Nebraska Softball Lands 3 on Big Ten Players to Watch List

The Big Ten Conference revealed its preseason list of 51 players to watch this season with three Huskers making the cut.

Jordy Bahl, Ava Kuszak, and Olivia DiNardo were all recognized per the conference announcement on Tuesday.

Bahl has received several accolades ahead of the 2025 season, ranking No. 2 on D1 Softball’s Top 100 Players to Watch and No. 2 on the list of top pitchers. She also earned D1 Softball Preseason First-Team All-American honors, along with a Softball America Preseason First-Team All-American selection.

Additionally, she was ranked No. 9 on Softball America’s Top 100 Players to Watch and named to USA Softball’s Top 53 Watchlist.

A native of Papillion, Neb., Bahl’s 2024 season was cut short due to a season-ending injury in Nebraska’s first game.

Before transferring, she was a standout at Oklahoma, where she was a two-time NFCA First-Team All-American, two-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, and the 2022 National Freshman of the Year.

DiNardo, a catcher, earned multiple honors during her two seasons at Arizona. She was named to the NFCA All-West Region Second Team in 2023 and the Third Team in 2024, while also receiving Second-Team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Freshman Team recognition in 2023.

Across 102 starts with the Wildcats, she posted a .340 batting average with 15 doubles, 20 home runs, and 74 RBIs.

Kuszak received Second-Team All-Big Ten recognition and Third-Team NFCA All-Great Lakes Region honors in 2024. Over two seasons at Wisconsin, the shortstop appeared in 76 games, making 65 starts, and recorded a .278 batting average with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, and 33 RBIs.

The 19th-ranked Huskers kick off their season on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m. (CT) against No. 6 Tennessee at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla.

Fans can stream the game for free on GameChanger or listen live on the Huskers Radio Network at no cost.

MORE: Volleyball State: Former Nebraska Volleyball Coach John Cook

MORE: Carriker Chronicles: Grant Wistrom on John Butler’s Defense & More

MORE: Nebraska Volleyball to Face Kentucky in Nashville

Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski Named to Women’s College All-Star Game Watch List

MORE: Nebraska Basketball’s Brice Williams Earns Multiple National-Player-of-the-Week Honors

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.