BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU senior Izzy Besselman and assistant coach Daphne Mitchell earned their respective degrees Thursday, as commencement ceremonies got underway in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and Carl Maddox Fieldhouse on LSU’s campus.
Besselman, a native of Baton Rouge, La., earned her bachelor’s of arts in communications studies with a minor in political science. Mitchell, who has been an assistant coach under Coach Kim Mulkey since arriving at LSU and beyond, will take home her master’s of science in sports management.
A member of the 2023 national championship team, Besselman played in her freshman and sophomore seasons before dealing with medical issues that haven’t allowed her to see action since her first year at LSU. She has appeared in 39 games during her time at her hometown university and has been a constant support system for her teammates since she stepped on campus.
Mitchell, a native of East Point, Ga., is in her fifth season at LSU after spending six seasons at Baylor under Mulkey. Mitchell played collegiately at Georgia Tech and earned her bachelor’s degree in business management in 2008.
After finishing her first degree, she traveled overseas and played on professional teams in Ecuador, Finland, Spain and Portugal.