BATON ROUGE – The LSU athletic department had 13 student-athletes represent 10 Tiger sports participate in summer commencement ceremonies held Friday on the LSU campus.
Friday’s commencement exercises featured a pair of players from swimming and diving, track and field and volleyball. The baseball, football, men’s basketball, men’s golf, men’s tennis, softball and women’s tennis programs each had one athlete graduate.
Alex Farrer of men’s basketball along with tennis’ Mark Growcott and Staten Spencer picked up their master’s degrees in sport management, mass communication and economics, respectively.
Former cornerback Denard Walker, a starter on LSU’s 1995 Independence Bowl and 1996 Peach Bowl championship teams, earned his degree in kinesiology. During nine seasons in the NFL, Walker recorded 221 tackles and notched 13 interceptions in addition to representing the Tigers on the league’s biggest stage as a starter on the 1999 AFC Champion Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Nate Bumstead, a former baseball hurler, racked up an 11-4 mark en route to All-SEC and ABCA All-South Region Second-Team accolades on LSU’s College World Series Team in 2003. He won eight of his nine SEC decisions, including an eight-inning gem versus Arkansas to secure the 2003 SEC regular season title. After his collegiate career, Bumstead pitched for three seasons in the Detroit Tigers organization.
A four-time track and field All-American, Jeremy Hicks was a standout long jumper highlighted by a runner-up finish at the NCAA Indoors in 2009. He checked in with two Top 7 finishes at the 2007 & 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Hicks also ran the leadoff leg on LSU’s 4×100 meter relay team that notched national runner-up status at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Volleyball’s Sam Dabbs distributed 2,025 career assists, good enough for seventh in program history. She was an All-SEC First-Team and AVCA All-American Honorable Mention performer as LSU claimed the SEC title in 2009. Dabbs ranked second in the SEC and 18th nationally with 11.33 assists per set and enters her first season as an assistant coach at Appalachian State.
Cody Trahan wrapped up her softball career among LSU’s Top 6 in strikeouts (474), wins (47), strikeouts per 7 IP (6.99) and shutouts (15) as the Tigers collected a quartet of NCAA Regional appearances from 2007-10. She posted double-digit wins in each of her last three seasons and garnered back-to-back NFCA All-South Region First-Team selections in 2009 and 2010.
Farrer, a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection, represented men’s basketball. He returned from injury to start and play four minutes during a senior night victory over Georgia. For his career, Farrer tallied a trio of double figure scoring games.
Spencer of women’s tennis was a five-time ITA Scholar-Athlete from 2005-2009 and was the first Lady Tiger to earn an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. Growcott of the men’s squad had a banner year in 2005, receiving All-SEC First Team, All-Louisiana First Team and ITA All-American selections.
Roy Chambers and Luc Rykosky of the swimming and diving program combined for five SEC Academic Honor Roll picks, while men’s golf Brent Blaum made 19 tournament starts and notched 2010 SEC Community Service Team honors for the Tigers.
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Arts & Sciences
Nate Bumstead, Baseball, History
Jeremy Hicks, Track & Field, General Studies
Alaina Klarquist, Volleyball, General Studies
Patrick Lee, Track & Field, General Studies
Business Administration
Luc Rykosky, Swimming & Diving, Finance
Education
Brent Blaum, Golf, Sport Administration
Roy Chambers, Swimming & Diving, Kinesiology
Sam Dabbs, Volleyball, Sport Administration
Cody Trahan, Softball, Kinesiology
Denard Walker, Football, Kinesiology
Graduate School (All Master’s Degrees)
Alex Farrer, Basketball, Sport Management
Mark Growcott, Tennis, Mass Communication
Staten Spencer, Tennis, Economics