University of Nebraska Athletics

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Honors & Awards

• 15 Career Top-10 Finishes (2, 2019-20)
• 23 Career Top-25 Finishes (3, 2019-20)
• School-Record Stroke Average (73.52, 2019)
• School-Record 54-Hole Score (202, 2018 Westbrook)
• School-Record 18-Hole Score (64, 2018 Westbrook, 2nd)
• T37th at NCAA Columbus Regional (2017)
• T19th at Big Ten Championships (2018)
• 47th at Big Ten Championships (2017)
• T51st at Big Ten Championships (2019)
• Big Ten Golfer of the Week (Oct. 11, 2017)
• Big Ten Golfer of the Week (Sept. 6, 2017)
• Big Ten Golfer of the Week (Oct. 12, 2016)
• Academic All-Big Ten (2018, 2019)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2016, 2017, 2018; Spring 2017, 2018, 2019)
• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2017, 2018, 2019)
• Five-Time Minnesota Class 2A Champion (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
• Minnesota Ms. Golf Award (2016)
• Six-Time Minnesota Class 2A All-Star (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
• Minnesota Junior Player of the Year (2012-13)
• Minnesota Junior Champion (2013)
• PGA Junior Series Champion (ArborLinks, 2015)

Best Career Finish: 2nd (Edean Ihlanfeldt, 2019; Westbrook Invite, 2019; UNO Invite, 2017) 
Career Stroke Average: 73.60

Senior (2019-20)
One of the top golfers in Nebraska history, Kate Smith is putting the finishing touches on an outstanding career as she shoots for a spot in NCAA Regional play and All-Big Ten honors in 2020.

Smith has opened the fall of 2019 on school-record pace, posting a 72.82 stroke average over 11 fall rounds. She produced one of the best tournament finishes of her career with a tie for second at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Sammamish, Wash. (Oct. 8-9). In extremely challenging scoring conditions in the rain-shortened event at the Sahalee Country Club, Smith fired a second-round 71 (-1) after an opening-round 77 to close at 148. It was the 15th top-10 finish of Smith's career.

Smith opened the season with an impressive three-round total of 213 (71-72-70) to tie for eighth at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. (Sept. 9-10). She added a tie for 29th with a 220 (70-78-72) at the Golfweek Conference Challenge (Sept. 23-25). Smith closed the fall with a tie for 25th at 220 (72-74-74) in the Battle at the Beach in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (Nov. 1-3). It was the 23rd top-25 tournament finish of Smith's career.

Smith has fired 28 rounds better than par in her Husker career, including four during the fall of 2019.

Junior (2018-19)    
Smith set Nebraska’s season stroke average record with her 73.52 average over 27 rounds.

She produced one of the best tournament performances of her career with a season-best 208 (70-68-70) to tie for second individually while leading Nebraska to the Westbrook Spring Invitational title in Peoria, Ariz. (Feb. 24-25). Her second-round 68 (-4) tied her season best and was part of a season-best round of 276 for the Huskers. It was her fourth top-10 finish of the year and 13th of her career. Nebraska’s tournament title was its first since winning the Mountain View Collegiate in 2014 and came against a field of 14 top-100 teams.

Smith fired a 210 (71-68-71) at the UNLV Collegiate Showdown (Oct. 21-23). Her performance at the Boulder Creek Golf Club included a season-best, four-under-par 68 in the second round on her way to eighth place.

She closed the fall with her fourth consecutive round better than par with a 71 in the only round of the rain-shortened Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii (Oct. 31). She tied for sixth in Hawaii. 

Smith opened her junior season with an even-par, three-round total of 216 (73-73-70) to tie for sixth at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. (Sept. 17-19). She added a 230 (76-81-73) to tie for 54th at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colo. (Sept. 24-26). She was NU’s top finisher at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Oct. 5-7), closing at 225 (74-79-76) in a tie for 33rd.

Smith took 12th with a 223 (74-74-75) at the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio (April 13-14) - her 20th career top-25 finish. She also tied for 16th with a 224 (73-73-74) at the Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. (March 15-17).     

Smith opened the spring by tying for 45th with a 226 (74-78-74)  at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic (Feb. 10-12). She closed her season by tying for 51st (79-73-152) at the Big Ten Championship at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio.

Sophomore (2017-18)    
Smith produced the best individual scores in school history with a second-round 64 on her way to a 202 (67-64-71) at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz. (Feb. 25-26). She finished third in a loaded field at Westbrook.

She continued to play at a high level at the Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. (March 16-18), tying for ninth at 219 (73-74-72) to produce her fifth top-10 performance of the season. Smith added a tie for 13th with a 221 (72-76-73) in a talented field at the Mountain View Invitational in Tucson, Ariz. (March 23-25).

Smith capped 2017-18 by tying for 19th with a 2018 (75-68-75) to lead Nebraska at the Big Ten Championship in Maineville, Ohio (April 20-22). She finished with a then-school-record 73.66 stroke average on the year.

Smith started her sophomore season strong with a runner-up finish at the UNO Invitational at ArborLinks (Sept. 1-2). She fired a 221 (76-70-75) to post the best tournament finish of her career. She also was named the Big Ten Golfer of the Week for the second time in her career.

Smith added her second Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week honor of the season and third of her career with a then-career-best 212 (69-72-71) to tie for seventh at the Pinehurst Challenge in North Carolina (Oct. 9-10).

She added a third top-10 finish by taking ninth at Nebraska’s Chip-N Club Invitational at Wilderness Ridge Golf Course (Oct. 1-3). Smith closed with a 230 (77-77-76) in challenging scoring conditions to help the Huskers to a runner-up finish.

Smith settled for a tie for 34th (73-80-153) in the stroke play portion of the East & West Match Play Challenge in Madison, Wis. (Sept. 17). She closed the fall as Nebraska’s No. 2 finisher at the UNLV Collegiate Showdown. She managed a three-round score of 224 (78-71-75) to tie for 49th in Las Vegas.

Through 14 fall rounds, Smith posted a 74.29 stroke average. She opened the spring as Nebraska’s No. 2 finisher at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. She managed a 236 over three rounds to tie for 43rd.

Freshman (2016-17)    
Smith opened her Nebraska career in the top of the lineup and played out of the top two spots in every tournament in 2016-17. She produced seven top-25 finishes in 11 tournaments, including four top-10 showings. 

She capped her freshman season by tying for 37th in a 96-player field at the NCAA Columbus Regional (May 8-10). Smith shot 230 (78-79-73) at the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, as the first Husker women’s golfer to compete in NCAA Regional play since current LPGA pro Madeleine Sheils in 2012.

Smith closed her first season at Nebraska with a then-school-record 73.90 stroke average over 31 rounds. She carded a 78 or better in 29 of 31 rounds as a freshman, including nine rounds better than par.

Smith produced a season-best three-round score with a 214 (68-75-71) to tie for eighth at the Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. (March 17-19). Her opening-round 68 was a season best.

She closed the regular season with a tie for 28th (78-75-72-225) at the Hawkeye El Tigre in Mexico (April 2-4), before producing Nebraska’s top finish at the Big Ten Championships at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio (April 21-23). She led the Huskers with a 47th-place finish (74-84-76-234).

Smith earned her best tournament finish of the season by tying for seventh with a three-round total of 215 (73-72-70) at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, Colo., (Oct. 7-9). Her efforts in Colorado earned her the first Big Ten Golfer-of-the-Week award of her career on Oct. 12, 2016.

Her performance in Highlands Ranch followed a tie for eighth with a 221 (77-70-74) at Nebraska’s Chip-N Club Invitational (Sept. 25-27). She also tied for eighth (76-70-146) in the stroke play portion at the East & West Match Play Challenge in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Sept. 18-20).

She opened her collegiate career by shooting a team-low 221 (69-74-78) to tie for 15th at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. (Sept. 12-13).

Smith closed the fall with a tie for 21st with a three-under-par two-round total of 141 (70-71) at the rain-shortened UNLV Collegiate Showdown (Oct. 23-25).

She opened the spring campaign with a three-round total of 223 (71-75-77) to tie for 14th at the Central District Invitational in Port St. Lucie, Fla. (Feb. 20-21). Smith added a tie for 31st with a 221 (75-73-73) at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz. (Feb. 26-27).

Smith’s 73.90 stroke average smashed Haley Thiele’s Nebraska freshman-record 75.63 stroke average set in 2015-16 by a whopping 1.73 strokes per round. Smith’s average surpassed Nebraska’s previous season record of 74.00 set by Natalie Gleadall in 2009-10.

High School/Amateur    
A five-time Minnesota Class 2A state champion (2012-16) and a six-time Class 2A all-state selection (2011-16), Smith  was the Minnesota Ms. Golf Award winner in 2016. She posted a 70.37 stroke average as a junior in 2015, and set three couse records as a senior, including a 64 on The Vintage Course.

In addition to her high school success, Smith was the 2012-13 Minnesota PGA Junior Player of the Year and the 2013 Minnesota Girls State Junior Champion. In the summer of 2015, she won the PGA Junior Series title at ArborLinks with a three-day career-best score of 209 (74-68-67.

Smith was also a member of Team Minnesota at the 2015 USGA women’s state championship.

Smith continues Nebraska women’s golf’s success in recruiting the state of Minnesota, following former Huskers Cassie Deeg (Hugo, 2013-16), Steffi Neisen (New Prague, 2011-14), Chrissie McArdle (Eden Prairie, 2004-07) and Jackie Beste (Sauk Centre, 2003-06). All were high-level performers for the Huskers on and off the course over the last 15 years.

Personal    
The daughter of Kris and Margery Smith, Kate was born May 6, 1999, in Hartford, Conn. She has an older brother, Karter. Kate is majoring in graphic design and earned academic All-Big Ten honors in 2018 and 2019. She is a six-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. She was also chosen to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

“I chose Nebraska because of how they care about their student-athletes, the welcoming atmosphere on campus and the overall tradition surrounding the University.”

Smith's Career Statistics