NFL players Clark Phillips III and Sealver Siliga are among the 99 University of Utah student-athletes that will graduate in Thursday’s commencement ceremony, graduate this summer or already graduated last fall.
Phillips III, one of Utah’s highest-rated recruits in school history, starred at cornerback for three seasons before declaring for the NFL draft, where he was selected in the fourth round by the Atlanta Falcons.
Three years into his NFL career, he went back to school and obtained his degree in management.
Siliga, a defensive tackle that was part of Utah’s undefeated 2008 team, forwent his final year of college eligibility after the 2010 season to enter the NFL draft.
Though he went undrafted, Siliga carved out a six-year NFL career, including a start in the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl XLIX win over the Seattle Seahawks, in which Siliga registered four tackles.
A decade-and-a-half after leaving Utah, Siliga is graduating with a degree in sociology.
Another notable graduate from the football team is offensive lineman Jaren Kump, who recently signed a free agent deal with the Chicago Bears. Kump earned a master’s degree in Health and Kinesiology, with his thesis focusing on the health and wellness challenges that Division I athletes face as they retire from sports.
Nine other football players graduated with degrees, including six — Rabbit Evans (Human Development & Family Studies), JC Hart (Financial Planning and Counseling), Nate Johnson (Communication), Tobias Merriweather (Psychology), Trey Reynolds (Economics) and Nate Ritchie (Health and Kinesiology) — that will play on this year’s team.
This past year, Utah Athletics’ Graduation Success Rate of 95% tied a department record and was tied for the third-highest graduation rate among all power conference public institutions.
Here’s the list of 2025-26 Utah student-athlete graduates.
Baseball (9)
- Justin Abercrombie, Economics
- Ian Culver, Economics
- Demitri Diamant, Health, Society and Policy
- Matt Flaharty, Business Administration
- Dylan Gazaway, Communication
- Cal Kilgore, Economics
- Ryan Kittredge, Financial Planning and Counseling
- Nevan Noonan, Economics
- Payton Riske, Economics
Beach volleyball (4)
- Azure Covington, Communication
- Katie McAlister, Health and Kinesiology
- Chloe Narancich, Communication
- Keira Sheehan, Biology
Football (12)
- Lander Barton, Communication
- Joey Cheek, Marketing
- Levani Damuni, Information Systems
- Rabbit Evans, Human Development & Family Studies
- JC Hart, Financial Planning and Counseling
- Jaren Kump, Master’s of Health and Kinesiology
- Nate Johnson, Communication
- Tobias Merriweather, Psychology
- Clark Phillips III, Management
- Trey Reynolds, Economics
- Nate Ritchie, Health and Kinesiology
- Sealver Siliga, Sociology
Gymnastics (4)
- Ashley Glynn, Health and Kinesiology
- Sarah Krump, Financial Planning and Counseling
- Ana Padurariu, Psychology
- Makenna Smith, Psychology & Criminology
Lacrosse (16)
- Freddie DiMarzo, Health and Kinesiology
- Nikko DiPonio, Communication
- Luke Haley, Economics
- Bryce Horton, Accounting
- Tyler Kloeckl, Criminology
- Colin Lenskold, Communication
- Jake Likes, Business
- Bryce Madden, Double major: Accounting & Finance
- Seamus McCarthy, Economics
- Joel Mullen, Financial Planning and Counseling
- Will Overly, Health and Kinesiology
- Will Potter, Management
- Ryan Sheppard, Finance
- Ryan Stines, Health and Kinesiology
- Dallin Tanner, Double major: Criminology & Sociology
- Zachary White, Finance
Men’s basketball (2)
- Jerry Huang, Communication
- James Okonkwo, Financial Planning and Counseling
Men’s golf (1)
- Brandon Robison, Finance
Men’s skiing (3)
- Joe Davies, Civil Engineering
- Walker Hall, Computer Science
- Raphael Lessard, Finance
Men’s swim and dive (5)
- Ike Harms, Information Systems
- Jackson Kehler, Management
- Brandon Miller, Management
- Davis Stachelek, Sociology
- Evan VanBrocklin, Kinesiology
Men’s tennis (1)
- Lorenzo Esquici, International Studies
Soccer (6)
- Brooklyn Blaylock, Communication
- Kelly Bullock, Spanish & Health and Kinesiology
- Ava Hetzel, Masters of International Affairs & Global Enterprise
- Alex Schoenstadt, Biomedical Engineering
- Ali Swensen, Communication
- Grace Watkins, Masters of Public Health
Softball (6)
- Emily Capobianco, Health, Society and Policy
- Brooklyn Carreon, Health, Society and Policy
- Taylor Jacobs, Health, Society, and Policy
- Kayla Lyon, Criminology
- Raci Miranda, Masters of Finance
- Hailee White, Psychology
Track & field and cross country (8)
- Shana Van Elderen, Criminology
- Kylie Hartnett, Health and Kinesiology
- Madi Hulsey, Masters of Biomedical Engineering
- Sona Kourilová, Masters of Environmental Science
- Claire Le Gallo, Double major: Anthropology and Communication
- Lindsey Peters, Communication
- Mackenzie Rogers, Psychology
- Millie Wilcox, Marketing
Volleyball (7)
- Kamry Bailey, Biomedical Engineering
- Ella Biggs, Health and Kinesiology
- Iliana Linahan, Quantitative Analysis of Markets and Organizations
- Emrie Moea’i, Health, Society, and Policy
- Allie Olsen, Elementary Education
- Ashley West, Communication
- Leah Wilton-LaBoy, Communication
Women’s basketball (4)
- Alyssa Blanck, Communication
- Samantha Crispe, Quantitative Analysis of Markets and Organizations
- Chyra Evans, International Studies
- Lani White, Sociology & Criminology
Women’s skiing (1)
- Selma Andersen, Masters of Finance
Women’s swim and dive (7)
- Julia Bartell, Communication
- Sydney Even, Business Administration
- Kathryn Grant, Double major: Sociology and Human Development and Family Studies
- Megan Legarth, Emergency Medical Services
- Erin Palmer, Speech and Hearing Science
- Hilja Schimmel, Double major: Psychology and Health and Kinesiology
- Holly Waxman, Biology
Women’s tennis (3)
- Kaila Barksdale, Writing & Rhetoric Studies
- Dylan Lolofie, Health, Society and Policy & Nursing
- Emma Valletta, Management