Cornell Returns to Lead Husker Men’s Golf Program

Former Nebraska’s men’s golfer and assistant coach Judd Cornell will return to his alma mater to lead the Husker program, NU Vice Chancellor, Director of Athletics Trev Alberts announced on Thursday, Aug. 11.

“We are excited that Judd Cornell will be coming back to Nebraska to lead the young men in the Husker golf program,” Alberts said. “Judd is a hard-working, high-character leader who knows the importance of helping student-athletes develop both on and off the course. He knows our program as well as anyone in the country and will take great pride in continuing the growth of our program.”

Cornell returns to Lincoln after spending the past three seasons as the head coach at Creighton. An Omaha native, Cornell was an assistant coach at Nebraska for six seasons, including his final two years in Lincoln as associate head coach (2017-18 and 2018-19).

“My family and I are thrilled to be back in Lincoln, and I can’t wait to lead the Husker men’s golf program,” Cornell said. “I want to thank Trev Alberts and Bob Burton for giving me the opportunity to return to the University of Nebraska and lead a program that means so much to me. The Husker program has been climbing in the national standings the past several years, and we plan to keep moving forward in the years to come.”

Cornell’s hiring is effective pending the completion of his formal background check.

Cornell, who took over the top spot at Creighton on Aug. 15, 2019, had his first season with the Jays cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite an early end to the spring, Cornell’s first season featured strong performances from junior Nate Vontz, who led CU with a 73.40 scoring average in 2019-20. It was CU’s best individual single-season scoring average since 2007-08.

Creighton continued to make strides in Cornell’s second year, as the Jays’ 296.67 scoring average in 2020-21 was the program’s best since at least 2002-03. Vontz also continued to thrive under Cornell’s tutelage with a 72.06 scoring average that ranked No. 2 in program history. Vontz went on to earn first-team All-BIG EAST honors. Charlie Zielinski, an Omaha native, added an impressive freshman season in 2020-21, capturing second-team All-BIG EAST accolades with his 73.56 stroke average. A third Bluejay, Jackson Thompson, qualified for the 2021 U.S. Amateur Championship at Oakmont.

With Vontz and…