Grinnell College Athletics

Steve Diekmann ’95 was the exemplar student-athlete, becoming a two-time All-American in basketball and a two-time Academic All-American. He played an instrumental part in rebuilding Grinnell’s now incredibly successful basketball program. Diekmann was the leading scorer on the 1994 team that compiled Grinnell’s first winning season in nearly 30 years, averaging 34.4 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field. During his senior year, he averaged 37.3 points (the NCAA D-III record) as captain of another successful Grinnell team. He was named to multiple All-Conference teams and was the Midwest Conference South Division Co-Player of the Year in 1994. He also won the Morgan Taylor ’26 Memorial Trophy for Outstanding Senior Athlete in a Single Sport in 1995. His love for basketball remains strong.  He plays when he can, including through a prison ministry with inmates at San Quentin State Prison, and has attended multiple men’s basketball reunions. Diekmann graduated from Grinnell with a degree in economics and later earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He had a 15-year career in the financial markets (most recently as a managing director at Nomura Securities) and now works as a director for The Leaven, a nonprofit organization. Diekmann lives in Alamo, Calif., with his wife Julie and their two children, Matthew and Hope.