BATON ROUGE, La. – Left-handed pitcher Nate Ackenhausen received an LSU degree in sport administration Thursday as graduation ceremonies are held on campus.
Academic achievement continues to be a cornerstone of the LSU baseball program, as 125 student-athletes have earned degrees over the past 17 years. In addition, LSU baseball players have received SEC Academic Honor Roll recognition on 183 occasions since 2007.
Ackenhausen, a native of Owasso, Okla., pitched at LSU in 2023 and 2024, and he was selected in the 10th round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals. He began his professional career this summer by pitching for the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Royals’ High-A affiliate.
Ackenhausen was instrumental in LSU’s drive to the 2023 National Championship, as he defeated Tennessee in a College World Series elimination game in his first start of the season, working 6.0 innings and limiting the Vols to no runs on four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.
He appeared in 17 games over the course of the 2023 season, posting a 3-1 record and a 3.52 ERA in 30.2 innings with 14 walks, 36 strikeouts, two saves and a .221 opponent batting average. Ackenhausen was named to the 2023 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll as a sport administration major.
Ackenhausen made 37 career appearances (seven starts) at LSU over two seasons (2023-24), logging a 6-5 record, four saves and a 4.76 ERA in 73.2 innings with 36 walks and 95 strikeouts.