Honors & Awards

  • Team Co-Captain (2020-21, 2021-22)
  • NTCA All-American (Third Team, 2021; Honorable Mention, 2020, 2022)
  • NTCA All-Academic Team (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) 
  • Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
  • Academic All-Big Ten (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
  • Heart and Soul Award (2022)
  • Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll  (Fall 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021; Spring 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
  • Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award (2021)
  • Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
  • Four-Time Illinois State Tournament Qualifier (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)

2021-22 (Senior)
Cassidy Ray served as one of the Husker co-captains in 2021-22 and wrapped up her career by earning her third NTCA All-America certificate. Ray competed in all 10 tournaments for the Huskers in 2021-22 and ranked third on the team with a 205.45 average over 50 games. She earned six top-10 finishes in nine regular-season tournaments, including a team-high four top-five finishes. Her best effort of the year was at the Big Red Invitational, where she placed third with an average of 234.4. Ray also finished third at the Hammer Bearcat Open, the Stormin’ Blue and White Vegas Classic and the Columbia 300 Saints Invitational. In Baker format, she averaged 20.34 pins per frame while playing the No. 4 spot in the lineup and had strikes with 52 percent of her attempts. She finished her career with a 201.89 average and six top-five finishes in 35 career events.

2020-21 (Junior)
Ray was named one of the 2020-21 co-captains and her success helped lead the team to the NCAA Championship. A third-team NTCA All-American, Ray finished in the top-10 twice with seventh-place showings at the Big Red Invitational (226.75) and the Mid-Winter Classic (218.17). She also earned top-20 finishes in all five of the tournaments she competed in 2020-21. Her season average of 208.11 through 36 games placed her third on the team, behind fellow NTCA All-American teammates. Ray, who earned second-team NTCA All-Central Region honors, was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and claimed Academic All-Big Ten accolades for the third consecutive year. She was also recognized for her community service with a 2021 Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award. 

2019-20 (Sophomore)
Ray was one of the Huskers’ top bowlers in 2019-20, earning NTCA All-America honors for the first time in her career. She competed in all nine events and was in the lineup in traditional format in NU’s final eight events. Ray was third on the team in average (201.10) and raised her scoring average nearly 11 points from her redshirt freshman campaign. In baker games, she averaged a 201.4, raising her average in baker format by nearly 10 pins per game. On the year, Ray also made significant improvement in both her strike (43 to 48) and spare (81 to 86) percentages. She opened the year with a second-place showing at the Track Kat Klash, averaging a season-best 217.60 in five games. Ray’s second top-five finish occurred at the 300 Saints Invitational, when she averaged a 209.40 in five traditional games, highlighted by a single-game high of 289. In all, she bowled 200-or-higher in 20 of 39 games. Ray also shined in the classroom, as she was named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar with a GPA of 3.70 or better during the 2019-20 academic year. 

2018-19 (Redshirt Freshman)
Ray competed in all 10 tournaments, including a season-best sixth-place individual finish in her season-best performance at the season-opening Bearcat Hammer Open. She posted a season-best 212.4 average at the event. Ray added a 13th-place finish (209.4 average) at the Big Red Invitational and ended her season with a 189.6 average. In baker format, she averaged a 191.7 while competing in all 10 meets. Ray earned Academic All-Big Ten honors and was a member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in both the fall and spring semesters of 2018-19. Ray was also a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. Ray also claimed a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

2017-18 (Freshman)
Ray redshirted during the 2017-18 season and worked hard to add depth to the Husker roster. Off the lanes, she was an NTCA All-Academic Team selection and earned spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in both semesters. She was a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

Before Nebraska
Ray was a four-time Illinois High School Association State Tournament qualifier for coaches Barry Hubbard and Brad Carey at Herrin High School. She finished seventh individually at the IHSA state tournament in 2014 and helped her team to a 10th-place finish in 2016. Ray also posted an 11th-place finish at the 2014 Illinois Pepsi USBC Youth Championship State Finals. She bowled a high game of 277 as a high school bowler.

She also participated in volleyball and softball in high school. Ray was a member of the National Honor Society and she was also involved in the marching band, French Club and Future Business Leaders of America.

Personal
The daughter of Les and Becky Ray, Cassidy was born on Feb. 25, 1999. She has one sister, Mackenzie. A criminology and criminal justice major, Cassidy earned her bachelor's degree from Nebraska in May 2022. She is a three-time NTCA All-Academic Team honoree, a four-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a four-time Academic All-Big Ten choice. She was a 10-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll selection and a five-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.
 

Baker Traditional
Year Events  GP Avg. GP Pinfall Avg. 1st T-5 T-10
2018-19 10 51.9 191.7 32 6,068 189.6 0 0 1
2019-20 9 58.5 201.4 39 7,843 201.1 0 2 2
2020-21 6 48.3 202.5 36 7,514 208.7 0 0 2
2021-22 10 72.1 203.4 50 10,273 205.5 0 4 6
Totals 35 230.8 200.07 157 31,698 201.90 0 6 11