Led by head coach Will Bolt, the Nebraska baseball team kicks off its 2025 season this weekend at the MLB Desert Invitational.

The Huskers, ranked No. 24 in two national preseason polls, will get things started today (Friday) at 2 p.m. CT against UC Irvine at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick – the spring training facility for both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies – in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Below is a preview of today's matchup, the Huskers' following two games against No. 16 Vanderbilt (Saturday) and San Diego State (Sunday) at the invitational, plus Monday's non-conference matchup on the road at Grand Canyon.

FRIDAY (TODAY)

Opponent: UC Irvine

Time: 2 p.m. CT

Pitching: RHP Mason McConnaughey (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Danny Suarez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

TV/Streaming: MLB.com

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

Stadium: Salt Rivers Field at Talking Stick

**********

SATURDAY

Opponent: #16 Vanderbilt

Time: 7 p.m. CT

Pitching: RHP Ty Horn (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Ethan McElvain (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

TV/Streaming: MLB Network

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

Stadium: Salt Rivers Field at Talking Stick

**********

SUNDAY

Opponent: San Diego State

Time: 6 p.m. CT

Pitching: LHP Will Walsh (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Marko Sipila (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

TV/Streaming: MLB.com

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

Stadium: Sloan Park

Opponent: Grand Canyon

Time: 2 p.m. CT

Pitching: LHP Jackson Brockett (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. TBD

TV/Streaming: ESPN+

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

Stadium: Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark

>> Friday’s season opener against UC Irvine and Sunday’s matchup with San Diego State will be streamed live on MLB.com, while Saturday’s contest against Vanderbilt will be broadcast live on MLB Network. Monday afternoon’s matchup at Grand Canyon can be seen on ESPN+.

>> Fans can also listen to Ben McLaughlin and Nick Handley call the action this weekend on the Huskers Radio Network.

>> Every game this season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.

Nebraska vs. UC Irvine

>> Through eight all-time meetings, the Huskers and Anteaters are locked at four wins each in the all-time series.

>> The two teams last met in a three-game series in Lincoln in 2014, where the Big Red swept UC Irvine in a Saturday doubleheader to take two of three games over the Anteaters.

**********

Nebraska vs. Vanderbilt

>> Saturday’s matchup is the second all-time meeting on the diamond between the Huskers and Commodores.

>> In their lone meeting, Nebraska toppled No. 7 Vanderbilt with a 5-3 win at the Cambria College Classic in Minneapolis in 2023.

**********

Nebraska vs. San Diego State

>> Through 12 all-time meetings, San Diego State holds an 8-4 advantage over Nebraska in the all-time series.

>> The Aztecs and Huskers last met in the Tony Gwynn Legacy in 2020, where San Diego State picked up a 4-2 win over the Big Red in Coach Bolt’s first season at Nebraska.

**********

Nebraska vs. Grand Canyon

>> Nebraska returns to Grand Canyon for the second consecutive season after the Huskers and Lopes played a four-game series in Phoenix in 2024.

>> The Big Red won three of its four games at GCU, which was the first all-time meeting between Nebraska and Grand Canyon.

>> Nebraska is 2-3 in season openers under Bolt after beginning last season with a 4-1 win against Baylor at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field.

>> Nebraska appeared at No. 24 in the D1Baseball and NCBWA preseason rankings and received votes in the USA Today/Coaches preseason poll.

>> The Huskers are one of three Big Ten teams to appear in the preseason rankings after Oregon was recognized in all four polls (12th/D1Baseball, 12th/NCBWA, 14th/USA Today/Coaches, 14th/Perfect Game) and Indiana was ranked No. 25 by the NCBWA.

>> Nebraska was picked to finish second in the 2025 Big Ten Preseason Poll, the league office announced this week.

>> Oregon was chosen as the league’s favorite, coming off consecutive super regional appearances in 2023 and 2024.

>> The Big Red were selected for a runner-up finish, followed by Indiana, UCLA, Michigan and USC.

>> Nebraska is 104-21 under Bolt when scoring at least six runs.

>> The Husker offense reached the six-run mark 34 times last season, compiling a 28-6 record.

>> Nebraska scored six-plus runs in 33 contests (26-7) in 2023 after tallying at least six runs 23 times (19-4) in 2022, 28 times (26-2) in 2021 and seven times (5-2) in 2020.

>> For the fourth and fifth times in six seasons under Bolt, Nebraska will play in a weekend tournament during non-conference action, as the Huskers are set to play in a pair of neutral-site events this season.

>> This season is the third straight year taking part in a neutral-site tournament for the Big Red after the Huskers played in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown (2024) and Cambria College Classic (2023).

2024 Shriners Children’s College Showdown (Arlington, Texas)

>> Results: Baylor (W, 4-1), #21 Texas Tech (L, 6-3), Oklahoma (L, 7-6)

2023 Cambria College Classic (Minneapolis, Minn.)

>> Results: #7 Vanderbilt (W, 5-3), Hawaii (W, 12-3), #4 Ole Miss (L, 14-5)

2020 Tony Gwynn Legacy (San Diego, Calif.)

>> Results: San Diego (L, 12-11), SDSU (L, 4-2), Arizona (L, 3-2)

>> With Brett Sears taken in the 2024 MLB Draft and Drew Christo’s transition to the bullpen, it’ll be a new-look weekend rotation for the Huskers this year.

>> Opening-day starter Mason McConnaughey takes the mound after beginning last season in the bullpen. McConnaughey earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after going 9-3 with a 3.45 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 73 innings while ending the 2024 campaign as NU’s No. 2 starter in the weekend rotation.

>> Sophomore Ty Horn gets the nod on Saturday after making 13 appearances, including four starts as a freshman in 2024. Horn went 1-1 with a save and posted a 5.91 ERA with 19 punchouts in 21.1 innings.

>> Redshirt senior Will Walsh is scheduled to start on Sunday after spending a portion of last season in NU’s weekend rotation. The southpaw tallied a 5-4 record and 5.06 ERA while recording 43 strikeouts in 58.2 innings.

>> Senior Jackson Brockett will toe the rubber on Monday afternoon after finishing last season as the Big Red’s Sunday starter. Brockett went 3-3 with a 4.91 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 36.2 innings while making 13 appearances, including seven starts.

>> McConnaughey comes into this year needing 110 punchouts to climb the top 10 career strikeout list at NU.

>> With 91 strikeouts in 2024, McConnaughey fell seven shy of cracking the top 10 list of single-season leaders at Nebraska. However, he enters this season as the fifth NU pitcher in school history to return after a 90-plus strikeout season, including the first since Joba Chamberlain’s return from a 130-strikeout campaign in 2005.

>> The list: Bob Sebra (90 Ks in 1981), Troy Brohawn (123 Ks in 1993), Shane Komine (159 Ks in 2000 and 157 Ks in 2001), Joba Chamberlain (130 Ks in 2005) and McConnaughey (91 Ks in 2024)

>> Coming off a second-team All-Big Ten campaign last season, junior Mason McConnaughey drew Preseason All-America recognition, earning third-team honors from D1Baseball and second-team accolades from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

>> McConnaughey was one of 55 players across high school and college baseball named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, USA Baseball announced last week.

>> The Topeka, Kan., native is the first Husker named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List since Ryan Boldt in 2016.

>> Junior closer Luke Broderick earned a spot on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List, the organization announced Wednesday. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in Division I Baseball each season.

>>Broderick, a right-hander from Omaha, Neb., is one of 76 players on the list. The right-hander spent two seasons as a starter at Iowa Western CC before coming to Lincoln and transitioning into a closer in the fall.

>> Broderick was one of 24 players selected to the USA NJCAA All-Star Team last summer, helping Team USA to a championship appearance at the historic Honkbalweek Haarlem. The Omaha, Neb., native allowed just three hits and didn’t give up a run with six punchouts and two walks in a 3.1-inning outing for the Stars and Stripes.

>> In his two years with the Reivers, Broderick posted an 8-1 record with a 5.75 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 56.1 innings across 21 appearances, including 15 starts. Broderick earned all-conference recognition after going 7-1 with a 3.21 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 42 innings in 2024.

>> As a true freshman last season, Case Sanderson hit .338 with six doubles, a triple, three homers, 26 RBI and 27 runs scored while earning third-team All-Big Ten recognition and being named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team.

>> The Nevada, Mo., native posted a team-leading .469 on-base percentage and compiled 15 multi-hit performances, including five games with three hits.

>> Sanderson became the 14th true freshman in program history since at least 1985 to hit at least .300 at the plate with more than 150 at-bats, including the eighth true freshman to hit better than .330 with 150-plus at-bats.

>> Sanderson is the second true freshman under Bolt to hit at least .330 with more than 150 at-bats, joining Second-Team Freshman All-American and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Max Anderson in the 2021 season.

>> Dylan Carey became the 12th Husker in program history to reach 100-plus combined starts as a freshman and sophomore with 53 starts as a freshman in 2023 and 61 starts in his sophomore campaign last season.

>> The Castle Rock, Colo., native is the first Husker to surpass the century mark in starts as a freshman and sophomore since Ryan Boldt in 2014 and 2015.

>> In the two seasons with the Big Red, Carey is hitting .265 at the plate with 27 doubles, two triples, 11 homers, 61 RBI and 63 runs scored.

>> The 114 starts are tied for sixth-most by a Husker in their freshman and sophomore seasons, trailing Matt Hopper, Will Bolt, Darin Erstad, Alex Gordon and Ryan Boldt.

Hopper: 123 starts (2000-01)

Bolt: 118 starts (1999-2000)

Erstad: 118 starts (1993-94)

Gordon: 117 starts (2003-04)

Boldt: 115 starts (2014-15)

Carey: 114 starts (2023-24)

DJ Belfonte: 114 starts (2007-08)

Troy Brohawn: 114 starts (1992-93)

>> Sanderson and Rhett Stokes finished the 2024 campaign ranked among the nation’s leaders in BABIP, batting average on balls in play.

>> Stokes tied for 10th nationally with a BABIP of .457 (53-of-116), while Sanderson was tied for 29th at .440 (48-of-109).

>> The Husker duo are two of nine P4 players to tally a .440-or-greater BABIP throughout last season.

Kien Vu (Arizona State) – .511 BABIP

Dakota Jordan (Mississippi State) – .471

Nolan Schubart (Oklahoma State) – .461

Rhett Stokes (Nebraska) – .457

Damian Bravo (Texas Tech) – .457

Ben Watson (Virginia Tech) – .457

Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (Rutgers) – .446

J.T. Marr (Penn State) – .443

Case Sanderson (Nebraska) – .440

>> Creighton transfer Hogan Helligso is expected to be a mainstay behind the plate after bringing three years of experience to Lincoln.

>> In three seasons at CU, Helligso hit .286 at the plate with 23 doubles, two triples, five homers, 49 RBI and 74 runs scored.

>> The Elkhorn, Neb., native earned second-team All-BIG EAST recognition as a junior in 2023 and totaled 26 multi-hit games and eight contests with at least two RBI in his time in Omaha.

>> Cael Frost arrived in Lincoln after playing one season at South Dakota State, where he was named Summit League Player of the Year and earned second-team all-region honors in 2024.

>> With the Jackrabbits, Frost hit .343 at the plate with 16 doubles, 21 home runs, 59 RBI and 53 runs scored in 49 starts in 2024.

>> Prior to South Dakota State, Frost spent two seasons at Kirkwood CC, where he hit .379 with a combined 35 doubles and 22 home runs in 2022 and 2023.

>> The SDSU transfer is one of six returning players nationally to reach those totals in hitting, homers and RBI last season.

Drew Burress (Georgia Tech) – .381 BA, 25 HRs, 67 RBI

John Bay (Austin Peay) – .365 BA, 24 HRs, 72 RBI

Daniel Cuvet (Miami) – .351 BA, 24 HRs, 75 RBI

Nolan Schubart (Oklahoma State) – .370 BA, 23 HRs, 68 RBI

Luis Hernandez (Indiana State) – .359 BA, 23 HRs, 68 RBI

Cael Frost (South Dakota State) – .343 BA, 21 HRs, 59 RBI

>> With 27 career homers in three seasons at Nebraska, Gabe Swansen enters his senior campaign needing eight homers in 2025 to reach the top 10 in career home runs by a Husker.

>> In his time in Lincoln, Swansen has hit .285 at the plate with 20 doubles, 27 home runs, 85 RBI and 67 runs scored in 106 career games.

>> The Johnston, Iowa, native paced the Husker offense in the postseason last year, hitting .500 (19-of-38) with six doubles, seven homers, 16 RBI and 10 runs scored in NU’s nine postseason games in the Big Ten Tournament and Stillwater Regional.

>> Riley Silva was one of five D1 players to steal 32-plus bases and be caught three-or-fewer times, including one of two Power 4 players in 2024.

>> Silva is the 10th NU player since 2000 to swipe at least 20 bases, and the first Husker to steal 30-plus bases in a season since Jamal Strong (35) in 2000.

>> The Huskers saw a 10-win improvement in 2023 after improving their win total by seven and compiling a 40-22 overall record last season.

>> Nebraska is the only P4 program and one of four teams nationally to record at least a seven-win improvement in each of the last two seasons (Austin Peay, Sacred Heart, UC Davis, Nebraska)

Austin Peay (Atlantic Sun): 19 wins (2022), 26 wins (2023), 35 wins (2024)

Nebraska (Big Ten): 23 wins (2022), 33 wins (2023), 40 wins (2024)

Sacred Heart (Northeast): 12 wins (2022), 28 wins (2023), 35 wins (2024)

UC Davis (Big West): 6 wins (2022), 17 wins (2023), 29 wins (2024)

>> Nebraska has nine players ranked in D1Baseball’s Top MLB Draft Prospects and Impact Freshmen rankings in the Big Ten:

2025 MLB Draft Eligible Prospects in Big Ten:

No. 9 – Mason McConnaughey

No. 12 – Luke Broderick

No. 13 – Case Sanderson

No. 27 – Dylan Carey

**********

2026 MLB Draft Eligible Prospects in Big Ten:

No. 5 – Ty Horn

No. 23 – Carson Jasa

No. 26 – Tucker Timmerman

**********

Top 20 Impact Freshmen List:

No. 11 – Pryce Bender

No. 17 – J’Shawn Unger

>> Nebraska had five players listed in D1Baseball’s Preseason Player Rankings released throughout the month of February.

>> Cael Frost and Gabe Swansen were ranked No. 27 and 95, respectively, in the list of the top 100 outfielders. Frost batted .343 with 21 homers and 59 RBI as the Summit League Player of the Year at South Dakota State last season, while Swansen hit .327 at the plate with eight home runs and 22 RBI in 34 games in 2024.

>> Mason McConnaughey checked in at No. 14 in the top 150 starting pitchers after going 9-3 with a 3.45 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 73 innings last season.

>> Luke Broderick and Drew Christo were ranked No. 84 and 95, respectively, in the list of the top 100 relievers. Broderick comes to Lincoln after spending the last two years at Iowa Western CC, while Christo went 3-3 with a save and a 4.62 ERA in 17 appearances in 2024.

>> Juniors Robby Bolin and Luke Broderick helped the USA NJCAA All-Star Team to a championship appearance at the historic Honkbalweek Haarlem last summer.

>> Bolin earned recognition as Team USA’s best hitter of the tournament after swiping a tournament-high five stolen bases and hitting .391 at the plate with nine hits, an RBI and six runs scored in the tournament’s seven games.

>> Broderick appeared in one game for the Stars and Stripes in a 3.1-inning outing, allowing just three hits and didn’t give up a run while compiling six strikeouts and two walks.