Four Huskers Named WGCA All-America Scholars

Four Huskers earned academic honors when the Women's Golf Coaches Association announced its 2025-26 WGCA All-America Scholar Team on Monday, July 13.

Junior Lauren Thiele claimed the third WGCA All-America Scholar award of her career and her second as a Husker, while fellow junior Hannah Kono added the second honor of her career and her first at Nebraska. True freshmen Kaleigh Babineaux and Ailis Tribolet added their first collegiate honors.

Kono, a physics major from Enkoping, Sweden, produced three top-10 finishes on the course for the Big Red in 2025-26, while posting a 73.13 stroke average over 31 rounds. She was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and an Academic All-Big Ten selection while also being named a first-team Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar. Kono was also Nebraska's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner for women's golf in 2026.

Thiele, who earned her bachelor's degree as a child, youth and family studies major in May, produced a pair of top-25 finishes on the course for the Huskers in 2025-26, including a second-place showing at the SoCal Spring Invitational. The first-team Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar also joined Kono as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a member of the Academic All-Big Ten team. The Wahoo, Neb., native posted a 73.94 stroke average over 18 rounds last season.

Babineaux enjoyed a strong collegiate debut with six top-25 individual finishes. The freshman from Austin, Texas posted a 73.15 stroke average over 27 rounds. The PGA Golf Management major was also a member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll.

Tribolet added five top-25 finishes, including a pair of top-10 performances during her first season in Lincoln. The freshman from Chandler, Ariz., was Nebraska's top finisher at the Big Ten Championship and closed the season with a 73.81 stroke average over 26 rounds. A mechanical engineering major, Tribolet also earned two spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll.

The criteria for selection to the WGCA All-America Scholar Team are some of the most stringent in all of college athletics. Students must maintain an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher and be an amateur and on the team's roster through the conclusion of the team's season. They must also play in 50 percent of their school's scheduled competitive rounds during the season.

Nebraska's 2026 WGCA All-America Scholars
Kaleigh Babineaux, Freshman, Austin, Texas (PGA Golf Management)
Hannah Kono, Junior, Enkoping, Sweden (Physics)
Lauren Thiele, Junior, Wahoo, Nebraska (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Ailis Tribolet, Freshman, Chandler, Arizona (Mechanical Engineering)