It’s official. Nebraska baseball (39-20) is NCAA Regional bound for the first time since 2021 when the Huskers took No. 1-seeded Arkansas to the brink in Fayetteville.
The NCAA Selection committee announced Will Bolt’s Nebraska squad as the No. 2 seed in the Stillwater Regional. Big 12 Tournament Champion Oklahoma State (40-17) is the host and No. 1 seed while Florida (28-27) and Niagra (38-15) are the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds.
Sunday’s 2-1 Big Ten Tournament Title victory over Penn State secured the Huskers spot in the tournament via an acquired bid. But, Nebraska was likely already safe with over 35 wins on the year and the No. 12 nonconference strength of schedule in the country.
A date with the Gators on Friday awaits.
Nebraska won five straight elimination games to claim the first Big Ten Tournament crown in program history. It represents Bolt’s second conference title after the Huskers topped the Big Ten standings in 2021. No team had won the Big Ten Tournament after losing its first game since Ohio State in 1995. Stellar starting pitching and a tournament record-setting six home runs from Josh Caron bolstered the run.
The team’s current winning streak is the longest since Nebraska won 10 in a row at the end of March.
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Nebraska began its season at the Shriners Children’s College Classic in February and went 1-2 against Baylor, Texas Tech and now-No. 8 Oklahoma. Then came weekend series wins at regional qualifier Grand Canyon and the College of Charleston. The Huskers hit several snags in midweek play, but won every Big Ten series except Rutgers to finish 16-8 in regular season conference play.
Co-aces Brett Sears (2.00 ERA) and Mason McConnaughey (3.09 ERA) were critical keys to the Huskers’ success. Nebaska’s pitching staff finished with the lowest team ERA in the Big Ten (4.40) and posted the fewest walks per nine innings (2.9).
Bolt’s squad has the most wins for a Nebraska team since the 2014 Huskers finished 41-21 and went 1-2 in the Stillwater Regional.
Nebraska owns a 29-25 record in NCAA Regionals and will make its 18th regional appearance in program history next week.
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