Nebraska baseball adds first juco player to 2023 class in two-way prospect Evan Borst

Iowa Central infielder/pitcher Evan Borst pledged to NU late last week following a strong first college campaign and summer-league debut. The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder from Norwalk, Iowa, was a speedy on-base machine at both stops, parlaying the performances into a Nebraska offer last month.

“I always wanted to play at the biggest level I can,” Borst said. “I like the school and felt like it was a good fit for me.”

Borst said he was under-recruited out of high school, with only junior college offers and tepid interest from Division I programs. He broke out at Central last spring, hitting .337 in 58 games with a .475 OBP, team-high 21 steals and an elite walk-to-strikeout ratio of 44-to-25. He followed by reaching base at a .437 clip in the Northwoods League with five swipes in 23 contests.

Preparing for his sophomore year at Fort Dodge, Borst said he has plenty to work on. He’s made multiple highlight plays as a left-side infielder but also a combined 38 errors in 81 total games in 2022. As a pitcher who throws a fastball, late-breaking slider and changeup, he shows a low-90s velocity yet posted a 7.15 earned-run average at Iowa Central in 22 2/3 innings.

“I see myself as a straight two-way guy,” Borst said. “I’m not really leaning one way or the other.”

Borst had a few mid-major offers, he said, and other Power Five interest. But a visit to Lincoln this month sped up his process, as did a conversation with current Husker pitcher Brett Sears, who was a teammate of Borst’s at Central last season.

He knew he had found his next home. Why wait to commit?

Nebraska’s class is technically at 11 between the nine prep signees and football linebacker commit Hayden Moore, who will try to pitch for the Huskers as a two-sport athlete. Nebraska in the 2022 cycle brought in 10 junior-college players and will likely add at least four more prospects in this class with an emphasis on junior colleges and the transfer portal.

As the newest future Husker, Borst said he may also be the happiest.

“They were the ones that gave me a chance right at the start,” Borst said. “I had other schools in mind but they were the ones that reached out right away and saw that I had potential.”