BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU athletics department had 14 of its student-athletes have their degrees conferred on Friday morning at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center during the university's Summer Commencement Exercise in Baton Rouge.
The group of student-athletes hail from 11 of the various sports the department offers, while representing three of the university's colleges with the College of Human Sciences & Education leading the way with a total of nine graduates. The College of Human & Social Sciences had four, while the E.J. Ourso College of Business had one.
"We, in the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes, are extremely proud of our 2015 graduates," LSU Assistant Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs
Kenneth Miles said. "This is one milestone that no amount of money can buy, and its value is exponential. They 'entered to learn, now they must leave to serve.' Again, kudos to the class of 2015."
A two-time second team All-SEC pick on the men's tennis team, Chris Sampson was one of the nine to earn his degree on Friday, as the Derby, England, native was also the SEC Player of the Week in February. Along with Sampson, former All-SEC infielder
Christian Ibarra received his degree in Sports Administration, coming off a career where the SEC All-Tournament and All-Defensive team pick that led to being selected in the 32nd round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
One graduate that will be returning for her final year of eligibility among that group is
Katie Lindelow, as the 2014 SEC Community Service Team selection will look to help lead the LSU volleyball team back to the NCAA Tournament for the third year in row when the season begins later this month.
One of the highlights of this graduation class is former Lady Tiger standout
Sheila Boykin, who earned her degree in International Studies. Boykin, who started 42 games in her LSU career, earned two major awards last year in the Sue Gunter and Eye of the Tiger awards, overcoming Guillain-Barre syndrome, which attacks the nervous system. After missing the final nine games of the 2012-13 season, the California native returned to the team in October of 2013, playing in a total of 65 games in her junior and senior campaigns.
The LSU football team had three student-athletes receive their degrees, including
Jonah Austin, Josh Johns and Brandon Taylor.
A four-year letterwinner on the softball team,
Kailey McCasland was the lone graduate for the business school, as the San Clemente, California, product finished her career with two trips to the Women's College World Series.
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.
E.J. Ourso College of Business (1)Kailey McCasland, Softball, General Business
College of Human Sciences & Education (8)Haley Emerson, Women's Soccer, Sports Administration
Mariah Georgetown, Women's Track & Field, Sports Administration
Christian Ibarra, Baseball, Sports Administration
Josh Johns, Football, Sports Administration
Katie Lindelow, Volleyball, Sports Administration
Matthew Schaefer, Men's Swimming & Diving
Katlin Sepp, Women's Swimming & Diving
Chris Simpson, Men's Tennis
College of Human & Social Sciences (4)Jonah Austin, Football, International Studies
Sheila Boykin, Women's Basketball, International Studies
Brandon Taylor, Football, Sociology
Joshua Thompson, Men's Track & Field, Interdisciplinary Studies
* Track & Field's
Quincy Downing graduated in the Spring of 2015 but could not participate in the ceremony due to competition. He walked today in the summer ceremony.
