Honors & Awards
- NCAA Elite 90 Award Winner (2018)
- Nebraska Female Student-Athlete of the Year (2018)
- Nebraska Outstanding Scholar Award (2018)
- Big Ten Medal of Honor (2018)
- Nebraska Heart & Soul Award (2018)
- Academic All-Big Ten (2016, 2017, 2018)
- Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
- Second-Team All-American (2017: BB)
- Second-Team All-Big Ten (2016, 2017)
- NCAA Lincoln Regional Champion (2017: BB)
- CoSIDA Academic All-American (2017, 2018)
- CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 (2017)
- Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award (2016, 2017, 2018)
- Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018; Spring 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
- Nebraska Sam Foltz Hero 27 Leadership Award (2017)
- Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (2016)
- Big Ten All-Championships Team (2016: AA, UB)
- NACGC/W Scholastic All-American (2015, 2016)
2018 (Senior)
As a senior, Breen was a consistent contributor on beam for the Huskers through the regular season. Breen had built up her solid beam performance to a 9.925 season-high, which she posted in Nebraska's final dual meet against Florida on March 9, as well as posting a season-high on bars of 9.80, which she posted at National Semifinals I. Breen also helped the Huskers to a sixth-place national finish where she posted 9.7875 on bars and 9.375 on beam.
At the National Championships, Breen was presented with the Elite 90 Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA competing at the highest level of competition in their respective sport. Breen is the first women's gymnast from Nebraska to receive this award.Â
Breen was also named by the University of Nebraska athletic department the Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year, which is presented to the student athlete with an outstanding contribution to their athletic team and an elite performance not only in the gym, but in the classroom. An accounting major, and carrying a cumulative 4.00 GPA, Breen was also awarded the Nebraska Outstanding Scholar Award, the Big Ten Medal of Honor, and the Nebraska Heart & Soul Award, for her dedication in the classroom and in the community. A three time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Breen has provided leadership, experience and beautiful routines for the Huskers in all four seasons of her career. An outstanding performer on-beam, she has won 10 individual event titles in her career, seven of which coming on beam.Â
She capped her 2018 season by being named a CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American, becoming the fifth two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American in Husker women's gymnastics history.
In her career, Breen was a two-time All-Big Ten honoree, was the 2017 NCAA Lincoln Regional beam champion and was named to the Big Ten All-Championships Team in 2016 on uneven bars and in the all-around. Breen also contributed to the 2017 Big Ten Regular Season Team Championship and earned Distinguished Scholar award in 2016 and 2017.
2017 (Junior)
After emerging as one of NU's strongest competitors as a sophomore, Danielle Breen took the next step in 2017, earning All-America honors for the first time as she helped lead the Huskers to a seventh-place national finish. Breen competed on three events as a junior and hit a pair of career-high marks, as she won a total of three event titles, all on balance beam.
Breen led NU on beam in 2017, as she garnered second-team All-America honors after hitting a 9.900 at the NCAA Semifinal to finish tied for sixth. She anchored NU on the event in each of the last nine meets of the year. She was at her best at the NCAA Lincoln Regional, where NU needed a strong routine to clinch a spot in the NCAA Championships and Breen delivered a clutch 9.95 to win the event title and set a new career high.
Breen also contributed strong floor routines in each of NU's last four meets of the season, highlighted by a career-high 9.90 at the B1G Five meet to help the Huskers clinch the Big Ten regular-season title. She was also a consistent performer for the Huskers on bars, as she posted her season high of 9.825 five times throughout the season.
Breen continued to excel in the classroom and the community, as she earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors for the first time, becoming the 16th Husker gymnast and the 328th Nebraska student-athlete across all sports to win the award. A Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Breen also earned Academic All-Big Ten accolades as one of 12 honorees across eight winter sports and the only women's gymnast to be honored for a perfect cumulative grade-point average. Breen also earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall and spring semesters. She was a recipient of a Sam Foltz Hero 27 Leadership Award, as one of 27 student-athletes across all Nebraska's sports that exhibit strong leadership qualities, commitment to service and the ability to encourage and empower others. Breen was also named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2017.
2016Â (Sophomore)
Breen made a leap forward as one of Nebraska's top all-around performers in her sophomore season, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. She continued to shine on uneven bars and balance beam, while adding stellar performances on vault and floor exercise. Breen hit career-highs on all four events and in the all-around during the 2016 season. She contributed 44 routines throughout the season, hitting 43 of them.
Breen earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Championships Team on uneven bars and in the all-around for her performances at the Big Ten Championships. She placed second in the all-around at the Big Ten Championships with her career-high score of 39.500.
In her first-career all-around performance, Breen scored a victory with a 39.475 at the Masters Classic. The Ames, Iowa, native recorded six individual event titles on the season, including two all-around titles.
A standout outside of the gym, Breen earned her second consecutive NACGC/W Scholastic All-America honor in 2016. She was Nebraska's recipient of the 2016 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and she was named Academic All-Big Ten as one of 12 winter honorees to sport a 4.0 GPA. Breen also earned a prestigious Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award. She was named to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll both semesters and the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for her work in the community in 2016.
2015Â (Freshman)
Breen opened up her Husker career as a strong two-event specialist on bars and beam. She saw action on both events in every meet of the season, setting the tone for the rest of the lineups in the leadoff position. Her consistency helped steady the Huskers throughout the season in arguably the sport's two toughest events.
A beautiful beam worker, Breen tallied a season-high score of 9.85 twice, including at the Big Ten Championships. She also posted a 9.875 on bars at the Big Ten Championships, helping the Huskers to their season-best bar total of 49.475.
At the NCAA Ames Regional on April 4, Breen grabbed a spot on the podium for bars after tying for third with a 9.85 mark.
Before Nebraska
Breen competed for head coaches Tom and Donna Moretti at Triad Gymnastics Club in Iowa. A level 10 gymnast, she was a four-time J.O. National Championship qualifier from 2011 to 2014. At the 2014 J.O. National Championships, Breen was a medalist on all four events and in the all-around, placing third on vault, fourth on bars, fifth on beam and fifth on floor to earn second overall in the all-around competition. Breen was also the 2014 Iowa state all-around champion and Region 4 beam champion. In 2013, she collected two Region 4 titles, as she was named the vault and beam champion.Â
Personal
Breen was born on March 14, 1996, in Ames, Iowa, and is the daughter of Pat and Amy Breen. She has a brother, Jackson, and a sister, Carly. A 2014 honor graduate of Gilbert High School, Breen was a four-year academic letterwinner and a two-time winner of the Academic Excellence Award. She earned her bachelor's degree as an accounting major at Nebraska in December of 2018. She was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, earning first-team honors as a senior in 2018, after claiming a spot on the second-team at-large team in 2017. She was also as a two-time NACGC/W Scholastic All-American. She was named Nebraska's Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2018, along with being named Nebraska's Big Ten Medal of Honor award winner. She claimed one of eight Nebraska Outstanding Scholar Awards in 2018. A three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar with a perfect 4.0 GPA, Breen is also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. Breen is a nine-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. She won one of seven Nebraska Heart & Soul Awards in 2018, which are presented to Nebraska's most committed student-athletes to community service. She was a Sam Foltz Hero 27 Leadership Award winner in 2017, and is a five-time member member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team. She earned a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award as a sophomore in 2016. In May of 2018, she participated in the Nebraska Life Skills Service Trip Abroad to Bocas del Toro, Panama.
Breen's Career Highs at Nebraska
- Vault: 9.90 (at Big Ten Championships, 3/19/16)
- Bars: 9.90 (at Big Ten Championships, 3/19/16)
- Beam: 9.95 (at NCAA Lincoln Regional, 4/1/17)
- Floor: 9.90Â (2 times, last at B1G Five, 3/11/17)
- All-Around: 39.500 (at Big Ten Championships, 3/19/16)
2018 Season Highs
- Bars: 9.80 (at National Semifinal I, 4/20/18)
- Beam: 9.925 (at Florida, 3/9/18)
2017 Season Highs
- Bars: 9.825 (5 times, last at NCAA Semifinal, 4/14)
- Beam: 9.95Â (at NCAA Lincoln Regional, 4/1)
- Floor: 9.90 (at B1G Five, 3/11)
2016 Season Highs
- Vault: 9.90 (at Big Ten Championships, 3/19/16)
- Bars: 9.90 (at Big Ten Championships, 3/19/16)
- Beam: 9.925 (at B1G Five, 3/12/16)
- Floor: 9.90 (at B1G Five, 3/12/16)
- All-Around: 39.500 (at Big Ten Championships, 3/19/16)
2015 Season Highs
- Bars: 9.875 (at Big Ten Championships, 3/21/15)
- Beam: 9.85 (2 times, last at Big Ten Championships, 3/21/15)