -18 (198) - school record
Rudy Sautron, The Johnnie-O, March 9-10

Individual Round: 62 (-8) - school record
Rudy Sautron, 62, Hal Williams, 1st, Feb. 16

Individual Round to Par: -8 (62) / -8 (64)
Rudy Sautron, 62, Hal Williams, 1st, Feb. 16
Rudy Sautron, 64, The Johnnie-O, 1st, March 9

Eagles (18):
Brodie Cunningham, No. 18 (Par 5), 3rd, Island Resort, Sept. 1
Jackson Benge, No. 9 (Par 5), 1st, Gopher, Sept. 7
Bryson Oots, No. 14 (Par 4), 1st, Bluejay, Sept. 15
James Ackerman, No. 12 (Par 5), 2nd, Bluejay, Sept. 15
Thomas Bryson, No. 16 (Par 5), 2nd, Bluejay, Sept. 15
Evan McDermott, No. 12 (Par 5), 3rd, Bluejay, Sept. 16
Brodie Cunningham, No. 8 (Par 5), 2nd, Git-R-Done, Sept. 22
Brodie Cunningham, No. 16 (Par 5), 1st, Purdue, Oct. 13
Rudy Sautron, No. 4 (Par 5), 1st, Steelwood, Oct. 25
Rudy Sautron, No. 5 (Par 4), 1st, Steelwood, Oct. 25
Evan McDermott, No. 18 (Par 5), 1st, Steelwood, Oct. 25
Caden Mickelson, No. 6 (Par 5), 2nd, Hal Williams, Feb. 16
Rudy Sautron, No. 18 (Par 5), 2nd, The Johnnie-O, March 9
Rudy Sautron, No. 10 (Par 4), 3rd, The Johnnie-O, March 10
Evan McDermott, No. 14 (Par 5), 3rd, The Johnnie-O, March 10
Rudy Sautron, No. 4 (Par 5), 3rd, The Johnnie-O, March 10
Jackson Benge, No. 1 (Par 5), 1st, Bell Bank, March 23
Brodie Cunningham, No. 14 (Par 5), 1st, Bell Bank, March 23