Exclusive Tunnel Talk: 6/30/2023
Welcome to the latest edition of HuskerOnline.com’s most popular member feature, Tunnel Talk. Our staff gives you the latest inside information on Nebraska football, basketball, volleyball, and recruiting.
Now, on to the scoop…
Callahan’s weekly nuggets
***We’ve heard much about the timeline with offensive lineman Grant Brix. I know when he returned from his Nebraska official visit, he told people around his school he didn’t plan to decide until later this summer. Today, we do not have an exact timeline.
That said, Brix is now the most important target for this 2024 recruiting class. They still need an edge rusher, but getting at least one big-time offensive tackle is a must. I know that Brix has regularly communicated with NU’s recruiting class members, including TE Carter Nelson and QB Daniel Kaelin. You have to view that as a positive.
***Omaha Central offensive lineman Caleb Pyfrom committed to Illinois on Thursday. I know they were in communication with Nebraska over the last week, and my read is they were told NU did not have any other spots left in their class at his position. They viewed Pyfrom as more of an interior lineman, as he has been measured at 6-foot-4 1/2.
***The dead period runs from June 26 to July 24. From July 25 to July 31, you can technically have unofficial visits on your campus, but not official visitors.
Nebraska coaching staff will be on staff retreat for most of the week, and then players report for Fall Camp on July 30. I was told on Thursday to expect little to no recruiting activity on that last week in July, as the focus at that point will be on getting ready for the start of Fall Camp on July 31. Big Ten Media Days are July 26-27, which will also be two days Matt Rhule will be away from campus during that week.
***We hear a lot of talk about what defensive backs in the class could play other positions. Today NU has seven of them committed. Most think Braylen Prude, with his 6-foot-5 frame, could translate to another position, but today NU sees him as a linebacker.
Roger Gradney is probably the one today who could grow into either a linebacker or even a running back with how his body is built.
***I know on Sunday both Bryan Munson and I felt good about where things sat with wide receiver Ernest Campbell. However, as the shine of the visit weekend wore off, it does not feel like he’ll be a part of the class. The other interesting nugget I heard this weekend was he weighed just 138 pounds on his official visit.
***This June, Nebraska also hosted an undercover 2023 wide receiver visitor. Clayton (N.C.) wide receiver Dazmin James visited campus on an unofficial. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound James was the state champion in North Carolina in both the 100-meter (10.40) and 200-meter (21.06) dash. He was set to go to Iowa Western C.C. due to academics before getting things taken care of in the classroom this spring.
James is now committed to Arkansas, but the Huskers showed enough interest in him to bring him on campus for a visit.
***Speaking of speed, at nearly 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds, wide receiver Quinn Clark ran in the mid-4.4s at Nebraska’s camp, and that was all Rhule needed to see to make the offer.
***When you start to look at Nebraksa’s class size being at 22 today, a big missing piece to the puzzle are the COVID numbers. How many of the 23 juniors in the program listed on scholarship will be back in 2024, which in many cases might be a sixth year for COVID? Today, I count 14 scholarship juniors on the team that 2024 would be their sixth year of college football if they came back.
There are eight listed seniors on the team, and we know at least two players still listed have taken the new coach retirement package. A few players have also gone off scholarship and into a NIL agreement.
***Rhule told us earlier this month that during the dead period, it’s important for his coaching staff to unplug completely and get away for a few weeks. He also wants his players to use this time to lead independently without the coaching staff around every day.
-Sean Callahan
As Sipple sees (and hears) it
***Michael Huffman doesn’t get embarrassed easily. However, he says, his face turned bright red during a Nebraska youth camp recently.
The veteran Bellevue West coach was standing in a long line when he was spotted by CJ Cavazos, the Huskers’ ebullient director of football relations.
“CJ says, ‘No, no, no, the Bellevue West coach doesn’t wait in line! This is royalty!’” recalls Huffman, who also has a buoyant way about him. “There are hundreds of people, and he yells, ‘Y’all want us to win. Bellevue West helps us win.’
“I was getting so embarrassed, and they moved me right up to the front of the line. You don’t send kids there (to Nebraska’s program) because they treat you like that. But, man, it sure does feel nice to be valued.”
“I see Ed Foley these days more than I see my own brother,” Huffman added, referring to Nebraska’s assistant coach who leads the Huskers’ in-state recruiting.
***Huffman knew this past weekend that Nebraska’s coaches were confident the class of 2024 was coming together well. “They didn’t give me any names, but it was like, ‘Man, it’s going great down here,’” he said.
***Huffman is excited about a young Bellevue West receiver, Jermaine Green. The coach has brought up the 6-foot, 180-pound Green in conversation a few times.
The class of 2026 prospect attended one of NU’s camps.
“He didn’t run as well as I would’ve liked,” the coach said. “He did well with his routes and stuff like that. He’s just got to get more physical.”
***Huffman noted that both Dae’vonn Hall and Isaiah McMorris — the Bellevue West wideouts who verbally committed to Nebraska’s class of 2024 last week — will share a corner spot this season in addition to their duties on offense.
“That’s what we do,” Huffman said. “The studs play both ways. Now, it’s not every down. But one of those guys will be on the field (playing defense). They’ll play the weak side that’s locked up a lot because they can do it.”
***Ainsworth four-star standout Carter Nelson is currently in the late stages of physical therapy on a lingering left ankle injury. He doesn’t limp. He played golf on Wednesday. It doesn’t seem like a major issue but qualifies as something to monitor.
***I’ve said it before: Nebraska did an excellent job in locking down Nelson’s verbal commitment this past weekend. I keep saying it because Matt Rhule and his staff had to work hard to get it.
“Coming into his Nebraska (official visit) weekend, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do,” says Jake Nelson, the player’s father and Ainsworth’s head basketball and track coach.
The visit to Lincoln obviously went well on multiple levels.
I’ll have much more on the subject in a Sunday column.
***Jake Nelson came away impressed with what he saw during Carter’s many recruiting stops — both official and unofficial visits — but Jake was especially impressed with SEC country.
“The SEC has it rocking right now,” he said.
In addition to their official visit to Georgia early this month, the Nelsons made spring trips to Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.
There were folks in Ainsworth in recent weeks who thought Georgia was the frontrunner.
“Georgia gets a second tight end commit and they’re calling Carter to tell him, ‘We still have a spot for you,’” says Jessi Owen, Ainsworth’s head football coach.
Rhule, though, closed the deal. Once again, great work.
***Jake Nelson is very impressed by Rhule and his staff’s chemistry.
Again, I’ll have more on that Sunday.
*** Interestingly, Nelson doesn’t play tight end all that much for Ainsworth, which plays eight-man ball.
“We’ll play him at quarterback. We’ll put him at the wing, which would be more of an H-back at the college level — which is really what a lot of colleges were more interested in having him play, is that stand-up wing,” Owen said.
“We’ll put him out wide, and we’ll put his hand in the dirt every now and then.”
Nebraska won’t push the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Nelson into a traditional tight end role until he adds the requisite size and strength.
“He will be split out. He can run a 4.5 40. He can play receiver,” Owen said. “Moving him all over the field, I think, is kind of the plan until he grows to be a little bit bigger.”
***One gets the distinct feeling that Daniel Kaelin already has a strong sense of what it means to be a Nebraska quarterback. He’s an intelligent, savvy kid. He’s followed the program closely. What’s more, the Elite 11 staff makes clear to participants that the position is much more than completing passes and making clean handoffs.
Kaelin, for instance, obviously has played a role in helping Nebraska’s staff put together its class of 2024. Some quarterbacks embrace the peer recruiting part more than others.
“I treat it almost like it’s a part-time job,” he told me a couple weeks ago.
However, he is mindful of keeping his Bellevue West team as his main priority.
Munson’s Musings
*** Dear Tunnel Talk, I can’t believe it’s only been two weeks since our last chat. So much has happened!
I had to lead with that because it’s been a wild couple of weeks. Nebraska went from possibly not getting either of the Bellevue West WRs to getting both, getting the No. 1 player in the state Carter Nelson and ten other commitments to join them!
*** Let’s start with Dae’Vonn Hall and Isaiah McMorris. First, some factors were in play for both of them that helped shepherd them to Nebraska, but hats off to Garret McGuire. McGuire has shown what he might lack in experience, he makes up with in transparency, relatability, and tenacity. He stayed on Hall and McMorris even when it didn’t look good.
Second, you have to give some credit here to Daniel Kaelin. He’s their high school quarterback, but let’s think about what Kaelin is doing beyond that. His star is on the rise, even if it means he’s not a four-star player, yet on On3, he is an Elite 11 finalist. He’s also become that recruiter for the class the Nebraska staff needed.
*** There is little doubt about Kaelin’s role in getting Nelson to come to Nebraska. Nelson was clear that there was a bond between him and Kaelin and that it played a significant role. I also thought it helped Nelson when Kaelin went to the Elite 11 and performed well.
*** The Huskers are on a roll. I can’t think of a time when Nebraska had this many commitments going into the summer. Equally, I am surprised at the number of commits that Nebraska has taken. I felt like it would be a stretch for Nebraska to take 20 based on the senior class and some attrition. Now it feels like the Huskers will get close to 25.
*** The question I have been pondering this week was asked in chat on Tuesday: Biggest what if in Nebraska recruiting? For me, it’s easy: Willis McGahee IV. First, McGahee officially visited UCF on the first weekend in June. He put a lot of folks’ fears to rest when he was talking about his friends on their official visit that same weekend.
But, it’s been very quiet from him recently. He didn’t officially visit Nebraska in June, mainly because he wants to come to a game this fall. But, since things have fallen off between Nebraska and Jacory Barney, or more to the point, things have picked up between Barney and Miami, there have been some noticeable changes with McGahee.
First, he’s not been on much social media at all. This can sometimes be explained, but the last couple of tweets that McGahee did like was about Daniel Kaelin (good sign), a Miami fan saying that the ‘Canes needed to start recruiting Miami, and the same Twitter account retweeting Clinton Portis making a personalized video for a recruit congratulating him for committing to Miami.
It’s not exactly a great picture. What is also not a great picture is Nebraska’s board at linebacker. The Huskers did offer Brayden Platt, and he was trying to get to Nebraska for a visit, so maybe he could visit the last week in July. The only thing Nebraska still has going here is that Platt isn’t planning on announcing a decision until September.
*** A source told me that it’s 100% a fact that Nebraska and Texas Tech are watching and talking to one another about recruiting. You can see it in the offers. One of the big reasons why this source said this was James Blanchard.
Blanchard worked for Matt Rhule at both Baylor and Carolina. McGuire hired Blanchard while he was on his second tour of being Baylor’s Assistant Athletics Director for Scouting. Blanchard has been recognized as one of the reasons Tech has been doing well in recruiting the past couple of years and was a top rising personnel and recruiting staffer in college football, according to On3 in August of last year.
*** I told some folks on the board that I was saving some comments about Michael Burt until Tunnel Talk, which was over a week away. Sorry, this is the best place to pass along this type of info. From someone I spoke with about Burt, things were over after he visited Iowa. Burt liked how Iowa was recruiting him, how they treated him, and how they wanted him. There was a need still to see what Nebraska was all about, but it was all but over after Burt wrapped up the Iowa official visit.
*** Similarly, before I put in my prediction for Caleb Pyfrom to Illinois, I heard from another source that Nebraska was full. I assume that this meant Nebraska liked Pyfrom was being looked at as an IOL. The good news is that Pyfrom had some very good options to take advantage of.
*** Things moved very quickly for Carlon Jones and Nebraska. I spoke with him on Wednesday night, and he was thinking about a July 1st commitment date. To go from that mindset on June 28th to committing to Nebraska on June 29th is quite a change. I just feel that Nebraska is going down the list and wants to check the box on as many things as possible before they get into July. They can do that now with DT.
*** One of the biggest questions I have about Nebraska is Edge. Joseph Anderson committed to Iowa, and while the Huskers are still in the Jacob Smith sweepstakes, he’s more of a Jack LB that could move between the two positions. The Huskers will finally host Devoux Tuataga, who plans to visit Nebraska during the one week in July. He planned to come to Lincoln for the weekend of the 23rd but couldn’t because of team camp. This may be Nebraska’s best bet at Edge at the moment. He also plans to visit Oregon State, Oregon, Cal and BYU.
*** I know my prediction for Grant Brix may have surprised some, but I have reasons. Brix is very similar to Massey, who holds his cards close to his vest. There was a time in May when Brix was completely unreachable. He wouldn’t return calls or texts. Recruiting was busy and took much more time than he ever imagined. I get the feeling, though, since visiting Nebraska, that he has a pretty good idea of where he’s going. Also, there was supposedly someone that Carter Nelson was texting with around the time of his commitment announcement. Brix and Nelson know one another, and Brix told me he was communicating with Nelson on Wednesday. My prediction is based on more than that, but that’s what I feel is fair to print right now.
*** While I think things have improved for one of Nebraska’s most recent official visitors, there is another where things have gotten worse. I called Ernest Campbell the other night to see if he knew when he might be committing. His voice had completely changed from when he told me that the visit to Nebraska was an 11. I was penciling Campbell into the class after that interview, but after catching up with him earlier this week, I would find it very hard to see Campbell committing to Nebraska.
*** I want to close out this week by saying that June has been very eye-opening. Matt Rhule looks differently at the players he’s adding to his roster. He wants recruits that want to play for Nebraska. There is a perception about a player that visits Nebraska, leaves, then camps, or visits another school and how that looks to Nebraska. The Huskers want visitors to come to Lincoln because they believe that Nebraska is the right place; they get sold on the visit and commit.
There will be several names that I think at the end of the recruiting cycle we could put into that bucket of waiting too long, looking around too much, wanting something else more, and any other scenario that meant the opportunity at Nebraska wasn’t exactly right then. How do you establish the value of an offer? You commit and take a spot in the class. Nebraska wants to increase the value of those opportunities and not allow recruits to keep shopping around after they get an offer at summer camp or visit and leave Lincoln to look for something better.
-Bryan Munson
Washut’s Nebrasketball news & notes
***Nebraska’s search to fill its two remaining scholarships continues. There was some talk earlier this week that the Huskers “may” get a visit from Iowa/West Virginia point guard Joe Toussaint.
From what I’ve heard, there are a lot of layers – like other schools that have already locked in visits – for that to go through.
***On the topic of Nebraska’s recruiting, the Huskers are obviously still actively looking to fill those two spots. But they are in no rush.
Grad transfers can pop up all summer. Just wait until guys graduate after the second five-week summer session and then hit the portal as immediately eligible.
Even with the Spain trip looming, there really is no deadline to add a player until the start of the fall semester. They’d ideally like to have one or both filled by July, but they’re not going to force the issue.
***I’ve gotten some early reports on how some Nebraska players have looked so far during summer workouts.
One guy who has immediately stood out is Bradley transfer big man Rienk Mast.
For one, he’s already established himself as one of the team’s top vocal leaders. When he met with the media for the first time last week, he had trouble talking because he “screamed my lungs out in practice” the day before.
On the court, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound senior has also set the tone daily with his motor. His perimeter shooting has been everything Nebraska’s staff had hoped, and he’s shown surprising agility with and without the ball.
Mast still isn’t the level of passer Derrick Walker was – few bigs are – but he’s shown to be a willing distributor. He said he’d studied a lot of Walker’s film from last season to see what types of passes he had the most success in NU’s offense.
***I’ve also heard rave reviews about Jamarques Lawrence.
The sophomore guard made a significant jump in his development after being thrown into the fire late last year as a true freshman. It sounds like he hasn’t slowed down much this offseason.
Someone who has observed workouts told me Lawrence was “really looking good” right now. It’s been clear that he’s put in a ton of work over the past few months.
Some players go through a sophomore slump, and some take their game to the next level from Year 1 to Year 2. He’s not there yet, but it seems like Lawrence is well on his way toward being the latter.
***Another newcomer who’s opened some eyes early on is Iowa transfer point guard Ahron Ulis.
He’s not the flashiest player by any stretch, but Ulis’s experience and veteran savvy have stood out during workouts. In particular, it’s been his “calmness” in bringing the ball up and initiating the offense that’s impressed.
If you remember, one thing Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg loved about Sam Griesel last season was how he didn’t get “sped up” against defensive pressure. Ulis has shown a lot of that same quality so far.
***Nebraska hasn’t wasted any time building cohesiveness and continuity with its 2023-24 roster. Just like last year, the Huskers have already held several team and player-organized outings to help with bonding.
They’ve taken boxing classes, gone rock wall climbing, paintballing, and even took a team trip to Omaha for the College World Series. That’s in addition to the numerous hangouts at the Hoiberg house, mainly organized by walk-on guard Sam Hoiberg.
By the time Nebraska returns from Spain, familiarity shouldn’t be much of an issue for this group going into the season.
***I still haven’t seen true freshman Eli Rice in person, but early reviews from his teammates align with what I’ve heard about him since his recruitment began.
For one, he’s a young player that Hoiberg is very high on. The former IMG (Florida) Academy product measured in at over 6-8 when he arrived in Lincoln.
He’s also shown quiet confidence. C.J. Wilcher said Rice’s personality reminded him of Lawrence a year ago. Lawrence agreed.
“Eli’s very mature for his age,” Wilcher said. “He kind of reminds me of how Jamarques was – kind of quiet until they get comfortable.”
There’s probably a good chance Rice redshirts this year, but the Huskers are excited about his potential.
***Speaking of redshirts, Ramel Lloyd Jr. seems to have filled out over the past year after sitting out 2022-23. Not in the sense that he’s added a bunch of weight, but more that he’s leaned up and put on noticeable muscle.
I still think Lloyd is toward the end of Nebraska’s rotation right now, but he will have a chance to work his way up.
***Regarding Nebraska’s 2023-24 non-conference schedule, it’s pretty much 99.9% completed. The Huskers are still waiting on a couple of signed contracts for it’s officially finished, but that should happen within the next week or so.
We already know 10 of NU’s 11 non-con opponents. I confirmed a couple of weeks ago that the remaining unknown will be a mid-major team at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Nov. 26.
I’ve heard some rumblings since that it might be Cal State Fullerton, but nothing official on that front.
So, here’s the schedule right now:
Monday, Nov. 6 – vs. Lindenwood
Thursday, Nov. 9 – vs. Florida A&M
Nebraska MTE
Nov. TBA – vs. Stony Brook
Monday, Nov. 13 – vs. Rider
Nov. TBA – vs. Duquesne
Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Saturday, Nov. 18 – vs. Oregon State
Sunday, Nov. 26 – Opponent TBA (Cal State Fullerton?)
Sunday, Dec. 3 – vs. Creighton
Sunday, Dec. 17 – at Kansas State
Wednesday, Dec. 20 – vs. North Dakota
Friday, Dec. 29 – vs. South Carolina State
-Robin Washut
Abby’s assists
***Nebraska volleyball added three players to its 2025 class within four days of being able to contact the class. Setter Campbell Flynn was the first to commit on June 16, one official day into the recruiting period. Libero/defensive specialist Keri Leimbach was next, followed by outside hitter Teraya Sigler.
Although there haven’t been more commitments recently, I think the Huskers are still on the hunt for an opposite hitter.
6-foot-3 opposite/outside Abigail Mullen from Liberty High School in Kansas City, Mo. is at the top of this list. Nebraska has had its eye on Mullen for several years. The 2024 No. 1 player was on the 2022 Girls U19 Pan American Cup team that won Gold last summer.
Opposite Ryan Hunter from Charlotte, North Carolina is another player to watch. The Mallard Creek junior is the No. 11 overall 2025 prospect and the No. 2 opposite hitter in the class.
Based on their current scholarship numbers, the Huskers will have one true opposite hitter on the roster in 2025. Caroline Jurevicius, a current freshman, will be the only opposite on the roster. However, it is possible that Nebraska has another player on their roster that could play on the right pin.
With the addition of three commits, I included a table of Nebraska’s scholarship numbers from 2023 to 2025. College volleyball teams have a maximum of 12 scholarships per season. Since the Huskers don’t have any seniors this season, they will be over by three scholarships in 2024.
After this season, there will have to be some shuffling of the roster, whether that’s players leaving the program or losing their scholarship. With NIL now, it’s possible to put a player on “a NIL scholarship” by finding another way to play for their scholarship. However, it’s a risk as some players might feel uncomfortable with the situation.
Because the 2024 roster will have to be adjusted, it will impact the 2025 numbers. Right now, the Huskers have 13 players on scholarship in 2025 but that will change depending on what scholarships are changed for the 2024 season.
PlayerClassPositionScholarshipSeason# on ScholarshipLexi Rodriguez2021LYes202312Kennedi Orr2021SYes202415Lindsay Krause2021OHYes202513Ally Batenhorst2021OHYesMerritt Beason2021OPPYesBekka Allick2022MBYesHayden Kubik2022OHYesMaggie Mendelson2022MBNo (Basketball)Maisie Boesiger2022DSNo (walk-on)Harper Murray2023OHYesBergen Reilly2023SYesLaney Choboy2023L/DSYesAndi Jackson2023MBYesCaroline Jurevicius2023OPPYesAyden Ames2024MBYesSkyler Pierce2024OHYesOlivia Mauch2024L/DSYesCampbell Flynn2025SYesKeri Leimbach2025L/DSYesTeraya Sigler2025OHYes
***The 2023 volleyball National Championship match will be broadcasted on ABC on Sunday, December 17. The match was moved from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. CT. The Final Four is in Tampa, Florida this season after being in Omaha, Neb. last season.
The national broadcast will help grow the sport and its reach. The Final Four matches will be on Thursday, Dec. 14 on ESPN.
Although the national championship match is on a Sunday afternoon, it is still a big step for volleyball. There is a lot of competition for sports on national networks during the fall.
***Nebraska’s Dream Team camp is next weekend on July 8-9. The Huskers will have some of the top prospects in various classes but will keep a close eye on the 2026 players. Colleges won’t be able to contact the class of 2026 players until next summer but they are always on the lookout.
There were a few 2026 players that impressed at last year’s Dream Team Camp. Ann Arbor, Michigan outside hitter Gabby DiVita and Houston, Texas outside hitter Halle Thompson were two that seemed to catch the eye of the Husker coaches.
DiVita plays club for Legacy, which is the same club that Husker freshman Harper Murray played for.
DiVita and Thompson are both PrepVolleyball.com’s Class of 2026 watchlist.
During the camp, there is one court that has the top players and a few others with younger players who are local or weren’t invited to the camp.
Middle blocker Reese Resmer caught the eye of Nebraska’s coaches and she was moved from another court to the top court. The 6-foot-0 middle is a three-time AAU Open National Champion with the Boiler Juniors volleyball club.
The dual sport athlete is also the Hamilton County Shot Put Champion.
There are several players from the state of Nebraska that are on PrepVolleyball.com’s Class of 2026’s watchlist. 5-foot-10 outside hitter Addison West from Omaha Skutt Catholic is the only Omaha-Lincoln area player on the list. Winside 5-foot-7 outside hitter Anslee Watters and Malcolm outside hitter Halle Dolliver represent the rest of the state.
HuskerOnline will have full coverage of the Huskers’ Dream Team Camp next weekend, including players that impress.
-Abby Barmore
Behind the dish
***Throughout the rest of the summer, I’ll be doing these summer baseball stat updates. Like last time, I’ll note a few standouts and have a complete table available below.
–Brett Sears is still on fire. Somehow in the last two weeks he managed to LOWER his ERA from 0.60 to 0.43. He has allowed one earned run in 21 innings of work and maintains a 26-3 strikeout-walk ratio. If this holds into the fall, it’s hard to describe how big of a development this is. Nebraska could go from having no clear-cut starters to having a true ace.
Only problem is that he is right handed. I’ve been told the Huskers hope to have a lefty start on Fridays.
-How about Drew Christo and Will Rizzo. Christo has a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings and has managed to work around 13 issued walks. Rizzo is another interesting piece in that a week ago the Alaska Baseball League website showed he had an ERA in the neighborhood of 45 after a disastrous first appearance.
Now it seems that was a misprint. Updated numbers show three saves and no earned runs allowed in six innings. Obviously, that’s also a good sign.
-Not all news is good news. There are a few Huskers who have struggled mightily out of the gates. Josh Caron is one of them. After having a great summer in the Northwoods League a year ago, the Husker catcher is off to a .130 start at the dish. Garrett Anglim has cooled off of late, too. His batting average is well below the .438 mark from two weeks ago.
Full List
PlayerTeamLeagueStatsGarrett AnglimWilson TobsCoastal Plain League.255 BA, 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBIAustin BerggrenWalnut Creek CrawdadsCalifornia Collegiate League4.50 ERA 12.0 IP, 6 ER, 13 H, 13 KJackson BrockettWilson TobsCoastal Plain League7.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 13 H, 7 ER, 6 KDylan CareyTraverse City Pit SpittersNorthwoods League.222 BA, 12 H, 2 2B, 8 RBIJosh CaronHigh Point-Thomasville HiTomsCoastal Plain League.130 BA, 2B, HR, 3 RBIDrew ChristoMatsu MinersAlaska Baseball League1.50 ERA, 12.0 IP, 4 H, 11 K, 13 BBCaleb ClarkWilson TobsCoastal Plain League2.25 ERA, 8.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 11 K, 4 BBBen ColumbusBrazos Valley BombersTexas Collegiate League.278 BA, 6 2B, HR, 12 BB, 8 RBIJC GutierrezLa Crosse LoggersNorthwoods League11.05 ERA, 7.1 IP, 9 ER, 9 H, 5 K, 4 BBZach JohnsonTraverse City Pit SpittersNorthwoods League.164 BA, 10 H, 5 RBISam NovotnyHutchinson MonarchsSunflower Collegiate League6.43 ERA, 7 IP, 5 ER 9 H, 5 KWill RizzoMatsu MinersAlaska Baseball League0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 6 K, 8 BBBrett SearsRockford RivetsNorthwoods League0.43 ERA, 21 IP, 1 ER 7 H, 26 K, 3 BBGabe SwansenWillmar StingersNorthwoods League.340 BA, 3 2B, 2 HR, 14 RBI Will WalshMorehead City MarlinsCoastal Plain League6.30 ERA, 10.0 IP, 7 ER, 11 H, 4 K
Batting: 4-for-9, 2B, 3 RBIJalen WorthleyLa Crosse LoggersNorthwoods League6.87 ERA, 18.1 IP, 14 ER, 16 K, 8 BBDaniel YoungNormal CornbeltersProspect League.222 BA, 2B, 3B, HR, 7 RBIMax Buettenback*Hutchinson MonarchsSunflower Collegiate League.348 BA, 16 H, 4 2B, HR, 11 RBIMatt Evans*Great Lakes Canadians – 18U—.369 BA, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 22 RBIRyan Harrahill*TBDMLB Draft League10.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 10 ER, 14 H, 4 K, 2 BBCarson Jasa*Fremont MooIndependence League Baseball Association3.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 H, 9 K, 9 BBCase Sanderson*Normal CornbeltersProspect League.333 BA, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 14 RBITucker Timmerman*Hutchinson MonarchsSunflower Collegiate LeagueN/A
***ICYMI: Spencer Schwellenbach was selected to the 2023 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game by Major League Baseball. The former All-American is the fourth Husker to be picked for the event joining Alex Gordon, Jamal Strong, Joba Chamberlain. Schwellenbach, a member of the Atlanta Braves Single-A Augusta squad, owns a 2.76 ERA in 12 starts with a 3-2 record.
Fans can watch the contest on July 8 on the MLB Network at 6 p.m. CT.
***Time to give another update on where things stand roster wise. Here is my latest summary.
Incoming freshmen: 12
Transfers (JUCO/Division-I): 12
Returners: 24
Total: 48
There’s roughly a margin of error of about two there between potential guys who are no longer coming or potentially don’t decide to return for an additional year. Nebraska had a visitor on campus as recently as last week (a pitcher) so they’re still pursuing talent.
***One recent change to the Huskers’ incoming freshman class is that it no longer appears Chicago native Jaden Correa will be coming to Lincoln this fall. He recently updated his Twitter bio to reflect his new collegiate destination is John A. Logan Community College.
***With that change in mind, it’s time for me to take another stab at projecting Nebraska’s lineup and batting order for next season. Here we go…
Cayden Brumbaugh (R, SS)Dylan Carey (R, 3B)Gabe Swansen (R, LF)Tyler Stone (L, 1B)Clay Bradford (L, CF)Ben Columbus (L, C)Rhett Stokes (R, 2B)Garrett Anglim/Josh Caron (R, DH)Cole Evans (R, RF)
With Correa’s departure I think the most obvious move for Brumbaugh is to shortstop where he likely would have played this year had he not been injured. Carey is also a candidate for that role and is a shortstop in the Northwoods League.
There may be a bit of recency bias with my selections of Bradford and Stone. But, I get the sense each was brought in for immediate impact and the former is fairly confident in his defensive abilities. With Burnham’s graduation, the Huskers need a new center fielder.
Lastly, Anglim and Caron have struggled mightily of late. Hard to put them very high in the lineup given how their seasons ended and current level of play in summer league.
-Grant Hansen
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