Honors & Awards
- Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Spring 2019)
- Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2016, 2017, 2018)
- No. 63 Player in the Nation (Blue Star, 2014)
- No. 69 Player in the Nation (Prospects Nation, 2014)
- No. 17 Post in the Nation (ESPN, 2014)
- DiRenna Award Finalist (1 of 5, 2015)
- Third-Team Kansas Class 5A (KBCA, 2015)
- Honorable-Mention Kansas Class 5A (KBCA, 2014)
Redshirt Sophomore (2017-18)
Rachel Blackburn returned to the court to be a solid contributor for the Huskers in 2017-18. The 6-3 sophomore forward from Leavenworth, Kan., started Nebraska's first nine games in 2015-16, before missing all of 2016-17 after undergoing multiple offseason knee surgeries.
She appeared in 29 games off the bench for the Huskers in 2017-18, averaging 1.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game.
Blackburn scored a season-high eight points while adding four rebounds in a season-high 17 minutes at No. 13 Maryland (Feb. 25) in Nebraska's regular-season finale. She hit 4-of-5 shots from the floor against the Terps. She may have played her best game this season with six points, four rebounds and two charges drawn in a win over Arkansas (Nov. 16). She added six points on 3-of-3 shooting in a road win at Michigan State (Feb. 14).
She averaged 5.0 rebounds in two games at the San Juan Shootout, getting five boards apiece against Buffalo (Nov. 23) and Coastal Carolina (Nov. 24) to establish her season highs. She added five rebounds in a win over Illinois (Feb. 1).
Blackburn closed the season with two rebounds in seven minutes off the bench for the Huskers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Arizona State (March 17) in Austin, Texas.
Blackburn underwent offseason surgery and was limited in preseason workouts during the summer and fall of 2016, before undergoing a second round of surgeries in October that kept her off the court for the entire 2016-17 season. In her first nine games as a freshman in 2015-16, she averaged 6.3 points and 7.6 rebounds in nearly 24 minutes per game during that stretch. Her knees limited her in practice and in competition the rest of her freshman season. She missed six games and averaged just 13 minutes per contest in her remaining 16 games, averaging just 2.4 points and 4.0 rebounds the rest of the season.
"Rachel brings a lot to our team because she is a high IQ basketball player who possesses the gritty toughness we are looking to instill in our program," Williams said. "As she gradually works back into practices and games, she is showing great leadership, both verbally and by example."
Redshirt (2016-17)
Blackburn sat out the entire 2016-17 season as a redshirt while recovering from multiple knee surgeries. Off the court, she earned a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for the second straight season.
Freshman (2015-16)
Blackburn joined fellow freshman forward Jessica Shepard in Nebraska’s starting lineup for each of the first nine games before missing NU’s games against Northern Arizona (Dec. 19) and Arkansas State (Dec. 21) with illness and NU’s Big Ten opener against Iowa (Dec. 31) with illness and a knee strain. She returned to limited action off the bench for seven straight games, before missing games with Rutgers (Jan. 30), Penn State (Feb. 2) and Indiana (Feb. 7) with knee and foot injuries. She returned at Minnesota (Feb. 11) and made her first start since Dec. 12 against Indiana on Feb. 24.
Blackburn averaged 4.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist. She had knee surgery on April 5.
She produced a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting against Evansville Dec. 8. Blackburn had a dominant defensive effort in NU’s win over NC State, drawing four charges to go along with nine defensive rebounds, a block and a steal. She became the first Husker to draw four charges in a game since All-American Kelsey Griffin at Baylor in 2010. Blackburn played a huge role in NU’s win at Purdue Jan. 20 with five points, a game-high eight rebounds and a career-high three blocks in just 15 minutes. She had eight points and five rebounds in the win over Northwestern Feb. 28. She added six points on a perfect shooting day with five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block at Michigan Jan. 24.
Blackburn had six points and her third double-figure rebound game of the season with 10 boards in a win over Creighton Dec. 6. She just missed double-doubles in back-to-back games, finishing with nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and a career-high two steals against North Carolina Central Nov. 21. That followed eight points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists against North Florida Nov. 16.
Blackburn was ranked as the No. 17 post player in the nation, joining Shepard among the top 20 posts in the 2014 signing class. She also ranked as the No. 63 player in the nation overall by Blue Star Basketball and No. 69 by Prospects Nation. She was also one of five finalists for the 2015 DiRenna Award, presented to the top high school player in the greater Kansas City area. She helped lead Leavenworth to its second straight Class 5A state championship in 2015.
Blackburn averaged 7.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game against a collection of four Australian professional teams during the summer of 2015. She also shot a team-best 65 percent from the field.
Before Nebraska
Blackburn was ranked as one of the top 75 recruits in the nation by both Blue Star Basketball and Prospects Nation after being rated as the No. 17 prep post in the country by ESPN. The honorable-mention Class 5A all-state selection as a junior by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, owns the Leavenworth career record with her .675 career field goal percentage. She owns a career-high 36-point performance. As a junior at Leavenworth, Blackburn averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Class 5A state champions.
Blackburn played her club basketball for Coach Derek Zeck and the MoKan Eclipse. A talented all-around athlete, Blackburn set the Leavenworth school record with a javelin throw of 125-7 as a sophomore in 2013. She won the Sunflower League title and qualified for the state meet in the event.
Blackburn was also an honor roll selection all four years of high school.
Personal
The daughter of Col. David (Ret.) and Lisa Blackburn, Rachel was born Oct. 30, 1996, in Leavenworth, Kan. Rachel has an older sister, Rebecca, and a younger sister, Katelyn. Rachel was a management major at Nebraska, earning her bachelor's degree in May of 2019. She was a three-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team. Rachel chose Nebraska over Arizona, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Iowa State and Wake Forest.
Five Facts About Rachel
1. Rachel is a Star Wars fanatic.
2. She has eight dogs, three cats and three horses.
3. Rachel loves the Kansas City Chiefs.
4. She hopes to one day backpack through Europe.
5. Rachel would love to go skydiving with her dad, Col. (Ret.) David Blackburn, someday.
Blackburn's Career Statistics
|
Year |
G-GS |
FG-FGA |
Pct. |
3P-3PA |
Pct. |
FT-FTA |
Pct. |
TRB-Avg. |
PF-D |
A |
TO |
Blk |
ST |
Pts-Avg. |
|
2015-16 |
25-10Â |
46-88 |
.523 |
0-0Â |
.000 |
13-23Â |
.565Â |
119-4.8Â |
67-2Â |
26Â |
27Â |
12Â |
13Â |
105-4.2Â |
|
2017-18 |
29-0 |
19-45 |
.422 |
0-1 |
.000 |
5-12 |
.417 |
54-1.9 |
32-0 |
10 |
12 |
0 |
2 |
43-1.5 |
|
Career |
54-10 |
65-133 |
.489 |
0-1 |
.000 |
18-35 |
.514 |
173-3.2 |
99-3 |
36 |
39 |
12 |
15 |
148-2.7Â |