Class Of 2021 Perseveres Through A Senior Year Like No Other

DAYTON –Approximately 1,670 undergraduates – the most in University of Dayton history – received degrees in six in-person ceremonies this weekend.  Among them are more than 100 Flyer student-athletes who graduated with impressive accomplishments in the classroom and in their respective sports, and will continue that excellence in the next steps of their journey.

The senior years that they endured and the sacrifices they made with the shadow of the world-wide pandemic hanging over them from last spring until now will make the Flyer Class of 2021 one that will always be remembered on The Hilltop.

Listed below you will find some of the plans of University of Dayton senior student-athletes from the class of 2021:

(Editor’s Note:   In part to the unusual nature of seniors having a potential extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, not all members of the Flyer senior class have finalized their post-graduate plans.  The list below will be updated as we receive more information.)

BASEBALL
Benjamin Blackwell – Graduated Cum Laude in three years.  Planning on going to grad school
Alex Brickman – Will be completing his MBA in the fall and then working in Commercial real estate in Boston
Jonathan Brus — Returning for his fifth season
Chris Cabrera – Hopes to stay in baseball in some form, as a player coach in in a front office 
Michael Cleary – Graduated Cum Laude. Has accepted the volunteer coaching position at UD for next season
Mitchell Garrity – Will earn his Master’s in Aerospace Engineering in December, with plans to work aerospace engineering or software development
Jared Howell – Will be opening athletic training facilities and working in real estate
Tyler Jones – Will finish master’s and go into politics 
Justin Longbrake – Moving back to Columbus to work in data analytics, either for companies like JP Morgan Chase or in the healthcare industry 
Ben Olson – Weighing several varied options in process engineering/systems engineering, factory automation industry or as a data analyst in the baseball industry 
Cole Pletka – Moving home to Texas to be a sales rep for Remedy Roofing.  Also open to continuing his baseball career 
Eddie Pursinger – Has accepted an offer to be a technical recruiter at Teksystems in Cincinnati
Mariano Ricciardi – Will be playing in the Cape Cod League this summer with hopes of getting drafted
Riley Tirotta – Going to play at the Cape in preparation for the MLB draft. 
R.J. Wagner – Will complete his Master’s in Finance in August and is planning on getting into investment banking
Nolan Watson – Graduated Cum Laude.  Returning for his fifth season
Hunter Wolfe – Will move back home to Indiana to accept an engineering position.  Is a potential MLB draftee
Andrew Zapka – Returning for his fifth season

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Rodney Chatman – Will play at Vanderbilt as a graduate transfer
Jalen Crutcher – Has signed with an agent and will pursue a pro basketball career
Camron Greer – Pursuing a position in chemical engineering, and when he pursues his MBA, looking into becoming a GA for a Division I basketball program
Jordy Tshimanga – Graduated in August, and is planning on playing pro basketball while pursuing a Master’s in School Counseling 
Ibi Watson – Pursuing a professional basketball career

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Araion Bradshaw – Graduated in December, and is returning for her “super senior” season while attending graduate school
Jenna Giacone — Graduated in December, and is also returning for her “super senior” season while attending graduate school
Erin Whalen – Graduated last spring with honors, and is returning for her “super senior” season while attending graduate school

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Colin Lamb – Graduated Magna Cum Laude. Going to grad school for sports psychology
Kevin Lawson – Is already in grad school at UD, and will be competing next fall on the cross country team
Kyle Vernot – Graduate Cum Laude. Will be working at North Dakota State University as a research assistant on pollinator prairies in fire fields

FOOTBALL
Nick Bart – Graduated Cum Laude. Plans on working in the Chicagoland area in sales
Anthony Best – Co-winner of the Harry F. Finke, 1902, Award of Excellence to the Outstanding Senior in Civil Engineering.  Graduating Summa Cum Laude. Will attend graduate school here at UD for a master’s degree in civil engineering with a concentration in structures. Career goal is to help design bridges and/or skyscrapers
Kevin Bickett – Graduated Magna Cum Laude. Enrolled in the Physician Assistant Program at Wayne State Medical School
Joe Bubonics – Will return for his fifth year and graduate in December
Jack Cook — Will also return for his fifth year and graduate in December
Brandon Easterling – Will play his final season next fall, graduate in December and then focus on training for pro days leading up to the NFL draft
Shane Ferrick – Will return for his fifth year and graduate in December
Andrew Holderer — Will also return for his fifth year and graduate in December
Logan Moews –Graduated Summa Cum Laude. Attending medical school at Ohio State starting this fall
Austin Newland – Will be in grad school at UD, studying computer science
Nate Obringer – Graduated Cum Laude. Has taken a Commercial & Corporate Banking Analyst position with Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati
Owen Smith — Graduated Cum Laude in three years. Will return for his senior season while beginning work on his MBA
Jay Vallie – Played this spring at Eastern Illinois as a graduate transfer, after graduating from UD with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in December.  Will continue to play next season at Eastern Illinois while he completes his MBA (and will be playing against the Flyers at Welcome Stadium on Sept. 11)
Allen Waltz – Graduated Summa Cum Laude. Named the Anthony Horvath ’22 and Elmer Steger ’22 Award of Excellence to the Outstanding Senior in Electrical Engineering.  Attending law school at Washington University in St. Louis for intellectual property law
Richie Warfield – Has accepted a position with EY in Chicago as a technology and risk consultant
A.J. Watson — Returning for his fifth year in the football program and will be in grad school, working toward a degree in Counseling

MEN’S GOLF
Connor Quigley – Has accepted a position working at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio
Hayden Zimmerer – Graduated Magna Cum Laude.  Co-recipient of the Communications Chair’s Award for Outstanding Achievement.  Returning for his fifth season as a UD golfer

WOMEN’S GOLF
Abby Bitto – Graduated Cum Laude.  Working for ALDI USA as a District Manager
Brittney Blaschak – Staying in Dayton and working at ProSolutions 
Alexandra Bozich – Working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Pittsburgh Field Office as an Operations Support Technician
Miranda Mocklow – Plans to work in advertising in New York City

ROWING
Olivia Atkins – Graduated Cum Laude.  Will choose soon between a handful of offers to work in college admissions 
Maggie Cahill – Graduated Summa Cum Laude, and earned University Honors with Distinction.  A Global Flyer Fellow.  Co-winner of the Brother Thomas P. Price, S.M., Award of Excellence to the Outstanding Senior in English.  Will pursue a Masters of Education at the University of Notre Dame through the Alliance for Catholic Education program while teaching seventh grade English, Social Studies, and Religion at a Catholic school. 
Abigail Minzler – Attending grad school at University of Denver, pursuing her Master’s in Social Work program with a concentration in child abuse
Osa Wheeler – Continuing her education at Duquesne University as a GA to get her Master’s in Corporate Communication with a public policy emphasis.

MEN’S SOCCER
Jonas Fjeldberg – Will play professionally in the MLS 
Jack Steele – Deciding between several options in the field of engineering
Wariebi Jituboh — Attending chiropractic school and working toward his doctorate

WOMEN’S SOCCER 
Carly Becker – Graduated Magna Cum Laude.  Earned an Orr Fellowship (out of 1,300 applicants) and will work in the two-year program at Indianapolis-based eimagine 
Olivia Brown – Graduated Cum Laude.  Has been accepted to PT school.  Is also considering pursuing a master’s degree while playing college soccer as a graduate transfer 
Kara Camarco — Graduated Magna Cum Laude.  Will be a Project Coordinator for sports marketing firm Power Ad
Morgan Henderson — Will be working in Dayton, Virginia for Cargill as a continuous improvement engineer
Megan Rack — Accepted a full time position at TQL in Cincinnati as a Logistics Account Executive
Emma Thomas – Graduated Summa Cum Laude.  Earned the Award of Excellence to the Outstanding Senior Majoring in Finance.  Will be an Associate Buyer and Planner in Merchandising for Dick’s Sporting Goods at their corporate office in Pittsburgh 

SOFTBALL
Abby Ehrenborg – Attending the police academy
Olivia Lessman – Going to Auburn to get an M.Ed in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Morgan Mateja – Graduated Cum Laude.  Attending UC for a Master’s in Speech Language Pathology
Briley Sidor – Working as an FES Engineer at a company called Faurecia

MEN’S TENNIS
Parker Banning – Graduated Cum Laude
Will Harper – Will be the President of the UD Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2021-22, while competing in his fifth year in the program
Jayman Jhattu — Returning for his fifth season
Steven Karl – Also returning for his fifth season

WOMEN’S TENNIS
Kelly Pleiman – Graduated Summa Cum Laude.  Will be working for EY doing Tax Technology and Transformation on their SAP team
Zoe Woods – Going back to her hometown Indianapolis to take her financial exams and work as a financial advisor with National Financial Group

TRACK/CROSS COUNTRY
Victoria Angelopoulos – Enrolled in PT school at UD
Jahmia Bridges-Butler — Plans to travel to Spain to become proficient in the language and then return to the U.S. for graduate school
Carlee Constable – Graduated Cum Laude.  Will be studying for the Certified Public Accounting exams all summer and then come the fall will be starting at PricewaterhouseCoopers as an Assurance Associate in Columbus, OH.
Taylor Flight – Graduated Cum Laude.  Returning for her fifth year
Gabbie Johnson – Graduated Cum Laude.  Will work in Washington, D.C. as an accountant
Malana Johnson – Graduated Summa Cum Laude, and earned University Honors.  Interning on Capitol Hill for a year and then going back to law school to pursue her MBA and JD
Reilly Madsen – Graduated Magna Cum Laude. Taking the MCAT and applying to medical school in the next cycle
Corey Rinella – Graduated Cum Laude.  Co-winner of the Brother Louis J. Faerber, S.M., Award of Excellence to the Outstanding Student in Adolescence to Young Adult Education.  Currently looking for a job and hoping to teach high school social studies next year
Lainey Studebaker – Will return for her final season while attending UD’s PT school
Kelly Wilker – Graduated Magna Cum Laude, and earned University Honors. Presented the James B. LaVanche Award of Excellence to the Outstanding Scholar-Athlete Graduating in the Department of Health and Sport Science.  Attending Physical Therapy School at Ohio State 

VOLLEYBALL
Bridget Doherty – Graduated Summa Cum Laude. Moving to Dallas to be a Financial Data Analyst for Illinois Tool Work
Mahalia Swink – Returning for her “super senior” year next fall

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS