Men's Golf
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James Ackerman Season 2024-25

ClassFreshman
HometownLeawood, Kan.

Honors & Awards

  • Kansas 6A Player of the Year (2023)
  • Eastern Kansas League Individual Champion (2023)
  • Kansas 6A Team Championship (2022, 2023)

Outlook (2024-25)
James Ackerman comes to Nebraska from Leawood, Kan., where he was one of the top high school and junior golfers in the state. The 2023 Kansas Class 6A Player of the Year as a junior at Blue Valley High School, Ackerman tied for third with a 142 (-2), including an opening-round 67 (-5) at the 2024 Class 6A state championship, helping Blue Valley to a fourth-place team finish. Ackerman also took third at the Kansas Class 6A state tournament as a sophomore in 2022. He helped the Tigers to state team championships in 2021 and 2022.

Before Nebraska
The 2023 Kansas Class 6A Player of the Year, Ackerman helped Blue Valley High School to back-to-back state championships in 2021 and 2022. He tied for third individually at the state tournament as a senior in 2024, after also taking third as a sophomore in 2022. He tied for sixth as a freshman in 2021 and added a tie for eighth at state as a junior after winning the 2023 Eastern Kansas League individual title.

Following his sophomore season, Ackerman competed at the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur at Brandon Dunes in Oregon and also qualified for the 2022 Notah Begay III National Championship, earning a spot with a win at the Kansas Regional Qualifier at Firekeeper Golf Course with back-to-back rounds of 70 (-2) to finish at 140 (-4). Husker teammate Rhett Hughes tied for fourth at the same qualifier with a 147.

Personal
Ackerman plans to major in accounting and finance at Nebraska. A high-performing student, Ackerman was a 2023 AJGA Rolex Scholastic Honor Roll selection and carried better than a 4.2 weighted GPA at Blue Valley High School.

He chose Nebraska over Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa and Iowa State.

“I chose Nebraska because I felt a family environment with the Husker Athletic Department and developed a great relationship with both Coach Cornell and Coach Minzel right from the beginning,” Ackerman said. “There was also a strong sense of camaraderie on the Nebraska golf team, and the other athletes immediately made me feel like part of the team. I am excited about the opportunity to help grow the program into a top tier Big Ten team competing at the national level.”