Julie Brechtel

Classroom

Brechtel maintains a 3.7 GPA as a double major in business administration and marketing, with minors in economics and art. Brechtel was a first-team Academic All-District 7 selection in 2010, earning her a spot on the national Academic All-America ballot. A two-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection, Brechtel has been a Big 12 Commissioner’s honor roll selection in each of her seven semesters at Nebraska. Brechtel is also a member of several honorary academic societies, including Phi Eta Sigma, Alpha Lambda Delta and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She was also a Highest Honor Medallion recipient at the 2010 Nebraska Student-Athlete Academic Banquet and is a multi-time member of the Dean’s List. An Aaron Douglas Scholarship Recipient and a two-time recipient of the Richard Raimondi Memorial Scholarship, Brechtel has been accepted to study abroad at Oxford this summer.

Character

A selfless leader known for her consistency, Brechtel was selected as Nebraska’s most valuable player in 2010 by a vote of her teammates. She overcame multiple concussions to excel athletically and academically as a junior. In addition to a leadership role on and off the field for her team, Brechtel donated her hair for the Locks of Love program, which provides wigs for children with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy. She is also a member of the Nebraska chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. A role model for young women, Brechtel has served as pen pal for the past two years in addition to volunteering her time with several youth organizations. Brechtel also spent the past two summers working as a student assistant in the Nebraska Media Relations office, and she has been invited to participate in a financial internship in Washington D.C. this summer. Brechtel also designed a T-shirt for all of Nebraska’s nearly 600 student-athletes, as well as Nebraska’s 2011 softball team T-shirt.

Community

Brechtel has volunteered her time with numerous organizations in her career. She has participated in the Light the Night walk to raise money for cancer research and has also collected donations at Husker basketball games for the Red Cross. On the softball diamond, Brechtel and her teammates hosted a breast cancer awareness event in the fall of 2009. Brechtel has also participated in several projects involving children, including volunteering at the F St. Rec Center, serving as a volunteer supervisor at the Boys & Girls Club and participating for the past four years in Operation Christmas Child, for which she packed shoe boxes with Christmas presents for needy children around the world. Brechtel has also volunteered her time to help out with Husker athletics, including serving as a volunteer timer at the Husker Invitational swimming and diving meet.

Competition

Brechtel is a four-year starter at second base for Nebraska and is described by her coaches and teammates as one of the most consistent players on the team. She earned second-team NFCA All-Midwest Region honors in 2010 and advanced to the national All-America ballot. Brechtel is a career .275 hitter and is on pace to become only the eighth player in Husker history to total 100 hits, 100 runs and 100 RBI. She holds the Nebraska season and career hit-by-pitch records and ranks highly in several other categories as well. Brechtel posted the 10th-best fielding percentage in school history in 2010, committing only one error in 160 chances.