BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU Athletics Department had 52 student athletes, representing 15 intercollegiate sports and eight different university colleges have their degrees conferred in various commencement exercises throughout campus on Friday.
Leading the way with six graduates each were LSU’s baseball, men’s track & field and women’s swimming and diving contingents, followed by the Tiger football and gymnastics team’s with five graduates each.
“We, at the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes, are exceptionally proud of our graduates. This marks LSU’s 286th Commencement Exercise meaning many shoulders have been stood on to garner such success,” LSU Assistant Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Kenneth O. Miles said. “We applaud them for their commitment, but more importantly that we can call them ‘College Graduates of Louisiana State University’. Geaux Tigers!”
LSU student-athletes produced double-digit graduates in three of the University’s colleges, with College of Human Sciences and Education producing 16, followed by the College of Human and Social Sciences with 13 and the E.J. Ourso College of Business having 12.
In the final weekend of regular season play at South Carolina, and looking to capture the program’s 16th SEC regular-season championship, catcher Kade Scivicque highlights the list of baseball graduates that will earn their degrees, as the senior is one of three players currently on the squad that was named to the watch list for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, which will be awarded to the top amateur baseball player in the country.
In all, the LSU men’s and women’s swimming & diving team have a total of eight degree recipients, as leading the six on the women’s side is 2015 conference diving champion Alex Bettridge, who captured the program’s 33rd individual title in the championships back in February on the one-meter platform. On the men’s side, the illustrious career of Frank Greeff came to a close with another school record at NCAA’s in the 200 butterfly event in March, while also being LSU’s male nominee for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship.
Currently competing in the 2015 SEC Track & Field Championships in Starkville, Mississippi, the men’s and women’s track and field team are ranked among some of the best in the nation going into the championship season, with Rodney Brown on the men’s side, currently leading the NCAA in the discus throw, as he will earn his degree in sports administration, while on the women’s side, Andria Aguilar has the fastest 5K time on the team this season.
After finishing a historic four-year run of unprecedented success in gymnastics, multi-time all-around All-American Rheagan Courville and All-American floor dynamo Lloimincia Hall are two of the five from D-D Breaux’s group, while Les Miles has five football players including Brad Kragthorpe and Reid Ferguson, among others.
Before the start of the LSU men’s basketball season, the Tigers welcomed one of their own back to the fold, as 11-year NBA and international basketball veteran Ronald Dupree joined Johnny Jones’ coaching staff as a student assistant coach, following in the head coach’s footsteps in returning to campus to earn his degree, which he will receive in Electrical Engineering.
The 2015 SEC Champion men’s golf team is currently competing in the New Haven Regional in the opening round of the NCAA Golf Championships this weekend, as All-SEC performer Stewart Jolly is among four who will become LSU graduates this weekend, along with Ben Taylor, Myles Lewis and Austin Gutgsell.
Two student-athletes have earned special distinction, earning the prestigious University Medal, which is bestowed to LSU seniors with the highest grade-point averages in the 2015 class. Dylan Supak, a member of the LSU softball team and graduating from the College of Human Sciences and Education, and Chaiss Matthews on the Lady Tigers track & field team and graduating from the College of Science are the two honorees.
The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes is a 54,000 square foot facility comprised of academic affairs, student affairs and an information technology teams, serving more than 530 student-athletes. The purpose is to provide an all-inclusive, student-centered support structure for all student-athletes from matriculation, through graduation and life beyond.
College of Agriculture (1)
Will Suk, Men’s Tennis, Agricultural Business
College of Art and Design (1)
Alex Bettridge, Women’s Swimming & Diving, Studio Art
E.J. Ourso College of Business (12)
Alex Arlitt, Women’s Soccer, Accounting
Helen Boyle, Volleyball, Marketing
Brady Domangue, Baseball, General Business
Frank Greeff, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Management
Austin Gutgsell, Men’s Golf, Business Administration
Stewart Jolly, Men’s Golf, General Business
Brad Kragthorpe, Football, General Business
Myles Lewis, Men’s Golf, Marketing
Kurt McCune, Baseball, General Business
Bryan Mutell, Men’s Track & Field, Economics
Jennifer Reese, Women’s Swimming and Diving, Finance
Kade Scivicque, Baseball, Management
College of Engineering (3)
Ronald Dupree, Men’s Basketball, Electrical Engineering
Philip Primeaux, Men’s Track & Field, Mechanical Engineering
Chris Sciambra, Baseball, Construction Management
Manship School of Mass Communication (4)
Kaleigh Dickson, Gymnastics, Mass Communications
Paige Jarreau, Women’s Swimming & Diving, Mass Communications and Public Affairs
Ashley Lee, Gymnastics, Mass Communications
Elle Schmidt, Women’s Swimming & Diving, Mass Communications
College of Science (2)
Victoria Boraski, Sand Volleyball, Biology
Chaiss Matthews, Women’s Track & Field, Biology
College of Human Sciences & Education (16)
Kyle Bouman, Baseball, Sports Administration
Rodney Brown, Men’s Track & Field, Sports Administration
Rheagan Courville, Gymnastics, Sports Administration
Quincy Downing, Men’s Track & Field, Sports Administration
Reid Ferguson, Football, Sports Administration
Lloimincia Hall, Gymnastics, Sports Administration
Daniel Helm, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Sports Administration
Mary Jeremiah, Women’s Tennis, Sports Administration
Madi Mahaffey, Volleyball, Sports Administration
Julian Parker, Men’s Track & Field, Sports Administration
Anne Pedersen, Women’s Basketball, Sports Administration
Zac Person, Baseball, Kinesiology
Britney Ranzy, Gymnastics, Sports Administration
Dylan Supak, Softball, Kinesiology
Ben Taylor, Men’s Golf, Sports Administration
Tammy Wray, Softball, Child & Family Studies
College of Humanities & Social Sciences (13)
Andria Aguilar, Women’s Track & Field, International Studies
Amber Carter, Women’s Swimming & Diving, Sociology
Meghan Charbonnet, Women’s Track & Field, Psychology
Craig Davis, Football, Interdisciplinary Studies
Philip Dempsey, Men’s Track & Field, Interdisciplinary Studies
Devante Meullion, Football, Political Science
John Odo, Men’s Basketball, Interdisciplinary Studies
Hallie Petersohn, Women’s Swimming & Diving, Interdisciplinary Studies
Christian Pittman, Football, Sociology
Travis Pope, Men’s Track & Field, History
Antonio Robinson, Men’s Basketball, Interdisciplinary Studies
Noel Scott, Women’s Tennis, Liberal Arts
Terrence Toliver, Football, Interdisciplinary Studies