Nebraska BSB: Rotation, players to watch & key stats in opening series

Nebraska baseball gets its 2024 season underway in earnest this week with a strong early test down in the Long Horn State, and it's a season-opening set with a Big 12 flavor at the Shriners Children's College Showdown in Arlington, Texas.

Head coach Will Bolt's program will be squaring off with Baylor on opening day for the Huskers on Friday (11 a.m.), then the Huskers will face perhaps their toughest opponent of the three-game slate in No. 21-ranked Texas Tech on Saturday (3 p.m.) and wrap up the invitational against Oklahoma on Sunday (10:30 a.m.) before heading to Phoenix next week for a four-game series against Grand Canyon (Feb. 22-25).

The three games against Nebraska's former Big 12 opponents will all take place inside Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers and the stadium that less than four months ago hosted Games 1 and 2 for the eventual MLB champions.

Note: All times listed are Central

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Every game of this weekend’s Shriners Children’s College Baseball Showdown will be streamed live on FloBaseball.tv and you can TAP THE DIRECT LINK to the tournament's streaming portal RIGHT HERE

Pitching: RHP Brett Sears vs. RHP Mason Marriott

TV/Streaming: FloBaseball.tv

>> Commentators: Ben Wilson and Pat Combs

Radio: Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

>> Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin will call the action for all three Nebraska games on HRN this week

Pitching: LHP Will Walsh vs. RHP Zane Petty

TV/Streaming: FloBaseball.tv

>> Commentators: Ben Wilson and Pat Combs

Radio: Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

Pitching: LHP Caleb Clark vs. TBA

TV/Streaming: FloBaseball.tv

>> Commentators: Brant Freeman and Ty Harrington

Radio: Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

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All notes and stats courtesy of Nebraska Athletics Communications

>> Through 68 all-time meetings, Baylor holds a 37-30-1 advantage over the Huskers in the all-time series.

>> Friday’s matchup marks the second time in program history the Huskers begin a season against Baylor, including the second time in Bolt’s time at Nebraska.

>> The Huskers began the 2020 campaign with a 19-9 win over the Bears in Waco in Bolt’s first season leading the Big Red. Baylor bounced back to take the next two games of the season-opening series.

>> Nebraska holds a 32-21 edge over Texas Tech in the all-time series in 53 games against the Red Raiders.

>> In their last matchup, the Huskers toppled No. 3 Texas Tech with a 2-1 victory at the Frisco College Baseball Classic on March 1, 2019.

>> Saturday’s matchup is the second meeting between the Big Red and Red Raiders since the Huskers transitioned to the Big Ten for the 2012 season.

>> Through 250 all-time meetings, Oklahoma holds a 146-102-2 advantage over Nebraska in the all-time series.

>> Sunday’s meeting is the first between the former conference foes since Nebraska’s final season in the Big 12 in 2011.

>> The Sooners picked up wins of 9-2 and 4-1 in their last meeting on the diamond in 2011 in Norman, Okla.

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Here are some more notes, stats and fast facts to know ahead of the season-opneing series:

>> Nebraska is 1-3 in season openers in four seasons under Bolt after falling 7-3 at San Diego to begin the 2023 campaign.

>> Friday’s contest vs. Baylor marks the fourth time in the last five seasons the Huskers open the season in the Lone Star State after opening last season in San Diego.

>> For the 10th time since 2002, the Huskers open the season with a neutral-site matchup. Nebraska is 6-3 in their last nine season openers against neutral-site opponents.

>> This weekend’s Shriners Children’s College Showdown marks the second appearance for the Big Red at Globe Life Field after facing TCU in a three-game series in 2022.

>> Globe Life Field is the seventh Major League Baseball Ballpark the Huskers have played in since 2000.

>> In that time, Nebraska has posted a 22-17 record in 39 games.

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>> With two weekend starters taken in the 2023 MLB Draft, it’ll be a new-look weekend rotation for the Huskers this year.

>> Opening-day starter Brett Sears takes the mound after transitioning from the bullpen last season. In his debut season with the Huskers, Sears posted a 5.29 ERA and totaled 23 strikeouts in 17 innings in 11 relief appearances.

Prior to NU, Sears earned NJCAA Division II Third-Team All-America honors after going 11-3 with six complete-games in 14 starts at Iowa Central CC in 2022. The Westphalia, Iowa, native recorded a 3.06 ERA with 114 strikeouts in 85.1 innings and had seven outings of at least eight strikeouts, including a season-high 18 strikeouts in seven innings at Moraine Valley CC.

>> Will Walsh gets the nod on Saturday after spending the last half of the 2023 campaign as the Sunday starter. Walsh made 15 appearances on the mound, including eight starts last season, posting a 5-3 record with a 4.24 ERA in 51 innings.

The Leawood, Kan., native pitched a complete-game four-hit shutout with seven strikeouts in Nebraska’s 4-0 win against Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament last season.

>> Caleb Clark is scheduled to start on Sunday after going 1-1 last season and striking out 14 batters in 17 innings in his debut season with the Huskers in 2023. The Orillia, Ontario, native made nine appearances on the mound, including five starts after beginning last season in the weekend rotation.

Clark will become the sixth Husker since 1999 to be an opening-weekend starter on the mound both as a true freshman and sophomore.

Other Huskers to get the nod on opening weekend in their true freshman and sophomore seasons include Shane Komine (1999, 2000), Johnny Dorn (2005, 2006), Tom Lemke (2010, 2011), Jon Keller (2011, 2012) and Colby Gomes (2019, 2020).

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>> Rated the No. 3 right-handed pitcher out of Nebraska, Tucker Timmerman joins the Huskers after posting a 0.69 ERA as a senior and finishing his prep career as the career record holder in ERA at Beatrice High School.

>> Kyle Perry returns to Nebraska for a sixth season, holding a career record of 6-4 with a 5.40 ERA across 43 appearances, including 18 starts.

>> Evan Borst, a junior transfer from Iowa Central CC, comes to NU after making 21 appearances with the Tritons and striking out 54 batters in 41 innings of action on the mound.

>> Casey Daiss brings a wealth of experience to the bullpen after a pair of seasons at Pasco Hernandez Junior College, going 9-2 and totaling a 2.15 ERA and 121.1 innings pitched in 39 appearances, including seven starts.

>> After a limited role as a freshman in 2022, Gabe Swansen had a breakout sophomore campaign with 18 homers and 57 RBI while hitting .291 at the plate in 2023.

The second-team All-Big Ten selection is one of 22 players nationally to return this season after hitting at least .290 at the plate with 18 home runs and 57 runs driven in. Nine of the 22 returning players are at the Power Five level, highlighted by Jac Caglianone (Florida), Gavin Kash (Texas Tech) and Charlie Condon (Georgia).

>> Dylan Carey returns for the Big Red after starting 53 games in his first season with the Huskers, the most games started by a Husker freshman since Ryan Boldt (60) in 2014.

The Castle Rock, Colo., native hit .275 last season with nine doubles, two triples and four home runs along with 30 RBI. Carey also recorded 18 multi-hit performances in 2023, the third most on the team last season, including a trio of three-hit games and one four-hit game.

>> Freshman Case Sanderson is expected to be a regular name in the lineup for the Huskers after arriving in Lincoln as the No. 23 overall prospect out of Missouri by Prep Baseball Report.

The Nevada, Mo., native hit .516 at the plate with 18 extra-base hits, 23 RBI and 21 stolen bases as a senior at Nevada High School. He led the Tigers to an appearance in the state quarterfinals as a senior and was named the Big 8 Player of the Year as a junior.

>> Projected to be a mainstay in the lineup, Tyler Stone joins the Huskers after spending his freshman season with Gonzaga and his sophomore campaign at Iowa Western CC.

Last season, Stone led the Reivers in home runs (17), RBI (72) and slugging percentage (.778), while sitting fourth in hitting (.366) and on-base percentage (.486).

The Scottsdale, Ariz., native also led all of DI in the Iowa Community Athletic Conference last season with 29 extra-base hits.

>> Riley Silva joins the Huskers as a junior college transfer from Barton Community College, hitting .361 at the plate with 11 doubles, seven triples and 41 RBI across his two seasons with the Cougars.

The Cambridge, Ontario, native was one of three NJCAA DI players to post a .350+ batting with 40-plus stolen bases and at least 70 runs last season. Silva’s 44 stolen bases were the second-most in program history in a single-season, as he became one of four Cougars in program history to reach 40 stolen bases in a season.

The Barton CC transfer garnered Second-Team All-Region VI and First-Team All-KJCCC recognition as a sophomore in 2023.

>> Nebraska has bolstered its roster this season with six Canadian players, marking the third consecutive season with at least one player from the Great White North on the NU roster. The Huskers are one of five programs nationally with at least five Canadians on the roster and have the third most, trailing Niagara and Canisius with 14 and nine, respectively.

>> Rhett Stokes and Joshua Overbeek finished last season as two of 20 NJCAA DI players to hit at least .415 at the plate with 32-plus extra-base hits and 55-plus RBI.

A product of Pitt and Cisco College, Overbeek appeared in 56 games with the Wranglers in 2023, compiling 21 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI performances at Cisco.

Stokes spent two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute, where he hit .399 with 32 doubles, 16 triples, 19 homers, 98 RBI, 165 runs and 35 stolen bases in two seasons with the Broncos. He finished the 2023 campaign as one of five NJCAA DI players to post an on-base percentage of .560-plus, adding 20 doubles and leading all of junior college with 101 runs.