The LSU Athletics Department, the Tiger Athletic Foundation, the National L Club and the Academic Center for Student-Athletes on Thursday night honored its class of graduating seniors and grad students at “The Tribute” in the Lawton Room of Tiger Stadium.
BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU Athletics Department, the Tiger Athletic Foundation, the National L Club and the Academic Center for Student-Athletes on Thursday night honored its class of graduating seniors and grad students at “The Tribute” in the Lawton Room of Tiger Stadium.
The Tribute recognizes graduating LSU student-athletes and presents them with a special stole made specifically for the event. LSU will hold its Fall 2022 Commencement ceremonies on Friday.
LSU has 29 student-athletes spread across 14 sports that will graduate on Friday. The group includes student-athletes who were part of some remarkable academic and athletic accomplishments during their careers, including
- 14 SEC Academic Honor Roll Members
- 3 Football National Champions
- 3 SEC Football Champions
- 6 SEC Individual Champions
- 17 Members of NCAA Tournament Teams
- 8 All-SEC Honorees
- 9 All-Americans
- 4 Master’s Degree Recipients
- 2 COSIDA Academic All-District Honorees
- 2 Selections in Professional Drafts
The graduating class features one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of NCAA Track and Field in JuVaughn Harrision, who was a nine-time All-American, and he won six NCAA championships and six SEC titles.
Harrison, a Huntsville, Ala., product who has earned a degree in sport administration, became the first man in NCAA outdoor (2019) and NCAA indoor (2021) history to sweep high jump and long jump national titles, and he accomplished the sweep again at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Harrison was a 2020 U.S. Olympian who became the first man since Jim Thorpe in 1912 to represent Team USA in both the high jump and long jump at the Olympic Games. He was also in 2021 a U.S. Track & Field champion, the U.S. and SEC Field Athlete of the Year, and a finalist for the Bowerman Trophy, awarded annually to the most outstanding male and female NCAA Track & Field athletes in the nation.
Also among Friday’s graduates is football running back Josh Williams, a former walk-on who has earned a marketing degree. Williams, a product of Houston, Texas, was presented on Sunday with the LSU Football/Percy E. Roberts Offensive Player of the Year Award after rushing for 532 yards and six touchdowns during the Tigers’ drive to the SEC Western Division title.
LSU softball graduate Taylor Pleasants, who has earned a kinesiology degree, competed with the U.S. Women’s National Team this summer, when she helped Team USA earn its third consecutive gold medal in the 2022 World Games.
Pleasants, a Houston, Texas, native, has earned All-America and All-SEC recognition during her career as the Tigers’ starting shortstop.
Following is the complete list of LSU’s graduating Fall 2022 student-athletes:
Women’s Basketball
Emily Ward, Mass CommunicationWomen’s Golf
Presley Baggett, Sport AdministrationGymnastics
Bailey Ferrer, Interdisciplinary StudiesSoccer
Tinaya Alexander, Master of Business Administration
Shannon Cooke, Sport Administration
Wasila Diwura-Soale, Sport Administration
Taylor Dobles, General Business
Alesia Garcia, Kinesiology
Lindsi Jennings, Psychology
Brenna McPartlan, Sport Administration
Anna Rockett, Sport AdministrationSoftball
Taylor Edwards, Psychology
Karrington Houshmandzadeh, Child & Family Studies
Taylor Pleasants, KinesiologyWomen’s Swimming and Diving
Ellie Baldwin, Master of Public Administration
Kylie Bennett, Sociology
Maddie Clifton, Biology
Zoe Mekus, Interdisciplinary StudiesWomen’s Tennis
Taylor Bridges, Master of Liberal ArtsWomen’s Track and Field/Cross Country
Kiya Oviosun, Psychology
Breanna Bernard, Chemical EngineeringVolleyball
Samarah Hill, Psychology
Allee Morris, ManagementBaseball
Giovanni DiGiacomo, BiologyFootball
Jarell Cherry, Sport Administration
Josh Williams, Marketing
Cameron Wire, Sport AdministrationMen’s Swimming and Diving
Lewis Clough, Master of Business AdministrationMen’s Track and Field
JuVaughn Harrison, Sport Administration
Stephen Schlottman, Civil Engineering