BATON ROUGE – The LSU Athletics Department, the Tiger Athletic Foundation, the National L Club and the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes on Thursday night honored its class of graduating seniors and grad-students at “The Tribute” in the Bo Campbell Auditorium.
The Tribute recognizes graduating LSU student-athletes and presents them with a special stole made specifically for the event. LSU will hold its Spring 2022 Commencement ceremonies on Friday. The Tribute recognized student athletes that are graduating this semester as well as those on pace to graduate following the summer term.
LSU has fourteen student-athletes spread across seven sports that will graduate with honors. Lisa Gunnarsson, one of the top pole vaulters in the country who will graduate summa cum laude, was named the 2021-22 SEC McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year. LSU Beach Volleyball’s Melia Lindner will also graduate summa cum laude and won the NCAA Elite 90 Award and plans to continue her academic career in the Fall at LSU’s Veterinary School.
LSU’s Spring 2022 Class includes multiple student-athletes who have earned national distinctions throughout their careers. It also features 11 national champions, 12 All-Americans and 10 All-SEC performers.
Juan Celaya Hernandez proved to be one if the best divers in the nation winning, earning over 10 All-America accolades in three-meter, one meter and platform. The San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico native Hernandez also won seven SEC Diving Championships and he represented his home country at the Tokyo Olympics.
Kiya Johnson, who will graduate in August and will back at LSU next season, already has numerous All-America accolades throughout her first three seasons as an LSU gymnast. Christina Desiderio is earning her second degree from LSU after electing to come back for her fifth season of gymnastics. She put together a great career, earning WCGA All-America honors in her both her first and final seasons at LSU.
Gavin Dugas was the SEC RBI leader in 2021 with 66, and he was named 2021 NCAA Eugene Regional Most Outstanding Player. He’s also a two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Jontre Kirklin proved to be one of the most versatile players LSU has seen in a longtime and he used his versatility for the good of the team. Naturally a wide receiver, Kirklin stepped in to play defensive back in LSU’s 2018 Fiesta Bowl Victory. Going into the 2022 Texas Bowl with LSU needing a starting quarterback, Kirklin stepped up and played every snap at that position against Kansas State with no previous collegiate experience running an offense.
Following is the complete list of LSU’s graduating Spring 2022 student-athletes:
Women’s Basketball
Awa Trasi, Interdisciplinary Studies
Women’s Golf
Jessica Bailey, Interdisciplinary Studies
Rivani, Shiotang, Interdisciplinary Studies
Alden Wallace, Political Science
Gymnastics
Reagan Campbell, Sport Administration
Rebecca D’Antonio, Computer Science
Christina Desiderio, Master of Leadership and Human Resource Development
Sarah Edwards, Environmental Engineering
Women’s Track and Field
Serena Bolden, Political Science
Lisa Gunnarsson, Mechanical Engineering
Molly McHale, Kinesiology
Julia Palin, Mass Communication
Softball
Caitlin Calland, Kinesiology
Georgia Clark, Finance
Amanda Doyle, Master of Curriculum and Instruction
Shelbi Sunseri, Communication Disorders
Taylor Tidwell, Interdisciplinary Studies
Soccer
Gabrielle Angelle, Mass Communication
Riley Dixon, Master of Liberal Arts
Grace Haggerty, Interdisciplinary Studies
Meghan Johnson, Biology
Athena Kuhn, Master of Business Administration
Sydney Lau, Biology
Savannah Mills, Business Management
Mollee Swift, Math
Beach Volleyball
Caitlin Broadwell, Master of Counseling
Holly Carlton, Master of Business Administration
Allison Coens, Finance and Spanish
Kelli Greene-Agnew, Sport Administration
Melia Lindner, Animal Science
Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope, Mass Communication
Alexis Toney, Accounting
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Alexandria McDaid, Interdisciplinary Studies
Katherine Smith, Petroleum Engineering
Olivia Taylor, Mass Communication
Brittany Thompson, Marketing
Anne Tuxen, Mass Communication
Women’s Tennis
Anna Loughlan, Sport Administration
Volleyball
Emmaline Walters, Master of Liberal Arts
Baseball
Cade Beloso, Sport Administration
Gavin Dugas, Sport Administration
Trent Vietmeier, Construction Management
Football
Hunter Faust, Construction Management
Evan Francioni, Finance
Jontre Kirklin, Sport Administration
Toby Weathersby, Interdisciplinary Studies
Men’s Golf
Garrett Barber, General Business
Michael Sanders, Mass Communication
Hayden White, Finance
Christopher Woollam, Finance
Men’s Track and Field
Tom Bleichner, Law
Eli Gaughan Kinesiology
Garrett Hamilton, Physics
Cade Martin, Biochemistry
Jake Norris, Kinesiology
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Juan Celaya-Hernandez, Civil Engineering
Silas Dejean, SFIN Grad
Michael Petro, Finance
Luca Pfyffer, Mechanical Engineering
Thomas Roark, Sport Administration
Miguel Valasquez, Marketing
Men’s Tennis
Nicholas Watson, Accounting