DES MOINES, Iowa – A total of 37 Drake University student-athletes representing 13 teams will receive their diplomas during commencement ceremonies this weekend at the Knapp Center.

Those receiving their degrees – the ultimate goal of all Drake student-athletes – include Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, an NCAA Elite 89 Award winner, three MVC Elite 18 Award Winners and 12 student-athletes who earned academic all-conference honors this past season. Twelve have also been a part of teams that have won a conference championship at Drake.

Saturday's commencement ceremonies will be the crowning achievement of what has been a banner year for Drake student-athletes in the classroom. During the fall semester, 283 student-athletes – more than 70 percent of the student-athlete population – achieved a 3.0 or better grade point average in their coursework. Additionally the Bulldogs received the MVC All-Academic Award, an honor given to the MVC institution with the highest overall grade point average among its student-athletes.

The Bulldogs' spring graduates include five – Conor Wells, Melissa Parks, Stephanie Parks, Alen Salibasic and Sarah Ryan –  that are graduating summa cum laude. Six Bulldogs are graduating magna cum laude and seven cum laude.

Saturday's undergraduate commencement will begin at 10 a.m. in the Knapp Center. Below are the student-athletes receiving their bachelor's degrees this weekend.

Men's Basketball
Kale Abrahamson – Psychology
Trevor Berkeley – Environmental Policy
Chris Caird – Environmental Science
Jordan Daniels – Advertising/Creative
Gary Ricks, Jr. - English

Men's Track & Field/Cross Country
Brogan Austin – Mathematics – Magna Cum Laude
Jeffrey Foreman – Marketing
Matt Schimek – Psychology – Cum Laude
Conor Wells – Mathematics, Computer Science – Summa Cum Laude

Women's Track & Field Cross Country
Danyelle Cole - Sociology
Melissa Parks – Health Sciences – Summa Cum Laude
Stephanie Parks – Secondary Education/English – Summa Cum Laude

Women's Golf
Ashley Brooks – Marketing, Management
Danielle Brooks – Finance, Management

Men's Golf
Devin Leland – Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology – Magna Cum Laude
Dane Worley – Finance – Cum Laude

Men's Tennis
Matt Frost – Management
Ben Mullis – Law, Politics & Society – Cum Laude
Ravi Patel – Sociology
Alen Salibasic – Finance, International Business – Summa Cum Laude

Football
T. J. James – Sociology
Spencer Lee – Health Sciences – Cum Laude
Drew Ormseth – Health Sciences – Magna Cum Laude
Neal Walters – Accounting/Finance

Men's Soccer
Jake Hunstiger – Psychology
Thomas Schermoly – Biology – Magna Cum Laude

Softball
Laura Brewer - Marketing
Sarah Ryan – Mathematics, Biology – Summa Cum Laude
Rebekah Schmidt – Marketing

Rowing
Jacque Nowers – Chemistry/Art History

Volleyball
Halli Meyer – Health Sciences – Cum Laude
Meredith Moore – Neuroscience, Computer Science – Cum Laude
Amanda Platte – Finance, Accounting, Economics – Magna Cum Laude

Women's Basketball
Liza Heap – Biology/Psychology/Neuroscience – Magna Cum Laude

Women's Soccer
Victoria Flynn – Elementary Education – Cum Laude
Ashlie Stokes – Advertising Account Management
Spencer Vasey – Marketing

The spring semester graduates complement the 13 Bulldogs that received their degrees earlier this year during fall commencement. Those graduates included …

Football
Matt Acree – Biology
Grahm Butler – Management
Sean Conerty – Management, Marketing
Jacob Dines – Biology – Magna Cum Laude
Dan Hohenstein - Marketing
Brett Park – Finance – Magna Cum Laude
Alec Recker – Management
Brett Seeger – Marketing
Troy Whitmer – Computer Science/Graphic Design

Women's Basketball
Carly Grenfell – Management, Public Relations

Women's Soccer
Generve Charles – Health Sciences

Women's Track & Field/Cross Country
Tiara Winston – Sociology

Women's Golf
Hadley Jennings – Elementary Education – Magna Cum Laude