A West Coast Big Ten road trip and a rare marquee nonconference opponent at home are among the highlights of a unique and ambitious Nebraska baseball schedule released Tuesday.
The program announced a 56-game regular-season slate for 2025 that begins Feb. 14 at the MLB Desert Invitational in the Phoenix area and wraps with a series at Purdue in mid-May. The opener at Haymarket Park is March 5 against South Dakota State.
The Huskers’ most high-profile visitor to Haymarket Park in at least half a decade will arrive March 28-30 in Oregon State. OSU — a regional qualifier in 17 of the last 19 full seasons including three College World Series titles in Omaha — finished last spring ranked No. 10 after a 45-win showing. The Beavers are playing as an independent for the first time after the dissolution of the traditional Pac-12.
The 2025 Schedule is here.#GBR pic.twitter.com/Xn3I7oEuqo
— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) September 17, 2024
A challenging first three weekends could provide the foundation to repeat with a top-20 nonconference strength of schedule. Three games at Louisiana (Feb. 21-23) against the reigning Sun Belt champions that have been to three straight NCAA tournaments. Then the Frisco Classic (Feb. 28-March 2) with single contests against Sam Houston, LSU and Kansas State – all of whom earned top-80 RPIs last season.
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The MLB Desert event (Feb. 14-17) has three to-be-determined foes for the Huskers — the round-robin tournament didn’t announce last year’s full eight-team field until early January — before NU concludes at Grand Canyon, which is coming off a regional appearance.
“We have a challenging schedule that will give our program the opportunity to compete against some of the top teams in college baseball,” NU coach Will Bolt said in a statement. “Our nonconference schedule will prepare us for league play, where the Big Ten continues to improve each year.”
A bigger Big Ten of 17 baseball teams expands league play from eight conference weekends to 10. Nebraska welcomes in Washington (March 7-9) to start, followed by series at UCLA (March 14-16) and USC (March 21-23) with two midweek tilts at Pepperdine sandwiched in between. Other B1G opponents are Rutgers (April 4-6), at Iowa (April 11-13), Northwestern (April 18-20), at Maryland (April 25-27), Minnesota (May 2-4), Michigan (May 9-11) and at Purdue (May 15-17).
Who Big Ten teams miss in the unbalanced scheduling format will continue to be a factor in the eventual standings. The Huskers — last year’s RPI leaders among current league squads — won’t see four of the five schools immediately behind them in RPI in Oregon, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State. Penn State and Michigan State are also off their schedule.
Nebraska’s midweek offerings line up similarly to a season ago, when NU went 4-7 — including a combined 0-5 to Creighton and Kansas — against a beefed-up parade of challengers designed to maximize RPI upside and limit potential damage. This time the possible postseason resume hits come right away with single games at Omaha (March 4, RPI of 290 last year) and against South Dakota State (March 5, 264) followed by pairs against Wichita State (March 11-12, 96) and at Pepperdine (March 18-19, 272).
Three matchups with Creighton plus home-and-aways with Kansas State and Kansas come after that. All three programs are coming off top-71 RPI campaigns, with KSU advancing to a super regional.
Nebraska is perhaps better suited to handle a more rigorous gauntlet with its most veteran roster under Bolt. The Huskers posted a 40-22 record last spring that included a Big Ten tournament title and their first regional appearance since 2021. They bring back nearly 70% of their innings that led the league in earned-run average and essentially the same percentage of last year’s at-bats total.
Nebraska baseball 2025 schedule
February
14-16: vs. TBA at MLB Desert Invitational; 17: at Grand Canyon; 21-23: at Louisiana; 28: at Frisco Classic (Sam Houston)
March
1: at Frisco Classic (LSU); 2: at Frisco Classic (Kansas State); 4: at Omaha; 5: South Dakota State; 7-9: Washington; 11-12: Wichita State; 14-16: at UCLA; 18-19: at Pepperdine; 21-23: at USC; 25: at Kansas State; 28-30: Oregon State
April
1: Creighton; 4-6: Rutgers; 8: at Kansas; 11-13: at Iowa; 15: at Creighton; 18-20: Northwestern; 22: Kansas; 25-27: at Maryland; 29: Kansas State
May
2-4: Minnesota; 6: Creighton; 9-11: Michigan; 15-17: at Purdue
US gymnast Jordan Chiles has filed an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland after being stripped of a bronze medal she won at the Paris Olympics. Chiles, who had originally finished third in the women’s floor event, lost her medal to Romania’s Ana Barbosu following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Chiles had scored 13.666 in the event, putting her in fifth place; however, her score was upgraded to 13.766 following an inquiry into her difficulty rating by her coach. Romania’s Olympic Committee filed an appeal to CAS, indicating that Team USA’s probe into Chiles’ score was submitted outside the one-minute time limit. The appeal was upheld after it was found that the inquiry by Chiles’ coach was submitted four seconds outside the time limit, with the medal being awarded to Barbosu. Chiles’ lawyers claimed that CAS refused to consider footage that “unequivocally proves” the athlete’s coach submitted the inquiry on time. US media reports claimed that the head of the panel overseeing the appeal had links to Romania, with CAS later condemning such “outrageous statements.”
Top Journal Star photos for September 2024
Members of the UNL Army ROTC’s Big Red Battalion climb the steps of Memorial Stadium during a silent stair climb in remembrance of those lost in the 9/11 attacks on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Lincoln.
Starting at 6:00 a.m., various members of the branches of UNL ROTC, first responders in the surrounding Lancaster areas, and former military members began a silent stair climb workout that involves climbing 2,071 steps, or about 110 flights of stairs. This was the number of stairs that were present at the World Trade Center, which first responders climbed in an effort to rescue people from the towers. The cadets only count the stairs going up, not down. Representing those first responders who never got a chance to descend safely.
Lincoln East’s Raheem Popoola (13) leads his team out onto the field before the game against Grand Island on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, at Seacrest Field.
Nebraska’s Harper Murray (27) embraces Bergen Reilly (2) after scoring a kill against Creighton in the first set on Tuesday at the Devaney Sports Center.
Nebraska’s Tommi Hill (6) celebrates a pick-six during the first quarter of the game against Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska’s Jacory Barney (17) celebrates as fans rush the field after the game on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at Memorial Stadium.
Terence “Bud” Crawford (center) takes the field next to Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola (left) and Mikai Gbayor on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska fans storm the field after winning the game against Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska won 28-10.
Police investigate the scene of a shooting Sunday in downtown Lincoln near 11th and P streets where one man was killed and another man was injured.
While teammate Dante Dowdell (23) celebrates a touchdown with his teammates, quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) reacts toward the home sideline in the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska’s Dante Dowdell (23) is tackled by Colorado’s Shilo Sanders (21) on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Wahoo players pray in the locker room ahead of their match against Ashland-Greenwood on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at Wahoo High School.
Lincoln Southeast’s Zayvion Campbell (left), Lincoln Southwest’s Nathan Mensah (center) and Southeast’s Mason Mehta (right) dive after the ball in the end zone during the second quarter on Friday at Seacrest Field. The play resulted in a Lincoln Southwest touchback.
Ian Plumlee, of Lincoln, dances with his daughter, Josephine, 4, as Sandy Creek Pickers performs during the Nebraska Bluegrass Concert Series on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, on Nebraska Innovation Campus.
Jeff Gold speaks after being installed as the University of Nebraska’s ninth president during an investiture ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024.
Junior Dylan Zephier (center) dances with senior Jordyn Guse next to senior Helina Cooper (back left) and freshman Liam Hoffschneider during a Unified music class, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, at East High School.
Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola walks in the Legacy Walk on Saturday outside Memorial Stadium.
A great blue heron perches on a rock in the shallow water of Holmes Lake on Tuesday.
Nebraska’s Leyla Blackwell (11) throws a volleyball into the stands before the match against TCU on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, at the Bob Devaney Center.
The Huskers run on to the field to kickoff the game against UTEP on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska’s MJ Sherman (48) sacks UTEP’s Skyler Locklear (9) during the first quarter of the UTEP game on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, at Memorial Stadium.
Norfolk Catholic players line up on the field before during the game against Bishop Neumann on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, at Bishop Neumann in Wahoo.
Nebraska’s Isaiah Neyor (18) catches a 59-yard touchdown pass while defended by UTEP’s Jaylon Shelton (9) in the second quarter, on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska’s Bergen Reilly (2) watches a husker light show as a highlight reel of last year plays before the match on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, at the Devaney Sports Center.
New University of Nebraska-Lincoln students run out onto the field during the tunnel walk tradition at Memorial Stadium on Friday.
Lincoln Christian’s Truman Paulsen holds the Spirit Sword after defeating Lincoln Lutheran on Friday at Aldrich Field.
Framed through a children’s play set, Jordyn Anderson, 3, pushes her friend Jordan Lara, 4, in a Cozy Coupe toy at the playground outside at Las Abejitas’ location at First Lutheran Church on Friday. Las Abejitas, one of only two bilingual child care centers in Lincoln, is opening a second location at First-Plymouth Church in September.
Waverly celebrates after defeating Lincoln Lutheran in five sets Thursday at Lincoln Lutheran High School.
Thursday afternoon’s football game between Lincoln East and Elkhorn South was postponed due to weather. The teams will make up the game Friday at Seacrest Field.
Lincoln East’s Deacon Gehle (from left) and Presley Hall practice passing back anf forth while waiting out a rain delay at Seacrest Field on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024.
From left, U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer, Pete Ricketts, 3rd District Congressman Adrian Smith, 1st District Congressman Mike Flood and 2nd District Congressman Don Bacon attended the annual summit hosted by the Nebraska, Omaha and Lincoln chambers of commerce on Thursday at Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland.
Runners, including Tyler Pooschke (first left) and Mak Krause (right) are led by run lead Trevor White (first right) as they take off along the Billy Wolff Trail for the first-ever run held by the Telegraph Run Club on Wednesday. The new run club is meant to be a welcoming, open and free to any who wishes to join.
Nebraska’s Nash Hutmacher hands a football back to Henry Erikson of Beatrice, 8, and Brent Erikson during football fan day, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, at Hawks Championship Center.
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