Kirsten Baete

• Get to Know Kirsten Baete

Honors & Awards

• Big Ten All-Championship Team (2022)
• All-Big Ten (Second Team, 2022)
• White Sands Intercollegiate Champion (Oct. 22-24, 2021)
• Big Ten Golfer of the Week (Oct. 27, 2021)
• Five Career Top-10 Finishes (3, 2021-22)
• 10 Career Top-25 Finishes (7, 2021-22)
• Fourth at Big Ten Championship (2022)
• Tied for 16th at Big Ten Championship (2021)
• Tied for 80th at Big Ten Championship (2019)
• Tied for 30th at NCAA Stanford Regional (2022)
• Tied for 87th at NCAA Columbus Regional (2021)
• WGCA Scholastic All-American (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• Academic All-Big Ten (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• Nebraska Outstanding Scholar (2022)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022; Spring 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award (All Nebraska Women's Sports, 2022)
• Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (2022)
• Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award (2019)
• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• Nebraska Women's Match Play Champion (2021)
• Nebraska Class B High School State Champion (2016)
• Two-Time Class B All-State (2015, 2016)
• Four-Time All-River Cities Conference (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)

Best Career Finish: 1st (White Sands Intercollegiate, 2021) 
Career Stroke Average: 75.55

Senior (2021-22)
Kirsten Baete (pronounced BAY-tee) earned an individual berth into the NCAA Stanford Regional following her fourth-place finish at the 2022 Big Ten Championship. The fifth-year senior from Beatrice, Neb., claimed a spot on the Big Ten All-Championship Team with her three-round total of 212 (-1) at the Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh (April 22-24). Her performance in Pittsburgh included a final-round 68 (-1) to vault nine spots up the leader board on the final day of the tournament.

Baete's effort at the Big Ten Tournament also helped her secure second-team All-Big Ten honors. It marked her second straight top-20 finish at the conference tournament and the 10th top-25 finish of her Husker career. It also marked her seventh top-25 showing of the season, including her third top-10 performance.

She capped her outstanding Nebraska career with a final-round 69 (-2) to tie for 30th at the NCAA Stanford Regional (May 9-11). Her final-round 69 was the best individual round by a Husker in NCAA Regional competition in school history, while her 220 (+7) over three rounds on the par-71, 6,267-yard layout of the Stanford Golf Course matched the best three-round score by a Nebraska golfer in NCAA Regional play, tying All-American Sarah Sasse's 220 at the 2000 NCAA West Regional and JC Stevenson's 220 at the 2008 NCAA Central Regional. Baete's performance also marked the best individual regional finish by a Husker since 2008 (Stevenson, T14th). Baete ended the season with a team-best 73.94 stroke average, which ranked seventh in Husker history, while her 75.55 career stroke average ranked third in the Nebraska record book.

Baete closed the 2021 fall campaign by capturing her first career tournament title with a victory at the White Sands Intercollegiate at Paradise Islands in the Bahamas (Oct. 22-24). She produced a career-best 54-hole total of 206 (-10) on a 6,415-yard layout at the Ocean Club Golf Course. Her performance included back-to-back rounds of 67 to open the tournament before ending with an even-par 72. Baete's effort helped Nebraska to a runner-up finish in a seven-team field that included 2021 NCAA Regional qualifiers Campbell, Mercer and the hosts from Miami.

After going 2-1 to open the spring at the Big Ten Match Play (Jan. 31-Feb. 1), Baete added a pair of top-25 finishes, beginning with a tie for 17th at the Tulane Classic (Feb. 13-15). Her three-round total of 231 included a career-best-tying 66 (-6) in the second round.  She followed with another tie for 17th with a 54-hole total of 215 (-1) to help the Huskers to a runner-up team finish at the Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 27-28). She added a three-round total of 225 (75-74-76) to tie for 36th as Nebraska's No. 2 finisher at the Briar's Creek Invitational in South Carolina (March 14-15).

Baete recorded sixth top-25 finish of the regular season (eight tournaments) by tying for 25th with a three-round total of 235 (77-80-78) in tough scoring conditions against a strong field at the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational (April 15-16) at the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio.

Earlier in the fall season, Baete tied for fifth with a 222 (72-76-74) at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational at Colbert Hills Golf Club in Manhattan, Kan. (Sept. 20-21). She added another strong performance with a tie for 14th at 219 (74-75-70) to help Nebraska to a runner-up team finish at the Dale McNamara Invitational (Oct. 11-12). Baete's effort in Oklahoma included a final-round 70 (-2) on the 6,200-yard layout at The Golf Club of Oklahoma in Broken Arrow.

She also tied for 39th at 232 (74-80-78) at The Molly Collegiate in Seaside, Calif. (Sept. 27-28), and opened the season as Nebraska's top finisher at the Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 13-14). She tied for 40th with a three-round total of 233, including an even-par 71 in the opening round on the 6,232-yard layout at the University of Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor.

During the summer of 2021, Baete continued her strong play by winning the Nebraska Women’s Match Play Championship.

A star in the classroom and the community, Baete is a four-time WGCA Scholastic All-American and a four-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. She is also a five-time Tom Osborne Citizenship Team selection and earned a prestigious Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award in 2019. She was named a Nebraska Outstanding Scholar, which was presented to just five Husker seniors across all sports in 2021-22 who maintained a career cumulative grade-point average of better than 3.90.

Junior (2020-21)
Baete continued to show growth as a golfer after an outstanding performance at the 2021 Big Ten Championship. She tied for 16th individually at the conference tournament with a season-best three-round total of 218 (76-72-70). Her final-round 70 (-2) helped Nebraska roll to a season-best round of 281 (-7), which moved the Huskers into a tie for second as a team. Nebraska’s tie for second marked its best conference finish since a runner-up performance in 1984.

Baete notched a then-career-best tie for fourth at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate (March 14-16). Baete’s three-round total of 221 (73-76-72) helped Nebraska capture the team championship in the 13-team event at the English Turn Golf and Country Club in New Orleans.

Her fourth-place finish in New Orleans came one week after earning her first lineup spot of the season at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational (March 8-9). Baete recorded NU’s No. 3 individual finish in Tucson with a three-round total of 228 (77-79-72) to tie for 48th. 

Baete helped the Huskers to a tie for sixth in a loaded 16-team field that featured 14 top-100 teams at the Indiana Spring Invitational (April 17-18). She tied for 69th individually in the 98-player field with a three-round total of 234 (79-76-79).

She capped the 2020-21 season with a final-round 75 at the NCAA Columbus Regional (May 10-12). She closed the 18-team tournament in a tie for 87th with a three-round total of 242, as the Huskers made their first regional appearance since 2008.

She finished the season with Nebraska’s No. 2 stroke average (76.20) over 15 rounds, trailing only Kate Smith.

A star in the classroom, Baete earned her third consecutive WGCA Scholastic All-America and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards in 2021.

Sophomore (2019-20)
Baete was poised to contribute significantly in the Husker lineup during the spring of 2020, before the COVID-19 outbreak abruptly ended her sophomore season at Nebraska. After producing a strong break between fall and spring, Baete opened the 2020 spring campaign with a 225 (76-76-73) to tie for 43rd at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. She made another lineup appearance at the Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 23-24), finishing in a tie for 76th at 227 (78-73-76). She competed in her only tournament of the 2019 fall season at the Battle at the Beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (Nov. 1-3). She led the Huskers on the final day of the tournament with a one-over-par 73 and finished in a tie for 67th (80-79-73-232) in a strong 87-player field.

She finished with a 76.00 stroke average over nine rounds.

In the classroom, she earned WGCA Scholastic All-America honors, was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and claimed Academic All-Big Ten accolades for the second straight season.

Redshirt Freshman (2018-19)
Baete produced one of the best performances by a freshman in school history with a three-round total of 210 (72-66-72) to tie for fifth and help Nebraska to a team title at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz. (Feb. 24-25).

Baete’s breakthrough performance slashed 21 strokes off her previous collegiate best. Her six-under-par 66 (Feb. 24) was her first round better than par as a Husker and was part of Nebraska’s second-round 276. Baete’s effort in Arizona included the first three rounds at or better than par in her college career. It was the first top-five performance of her career and it came in a 93-player field that featured 14 top-100 teams and seven Big Ten Conference schools.

Baete joined Kate Smith and Haley Thiele in Nebraska’s lineup for all 27 rounds in 2018-19. Baete’s 77.00 stroke average ranked fifth among the Huskers and tied for the seventh-best average by a freshman in Nebraska history.

She followed her effort in Peoria with a tie for 30th at 229 (78-76-75) at the Clover Cup in Mesa (March 15-17). Baete shot 229 again (79-76-74) to tie for 29th at the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio (April 13-14). She closed the season by finishing in a tie for 80th at 163 (80-83) at the rain-shortened Big Ten Championship at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio (April 19-21).

Baete hit the course for the first time as a Husker at Nebraska’s season-opening Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. (Sept. 17-19). She finished her first collegiate tournament in a tie for 58th at 225 (83-78-74).

Baete earned a lineup spot again at the Golfweek Conference Challenge (Sept. 24-26) in Wolcott, Colo. She opened with a solid 75 before adding a final-round 74. She finished in a tie for 59th with a 231.

She made another lineup appearance at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Oct. 5-7), managing a 238 (79-83-76) over three rounds to tie for 80th. Baete earned her fourth straight lineup spot and shot a 231 (77-81-73) at the UNLV Collegiate Showdown (Oct. 21-23) to tie for 77th.

Baete closed the fall with a tie for 28th at the rain-shortened Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii (Oct. 31). She shot a 75 in the tournament’s lone round to help the Huskers to a third-place team finish.

Baete opened the spring as Nebraska’s No. 3 finisher at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic (Feb. 10-12). She closed with a three-round total of 238 (82-79-77) in a tie for 73rd.

Redshirt (2017-18)
A walk-on to the Nebraska program after a strong high school career in Beatrice, Baete redshirted in 2017-18. She earned spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in both the fall and spring semesters of 2017-18. She was also a member of the 2018 Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

Before Nebraska
Baete joined the Huskers as the 2016 Nebraska Class B State Champion, winning the title by five strokes while attending Beatrice High School. Baete finished in the top 10 in the state every year at Beatrice and broke six school records. She set the best nine-hole average at 38.5 and the best 18-hole average at 74.8. Baete also posted the best 18-hole score by a Beatrice golfer at the conference championships with a score of 70, the best 18-hole score (72) by a Beatrice golfer at district championships, and the best 18-hole score (75) by a Beatrice golfer at the state championships. 

Additionally, Baete won the most medals by a girls golfer at Beatrice with 40. She was named to the All-State team for two years, and was twice named to the Super-State team. All four years she was named All-River Cities Conference. 

She also starred in the classroom, being named to the honor roll every semester, and graduating sixth in her class. She was also a member of the National Honor Society. 

Baete earned three basketball letters at Beatrice. 

Personal
The daughter of Chris and Bonnie Baete, Kirsten was born May 5, 1999 and has one younger sister, Jayden. An elementary education/special education K-6 major, Kirsten earned her bachelor's degree from Nebraska in December of 2022. A four-time WGCA Scholastic All-American, she was also a four-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. A Nebraska Outstanding Scholar in 2022, Baete was a 11-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll choice. Nebraska's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner for women's golf in 2022, Baete earned a Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award in 2019. She was a five-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

She chose Nebraska over UNK, Creighton, Northwest Missouri State and Kansas State.  Her family owns a roller-skating rink in Beatrice, and Kirsten grew up playing roller derby. 

Baete's Career Statistics

Year	Rounds	Strokes	Avg.	Low 18	Low 54
2018-19	27	2,079	77.00	66	210
2019-20	9	684	76.00	73	225
2020-21	15	1,143	76.20	70	218
2021-22	33	2,440	73.94	66	206
Totals	84	6,346	75.55	66	206