D1Baseball: 2024 Big Ten Preview
Projected Order of Finish
1. Iowa
2. Indiana
3. Rutgers
4. Maryland
5. Nebraska
6. Michigan
7. Minnesota
8. Ohio State
9. Penn State
10. Illinois
11. Purdue
12. Michigan State
13. Northwestern
Projected NCAA Regional Teams (2)
Iowa
Indiana
Keep an Eye On
Rutgers
Maryland
Nebraska
Michigan
Minnesota
Ohio State
The Rest of the Pack
Penn State
Illinois
Purdue
Michigan State
Northwestern
Preseason Player of the Year
Devin Taylor, Indiana (OF)
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Brody Brecht, Iowa (RHP)
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Andrew Wiggins, Indiana (OF)
Top Prospects 2024 Draft
1. Brody Brecht, Iowa (RHP)
2. Carter Mathison, Indiana (OF)
3. Cade Obermueller, Iowa (LHP)
4. Marcus Morgan, Iowa (RHP)
5. Brock Tibbitts, Indiana (C/1B)
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8. Dylan Carey, Nebraska (SS)
18. Josh Caron, Nebraska (C)
21. Gabe Swansen, Nebraska (OF)
22. Drew Christo, Nebraska (RHP)
37. Riley Silva, Nebraska (OF)
Top Prospects 2025 Draft
1. Devin Taylor, Indiana (LF)
2. Mitch Voit, Michigan (1B/RHP)
3. Christian Coppola, Rutgers (RHP)
4. Kyle McCoy, Maryland (RHP)
5. AJ Shepard, Indiana (C/DH)
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14. Caleb Clark, Nebraska (LHP)
Impact Freshmen
1. Andrew Wiggins, Indiana (OF)
2. Chris Hacopian, Maryland (3B)
3. Dylan Vigue, Michigan (RHP)
4. Jordan Crosland, Maryland (OF)
5. Brayden Martin, Maryland (OF)
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12. Tucker Timmerman, Nebraska (RHP)
15. Case Sanderson, Nebraska (IF)
19. Ryan Harrahill, Nebraska (RHP)
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NEBRASKA
Head Coach: Will Bolt
2023 Record: 33-23-1 (15-9)
Strengths
Nebraska's offense is usually the strength of this program and that should be no different in 2024. They lost some big bats but are confident a new-look offense led by Dylan Carey and Gabe Swansen will remain productive.
Weaknesses
There is plenty of depth on the pitching staff, but there is a lack of clear-cut, experienced candidates to start on weekends. Live-armed righthander Drew Christo is in line to serve as the staff ace but only has 22 innings under his belt in two years of college play.
Star Power
Carey showed a lot of promise during his first year in college, playing the hot corner with established college stars Brice Matthews and Max Anderson holding down shortstop and second base, respectively. With those positions vacated, Carey will move over to short and displayed a lot more power over the summer and fall months after showing a mostly line drive approach while hitting .275 with four homers as a freshman.
Glue Guy
Two-way contributor Will Walsh has an especially important role on the pitching staff, holding down a weekend starting role on a team that is lacking in innings and proven experience. He also has a sweet lefthanded swing providing valuable depth off the bench. Fellow lefthander Kyle Perry began his college career at Nebraska in 2019 and has experience pitching in a variety of roles and situations. Outfielder Garrett Anglim returns for his fourth season with the program and led the team in batting (.303) in 2022.
Pick to Click
Christo. A talented recruit that didn't quite adjust as well as hoped in his first two years with the Huskers, Christo has taken a big step forward in the command department and his success will have a lot to do with just how good Nebraska is in 2024. A 6-foot-4, 230-pound righthander, Christo throws 92-95 with a sharp slider and a changeup.
Top Newcomer
There's no shortage of candidates here, but Riley Silva will be thrust into a significant role. Silva batted .368 with 17 extra-base hits and 44 stolen bases at the JUCO level last year as he and second baseman Caden Brumbaugh, who missed the 2023 season due to injury, will be tasked with creating havoc at the top of the order in a variety of ways.
2024 Outlook
Nebraska lost some significant star power from last year's team, a squad that gave Maryland everything it could handle in the Big Ten Tournament. There is depth with options both offensively and from a pitching perspective and the coaching staff expects key developments to occur during the season as newcomers find their way. Because of that, there's a lot of volatility in this team's expected results but the talent is there for the Huskers to be one of the Big Ten's best.
From the Fall Report:
Will Bolt led the Nebraska baseball team to a 33-23-1 record during his fourth season at the helm of the Nebraska baseball program, which included a strong 15-9 mark in conference play. Bolt and his staff scheduled aggressively early in the season, which included a troubling 0-3-1 start to the season at the hands of the San Diego Toreros. The Huskers quickly righted the ship, going 3-0 at South Alabama during the second weekend and beginning a 2-1 weekend at US Bank Stadium as part of the Cambria College Classic with an impressive 5-3 win against Vanderbilt.
Nebraska also won six of their eight Big Ten series with sweeps against Northwestern and Penn State. They also showed plenty of spirit during the Big Ten Tournament, opening the tournament in front of their hometown fans at Charles Schwab Field in nearby Omaha with a win over Rutgers. They took top-seeded Maryland to the 10th inning before getting walked off by a Nick Lorusso blast and eliminated a spirited Michigan State squad before losing once again to Maryland again in the tournament semifinals.
With an RPI of 100 and no automatic bid, the Huskers not surprisingly were not invited to participate in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
