Honors & Awards
- Nebraska Freshman 54-Hole Record (201, -12, Git-R-Done Invitational, 2025)
- Two Career Top-25 Finishes (2, 2025-26)
- Missouri Class 5 State Champion (2023)
- Missouri Class 5 State Runner-Up (2024, 2025)
- Four-Time Missouri Class 5 All-State
- Four-Time All-District
- Four-Time All-Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference
- Kenneth Smith Award (Kansas City Player of the Year, 2025)
- No. 1 Junior Missouri (Junior Golf Scoreboard, 2025)
- U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier (2024)
Freshman (2025-26)
The No. 1 recruit in the state of Missouri in 2025, Caden Mickelson made an instant impact on the Husker lineup as Nebraska's top finisher at the season-opening Island Resort Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) in Bark River, Mich. Mickelson, who was named the top high school golfer in the Kansas City metro area in 2025, opened his collegiate career with a Nebraska freshman-record 207 (-9) over three rounds on a 7,375-yard layout at the Sage Run Golf Club. Mickelson's performance included back-to-back rounds of 67 (-5) to close the tournament, after starting with a 73 (+1) in the first round. Mickelson tied for 12th in an 84-player field to lead Nebraska to a sixth-place finish among 12 teams.
He was even better in his home debut at Nebraska's Git-R-Done Invitational (Sept. 22-23). Mickelson smashed the NU freshman record with a three-round total of 201 (-12), including an opening-round 66 (-5), on his way to a third-place individual finish. Mickelson trailed only co-champions Rudy Sautron (Nebraska) and Alex Lindstrom (Kansas State) who tied at 200 (-13) on the par-71, 7,102-yard layout at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln. Mikelson helped the Huskers capture their first team tournament title since 2012, while posting a school-record 825 (-29) over three rounds.
Mickelson opened Nebraska's second tournament strong with an even-par 71, before adding a second-round 74 at the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 7). He fought his way to a final-round 77, but a technical error eliminated his round and dropped him to 83rd in an 84-golfer field.
Mickelson continued to contribute as Nebraska's No. 4 finisher at the Bearcat Invitational (Sept. 15-16). He put up consistent rounds of 72 (+1) to tie for 40th individually on the par-71, 7,279-yard layout at the Coldstream Country Club to help the Huskers to a fourth-place finish in a strong 18-team field in Cincinnati.
He owns a 69.91 stroke average over 11 countable rounds in 2025-26.
Before Nebraska
Mickelson capped an impressive prep career by being named the Kenneth Smith Award winner as the top male high school golfer in the Kansas City metro area in 2024-25. The 2025 Missouri state high school runner-up after firing rounds of 66 and 69, Mickelson was the district tournament champion. He played in nine spring tournaments with five titles and three runner-up finishes. He won the Missouri Class 5A state championship with a two-round total of 142 (-2) as a sophomore at Liberty North High School in the spring of 2023. He added a runner-up finish at the Missouri state championship as a junior in 2024 with back-to-back rounds of 69, before claiming a third consecutive top-two finish as a senior with a 135 over 36 holes.
Mickelson was the first golfer in Liberty North history to earn all-state, all-district and all-conference honors in each of his four seasons of high school golf.
Mickelson went on to finish sixth in a field of 304 golfers at the 2024 National High School Championships in Frisco, Texas. He fired rounds of 67, 72 and 69 at PGA Frisco.
The top-ranked junior in Missouri in the class of 2025, according to Junior Golf Scoreboard, Mickelson qualified for the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan.
A four-year honor roll member, Mickelson graduated magna cum laude and served on the Liberty North Student Council all four years.
Personal
The son of Chris and Kristy Mickelson, Caden is majoring in finance at Nebraska.
Career Statistics
Year | Rounds | Strokes | Average |
2025-26 | 11 | 769 | 69.91 |
Totals | 11 | 769 | 69.91 |
Nebraska Career Bests
Best Tournament Finish - 3rd (Git-R-Done, 2025)
Low 54-hole score - 201 (-12) (Git-R-Done, 2025)
Low Round - 66 (-5) (Git-R-Done, 2025)
Career Rounds Under Par - 5