Exclusive Tunnel Talk: 7/14/2023
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
***There was a lot of interest in Daniel Kaelin and the Elite 11 and what type of rating bump he might receive. When it was all said and done, Kaelin did not get a boost from his showing at the Elite 11.
Why is that? I tried to get more from the On3 ratings team on what went into keeping Kaelin where he was in the rankings. Remember, he’s still an Industry four-star and a high three-star quarterback overall by everyone else.
“With Kaelin, he was honestly back of the pack for us at Elite 11. So for us, just making (the Elite 11) or being in the counselor’s group doesn’t weigh a ton. The biggest thing will be senior seasons for all those guys.”
I know this is not the answer Husker fans wanted to hear, but I am just shooting you straight. Also, a year ago, I think many locally thought Zane Flores was probably a better QB than Kaelin going into his senior season, and Flores never touched four-star status. Today, Kaelin is 89.14, and Flores finished out at 88.78 in the Industry Rankings.
***One player we mistakenly left out of our tight end/fullback camp preview was Luke Lindenmeyer. We didn’t see Lindenmeyer play in the spring game due to being in concussion protocol. Before that, he had seen work with the top units all springs. He’s for sure a name to watch.
***A few weeks ago, we reported in Tunnel Talk that Jason Maciejczak went from offensive line to defensive line this summer. I also have been told Mason Goldman has made the move over to the defensive line as well.
That means NU has seven true freshmen on scholarship listed as defensive linemen and edge players. It also makes you feel a little better about the low numbers at those spots in the 2024 recruiting class, as they stockpiled there quite a bit in 2023.
This, too, will allow Nebraska to take an extra offensive lineman, possibly in this class, if it can land both Grant Brix and Preston Taumua.
***We still have not seen Nebraska do an official roster update. A few players on the Huskers.com roster are no longer with the team. By not removing them from the roster, they have done a good job of protecting guys that have taken the early retirement package. It will be a non-story by the time it happens in late July or early August, as all the focus will be on fall camp.
***Just seven players remain on the roster from Nebraska’s 2020 recruiting class and 12 from the class of 2021. Seven of the 18 high school recruits NU signed in 2022 are no longer on the official roster. I believe there could be another defection from that 2022 class we also don’t know about. That means the current roster has around 28 high school recruits left from the previous three cycles when you remove the eventual two more defections.
***Running back Nate Frazier named Nebraska in his final eight schools. The hope/plan continues to be to get Frazier back to Lincoln for one of the early home games on an official visit.
-Sean Callahan
As Sipple sees (and hears) it
***Nick Henrich is ready for dorm life.
“You’re going to be around your boys all day,” he told me Wednesday. “I definitely wish I was sleeping in my own bed, but I think it’ll be a lot of fun.”
First-year Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule told HuskerOnline in early June that he plans to house his entire 110-man fall camp roster in the Selleck Quadrangle Dorm on NU’s main campus just steps away from the student union.
Players and all the assistants will spend the first 12 days (or so) of the camp in the dorm, Rhule said.
Bring it on, Henrich said.
“I think it’s going to allow us to be so tight and close as a team and just continue to bond even more than we have so far,” he said. Henrich is eying a full return from a knee injury that sidelined him for the final five games of last season as well as all of spring ball.
Two weeks ago, he was cleared by the team medical staff to practice full go.
“I’ve been sprinting and cutting for a while,” he said. “But it’s been gradual. It’s about an eight-month process, which is a long time.”
Henrich is among a group of inside linebackers that also includes Luke Reimer, John Bullock, MJ Sherman, and Garrett Snodgrass, although new Husker defensive coordinator Tony White likes to shift players to multiple positions.
It’s not as easy now to pinpoint who’ll be where.
***Along those lines, Henrich has worked diligently to learn White’s 3-3-5 system.
“It’s definitely a different philosophy and different style,” said the Omaha Burke graduate, noting he had to learn the defense in the spring while sitting out of practice. “I was preparing like I was playing, just doing what I teach the young guys. That’s kind of helped me learn it.”
I hesitated to ask Henrich what he liked most about White’s system. I’m sure he gets asked the question all the time.
“I’d just say it gives you a lot of freedom to really play fast and just find the football – which is great,” he said. “It allows you to keep athletes on the field and allows a good swarm. It really comes down to the ability to let loose.”
Nebraska players report to preseason camp on July 30.
“Camp’s going to be huge for us again,” Henrich said. “You can never get enough reps before the season. It’s important to bank more reps and just get used to the philosophy and the style of the defense.
“We’ll be ready to roll.”
***Reimer, by the way, is poised to reach an exalted status in Nebraska football history.
With 245 career tackles as a Husker, he’s highly likely to move past Mike Brown into third place on the school’s all-time tackle chart. Brown, a hard-hitting defensive back from 1996 to 1999, finished with 287 career stops.
In fact, Reimer has a chance to move past Jerry Murtaugh (1968 to 1970) into the No. 2 slot, as Murtaugh finished his time at NU with 342 stops.
Barrett Ruud is the school’s all-time leader with 432 tackles.
Keep in mind, Reimer had 108 stops in 2021 before making a team-leading 86 last year, even though he missed two games due to injury.
No wonder he’s one of the three Nebraska players who’ll be on hand for Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis.
***Granted, Reimer has racked up his tackle total in four seasons (including 40 during the 2020 Covid campaign). But he had only 11 stops as a freshman.
Bottom line, he’s been a consistent force. He was Nebraska’s best defensive player last season because of his sideline-to-sideline playmaking ability.
***Many folks seemed surprised earlier this week when it was announced that veteran offensive guard Ethan Piper would be one of Nebraska’s player representatives in Indianapolis. It made sense to me in the context of a mature move Piper made last October.
Nebraska’s offensive line had just come off an extremely poor performance against Rutgers. It had been only so-so up to that point. Nevertheless, Piper was among a handful of players who materialized for the team’s weekly media luncheon the Tuesday following the Rutgers contest.
It couldn’t have been easy for him, as the O-line was drawing heavy criticism from fans and the media.
“I’ve always thought that, especially being a Nebraska fan, it’s good to share what’s going on here and help people know the culture,” said Piper, a Norfolk Catholic graduate in his fifth year in the program.
Yes, that’s maturity.
***All-time Oklahoma quarterback great Charles Thompson plays host to a sports radio talk show in Oklahoma City (105.3 FM). Yours truly appeared on the show with Charles this week, and I wondered how much he would say about Nebraska, considering his son, Casey Thompson, was the Huskers’ starting QB last season.
Charles Thompson didn’t share much insight on NU. He’s a savvy veteran. However, at one point, he did mention that Nebraska’s offensive line “had trouble moving their feet.”
He might have had that Rutgers game in mind, when his son endured quite a beating.
***I’ll write next week about exactly what Northwestern needs in its next head coach. For now, I’ll just say scratch Paul Chryst. He did an excellent job at Wisconsin, but he is the type of coach who wants to concentrate mostly on X’s and O’s and out-scheming foes. He isn’t particularly fond of the headaches in modern-day coaching (NIL, transfer portal, etc.).
The next Northwestern coach will have to go through the rigmarole of trying to restore some semblance of order in the program while also dealing with a lot of people within the university community who don’t care much at all for football (or sports in general).
Sounds like a wonderful job.
Also, scratch Ed Orgeron. Oh, he’s proven he can win at a high level. But it would be a terrible cultural fit for a program with virtually no chance of competing for a national crown.
Would Orgeron even want the job?
-Steven Sipple
Munson’s Musings
***Things have been fairly quiet for Nebraska recruiting. The Huskers haven’t picked up a commitment since July 1. They could pick up a couple of commitments in the coming weeks beginning this Sunday in Hawaii.
***Preston Taumua is set to announce his commitment on July 16. The event has a local time of 5:00 to 10:00, so 10:00 CT in Lincoln is when the news could first break. It seems that he will be announcing things over his Instagram, and we will be on to cover the news.
Taumua announced on July 7 that he was down to five teams: Nebraska, Oregon, USC, Arizona, and Alabama. Taumua took official visits to Nebraska, Oregon, and Arizona and an unofficial visit to USC.
Things began to trend with Taumua to NU a couple of weeks ago. At that time, the On3 RPM was leaning toward Oregon and Auburn. I have been told privately that it’s really been a race between Auburn and Nebraska. I put in my prediction for Taumua to Nebraska on July 7.
***Taumua could fill a big need in the class at OT, but I think Nebraska is still interested in adding another like Grant Brix to the class to get a full complement of offensive linemen. Brix, from Loyola-Magnolia (Iowa), doesn’t have a timetable for his decision.
At the beginning of July, Brix was very transparent about his process. He was ready to put the travel and the stresses behind him, get back to FAA, show some animals, and enjoy his summer. Who can blame him?
I think that things changed for Brix once Notre Dame offered. He went from being a regional recruit to being a national guy. The phone has been ringing constantly for him ever since.
During our conversation at the beginning of July, Brix indicated that four schools stood out: Nebraska, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Alabama. Through some other sources, I have put together in my mind that Nebraska and Oklahoma are on top.
If you have been paying attention to Oklahoma, things are not well in Soonerville with their offensive line coach. They have hosted double-digit offensive line recruits for official visits and have only one commitment.
And while it may indicate the overall class and not necessarily Brix, the Sooners have offered a couple of new offensive line targets as recently as this week. There is still the strong desire by people around Brix for him to stay closer to home, which also gives Nebraska an edge to me. I put in my prediction for Brix to Nebraska on June 29, and while this has already had some hangtime, it could have several weeks more to add to it before Brix announces his decision.
***In a perfect world, Nebraska would nab both Taumua and Brix and be done on the offensive line. But, the class would still have some gaps, and it seems that Nebraska may be interested in grabbing at least one other recruit whose position group isn’t necessarily a need.
The Huskers need a pass rusher, and one of Nebraska’s top targets, Jacob Smith, announced yesterday that he was headed to Ann Arbor with his brother. Smith was very serious about Nebraska, but with his twin brother at Michigan, I am sure it would complicate things for their family.
The delay in Smith’s announcement and my comment that it wouldn’t change the outcome (of Smith choosing Michigan) was pretty evident if you knew what you were looking for. Smith has tried to add as much suspense and doubt with his final teams, but when he set an announcement date and was working with a service, the secret got out quickly. I take it that he wasn’t too happy about it not being a surprise and would push back the date.
The other options for Nebraska to grab a pass rusher are Devoux Tuataga from Eagle Mountain (Utah) Cedar Valley and possibly Jayshawn Ross from Kansas City (Mo.) Liberty North. First, let’s talk about Tuataga. He’s more of an Edge. At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, he has some great length and athleticism.
Tuataga has been set to visit Nebraska but has had to cancel and reschedule. As I see it, the issue with that is that Tuataga was planning on taking an official visit to Lincoln in June and will now be in Lincoln on the last Friday of July on an unofficial visit.
Ross has visited NU twice before, the most recent being in June with his high school teammate and Husker commitment, Keelan Smith. Smith has been working to get Ross more interested in Nebraska, but Ross was very high on Oklahoma at the time.
Things have changed between Ross and Oklahoma. Some say the two have gone their separate ways, which might open the door here for Nebraska. A good indicator would be if Ross officially visits NU in September.
Another possibility to grab a spot in the class is Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep cornerback Amare Sanders. Sanders took an official visit to Nebraska on June 2, and then things went pretty quiet. He was closely linked with Jacory Barney, who visited Lincoln with Sanders, but Barney took other official visits in June.
I caught up with Sanders, and he said that he planned to make a decision before the start of his season, which I take as before the start of fall camp (so in the next couple of weeks). I asked him if Nebraska was a school he was considering, and he said, “Nebraska is in the picture,” and declined to name any other schools he was considering.
Another source gave me the heads up that they thought Amare was “All N” and that he should be announcing for Nebraska around the end of July or early August. This source hasn’t been wrong for me before. I put in a prediction for Sanders to Nebraska on July 11.
Several names after Taumua, Brix, Ross, and Sanders could be in the picture for a spot in the class, including slot receiver Derrick McFall from Tyler (Texas). McFall met Nebraska quarterback commitment Daniel Kaelin in California, and there the two became quick friends.
McFall officially visited Louisville in June and held several other offers. There might be a difference here between what was committable and what were probably evaluation offers. He told me that Nebraska could be a place for him to call home, and I would consider the Huskers the frontrunners if they offer.
After McFall, several other names that Nebraska fans are asking about include Caleb Benning, Nuku Mafi, Semisi Tonga, and Christian Nwosu, to name a few. Things have cleared up with Tristan Johnson committing to UTSA. Evidently, NU wanted to close the deal with Johnson immediately following his camp but likely got the news on Carlon Jones‘ eventual commitment.
Benning, Mafi, Tonga, and Nwosu are hard to put any type of percentages on since they are extending their processes into the fall. Almost a second market when schools find room to take one or two more players late or coaching changes could favor those players in the fall, improving G5 offers in July to P5 in November/December.
***The All-American game jumped on the other postseason games next year when they extended an invitation to 2025 Omaha (Neb.) Westside linebacker Christian Jones. There were some interesting questions on Twitter following his announcement, like if Jones was planning to reclassify, which there are no plans to do.
I am guessing the confusion comes from the early invite because the timing is driven by the competition to secure the best talent for the game. Jones is an early enroller, and he said that had enough difficulty academically that he couldn’t imagine trying to reclassify.
-Bryan Munson
Washut’s Nebrasketball news & notes
***Still not much to report on Nebraska’s two remaining open scholarships for next season. There’s still time for another addition or two, but the longer things play out with no news, the more likely NU will carry one or both spots into 2024.
That said, transfer movement happens very quickly, especially this time of year when teams and players are up against the clock a bit.
***Speaking of 2024 recruiting, Nebraska made a notable junior college offer to an “instate prospect” this week. Sophomore center Noah Boyde, a 7-footer from St. Lucia now at McCook (Nebraska) C.C., picked up an NU offer from assistant coach Nate Loenser on Tuesday.
Boyde is a very interesting prospect because he has all the physical tools to be a standout at the high-major level. The issue is that he’s still very raw in his development.
Boyde has only been playing organized basketball for two years now. For me, that makes his 11 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game at McCook last season even more impressive.
Along with his size, Boyde can face up to the basket and put the ball on the floor much better than many other 7-footers.
He’s also been putting a lot of work into furthering his game. Boyde recently spent nearly a week in Lincoln training with Thomas Viglianco of Viglianco Hoops. Viglianco has helped train the likes of Isaiah Roby, Bryce McGowens, and Sam Griesel.
It sounds like Boyde is looking at scheduling some official visits for this fall and could commit before the start of his upcoming season at McCook. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nebraska got one of those visits.
***Of note, even though his name is “Boyed” on McCook’s online roster, his last name is actually “Boyde.”
***Juwan Gary (shoulder) and Josiah Allick (ankle) remain on track with their injury recoveries this offseason. According to Rienk Mast, Nebraska’s staff has had to pull the reins back on Allick because he’s so eager to return to a full workload.
Mast said the former Lincoln North Star standout had a “sense of urgency and excitement” about playing for his home state school.
***Charlotte transfer Brice Williams finally arrived in Lincoln last week after finishing his remaining academic work. He’s still acclimating to his new surroundings, but early reports on him from summer workouts have been glowing.
***Mast (Netherlands) and Keisei Tominaga (Japan) are officially out of the country, preparing for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Mast begins practices with his national team on July 18 and will travel to Poland for pre-tournament games on July 29-30. The Orange Lions will play Israel on August 4 and Ukraine on August 7 before heading to Turkey for a pre-Olympic qualifying tournament.
***Nebraska’s lone 2024 commit, Pewaukee, Wisconsin, guard Nick Janowski, is wrapping up a strong spring and summer on the AAU circuit.
Janowski’s Phenom University team cruised to the 17U Platinum Division championship at the NY2LA Summer Jam 2K23 last weekend. He had 11 points in the title game win.
He’s currently rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 108 overall player in the 2024 class in the On3 Industry Rankings.
***It seems like a total pipe dream for Nebraska to have a chance with 2025 five-star Koa Peat, who’s now rated the No. 4 player in the country in his class.
However, that hasn’t stopped the Husker coaches from putting in work with him on the recruiting front since his unofficial visit in April.
Head coach Fred Hoiberg was courtside to watch Peat and the Compton Magic play at the Adidas 3SSB Championships in Rock Hill, S.C., last weekend. The star forward was one of the top performers at the event.
I still think it’s an extreme longshot with Peat and NU, but at least Hoiberg and Co. are shooting their shot.
***Five former Huskers are playing in this year’s NBA Summer League: Bryce McGowens (Hornets), Trey McGowens (Nets), Griesel (Celtics), Dalano Banton (Celtics), and Roby (Knicks).
Here are their stat lines as of Thursday morning. The Summer League runs until July 17:
PlayerGamesMPGPPGFG/3PT/FT%RPGAPGSPGBPG+/-Dalano Banton129.812.015.8/14.3/71.43.06.01.0–+3Sam Griesel310.91.716.7/0.0/75.03.31.0––-4Bryce McGowens326.811.031.4/10.0/83.32.71.3–1.0-3Trey McGowens23.11.550.0/0.0/100.00.5–0.5–-2Isaiah Roby324.18.344.0/18.2/100.05.31.7––-14
***On Griesel, I’ve heard that the Celtics like him quite a bit despite his limited Summer League numbers. Enough so that he could have a chance at landing a G League contract.
Griesel could also get an Exhibit 10 contract, a one-year, minimum-salary NBA deal that can be converted to a two-way contract before the start of the regular season.
If not, I’ve heard that the former Lincoln East product will definitely have offers overseas. Seeing how he’s already played with the German national team (his father is German), a deal there would make a lot of sense.
***Nebraska football fans might remember the name Garth Glissman, the former Husker quarterback and Lincoln native.
As it turns out, Glissman has become a rising star in the basketball administrative world over the past few years. After serving as the head boys varsity coach at Parkview Christian and College View Academy in Lincoln, Glissman took a job in the NBA in 2016 as Senior Director of Basketball Operations.
He was quickly promoted to Associate Vice President in 2019 and Vice President in 2021.
On Wednesday, Glissman’s basketball path took him to the college game, as he was named Associate Commissioner for Men’s Basketball for the Southeastern Conference.
It’s a cool story in that a Lincolnite has etched out such a high-profile role in the basketball world. But Glissman’s story could get a lot more interesting for Nebraska fans down the road.
Not that I think Trev Alberts is going anywhere any time soon, but if that job ever re-opened, Glissman could be a prime candidate.
He’s a former Husker who loves Nebraska. He already has impressive experience in the NBA, and now he’ll add high-level work in one of the premier college conferences. Glissman was also a partner at Kutak Rock, a national law firm based in Omaha. His business and legal knowledge go well beyond athletics.
Again, this conversation might not happen for another two decades. But when that time comes, I’d keep Glissman as a key name to watch.
***One last note on Glissman: In the SEC’s press release announcing his hire, several notable college basketball figures offered praise for Glissman.
That included Dan Gavitt, NCAA Vice President of Men’s Basketball Championships; Jamie Dixon, TCU head coach and former National Association of Basketball Coaches president; and Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller.
It also featured former Nebraska head coach and current Butler Vice President and Director of Athletics Barry Collier.
“Garth Glissman is a fast-rising superstar in the world of basketball,” Collier wrote. “I applaud (SEC Commissioner) Greg Sankey for inviting Garth to join his team, as no finer person can represent the SEC. I am thrilled for college athletics and especially for the basketball coaches of the SEC.”
-Robin Washut
Abby’s assists
***The Lincoln Saltdogs are hosting a Nebraska volleyball night on Saturday, July 15. First pitch is at 6:05 p.m. Lindsay Krause, Maggie Mendelson, Maisie Boesiger, Hayden Kubik, Laney Choboy, and Harper Murray will be available to sign volleyballs from 6:15-7:15 p.m.
The first 1,500 fans will get a special Lincoln Saltdogs volleyball. The event is presented by Ameritas.
***The Husker volleyball team, John Cook, along with Olympians and former Huskers Jordan Larson, Kelsey Robinson, and Justine Wong-Orantes, will be present at Volleyball Night in Nebraska. The event is on Aug. 12 from 5:00-8:30 p.m. at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln.
The event will celebrate the second half-century of Title IX and women’s athletics in Nebraska. Tickets can be purchased at https://one.bidpal.net/vnn2023/ticketing.
***The 2023 USAV National Championships were in July. PrepVolleyball.com named all-tournament teams for the 16 and 17 opens. Arizona Storm Elite 16 Thunder, which features Nebraska 2025 commit Teraya Sigler, won the 16 open. They also went to the championship in 2022. SCVC 17 Roxy won the 17 open championship.
Outside hitter Teraya Sigler was selected on PrepVolleyball.com’s all-tournament. The USAV named her as the tournament MVP.
Lincoln Southeast’s Natalie Wardlow, a 2025 middle blocker committed to Wisconsin, was also on the all-tournament team. Wardlow helped lead Nebraska One 16 Synergy to a third-place finish. Nebraska 2025 libero commit Keri Leimbach also plays for Nebraska One 16 Synergy.
As for the 17 Open All-tournament team, Nebraska 2024 commits outside hitter Skyler Pierce and middle blocker Ayden Ames were selected on the team.
2025 opposite hitter Abigail Mullen plays for Adidas Team Dynasty 17 Black, the same team as Pierce. Mullen, the No. 1 2025 player, was also selected on the all-tournament team. Nebraska is currently recruiting Mullen and hopes she will be the last addition to their 2025 class.
***The Huskers are battling several of the top programs in the country for Mullen’s commitment. The 6-foot-2 opposite is the top player in the country and is getting as much attention as one would expect. It’s hard to know when she will make her decision.
Nebraska has also been recruiting 2025 opposite hitter Ryan Hunter, the No. 11 player in the class and the No. 2 right side behind Mullen. Hunter was at the Huskers’ Dream Team Camp on July 8-9.
The Huskers are trying to balance recruiting Mullen and Hunter, with Mullen being the preference. Nebraska football had the same dilemma landing its 2024 quarterback.
Matt Rhule was honest and told Bellevue West QB Daniel Kaelin that he was the Huskers’ second choice behind Dylan Raiola. Once Raiola committed to Georgia, the Huskers went right to Kaelin, just like they promised. Kaelin flipped from Missouri to NU soon after.
It’s hard to know how Nebraska volleyball’s coaches are handling the situation with Mullen and Hunter. They need an opposite hitter in the class of 2025 and are recruiting the top two in the class. It’ll be interesting to see how it all works out.
***PrepVolleyball.com announced its class of 2026 top 150 this week. Nebraska’s Dream Team Camp was last weekend and featured some of the top players in the class.
Henley Anderson, Keoni Williams, and Halle Thompson were all in the top four, going No. 2-4, respectively. Anderson and Thompson are the top two outside hitters in the class and are both from Texas.
Williams, another Texas native, is the second middle blocker listed behind Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, MB Kayla Nwabueze.
Omaha Skutt Catholic outside hitter Addison West is the only in-state player to make the top 150.
Here is a complete list of the 2026 top 150 players that were at Nebraska’s Dream Team Camp:
RankingNamePositionHigh School (State)Club2Henley AndersonOHDripping Springs, TXAustin Performance3Keoni WilliamsMBBoswell, TXSkyline Juniors4Halle ThompsonOHHouston Skyline, TXHouston Skyline8Gabby DiVitaOHGrosse Pointe South, MILegacy10Audrey FlanaganOHMira Costa, CASCVC11Gigi ArtilesOHWestminster Christian, FLTribe17Lacy TinnellMBCollege Park, TXHouston Skyline32Ella AndrewsMBGross Point South, MILegacy39Lynney TarnowMBBenet Academy, IL1ST Alliance48Mia GoldOHPine Crest, FLTribe72Reese ResmerMBNoblesville, INBoilers Jrs101Bellamie BeusOHSkyview, IDID Crush109Caroline WardRSLiberty, INBoilers Jrs130Addison WestOHSkutt Catholic, NEPremier Nebraska
-Abby Barmore
Behind the dish
***Time for more summer baseball updates. This week, I’ll focus on the players highlighted by Will Bolt in his Wednesday presser. Here’s a look at each with a quote from the skipper about how they’ve impressed.
–Brett Sears continues to tear things up as a starter in the Northwoods League. His ERA dropped to 0.62 over 29 innings since our last update. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is 32-3. Bolt said that Sears wasn’t comfortable in his bullpen role in Lincoln last season.
“He started this summer, and he had five or six starts and was equally impressive in each one of them,” Bolt said. “He’s going to be 24 years old, I think, next spring. He’s got the experience piece of it as well.”
The age part of the equation is interesting. Sears has already been in college for four years, and if an MLB free agent opportunity presents itself, the right-hander may take it. If the Huskers retain Sears, he can cash in on one of the more impressive summer league stories in a while.
–Case Sanderson earned some strong praise from his future head coach.
“(He’s) another one that’s played in the Prospect League,” Bolt said. “He’s hitting about .350, controlling the strike zone, and they’re hitting him in the three and four holes. That’s kinda what I’m looking at with box scores, is where are guys hitting in the lineup.”
Sanderson leads his team in batting average and is a freshman to watch entering the fall.
–Max Buettenback is another up-and-comer receiving attention. He’s batting .364 with four doubles and 13 RBIs. The Lincoln Southeast product is also pitching a bit, with a 3.97 ERA in 11 ⅓ innings of work.
“He’s opened some eyes with what he’s doing,” Bolt said of Buettenback. “You start looking at those guys – are they controlling the strike zone facing college pitching for the first time? He’s got more walks than strikeouts.”
Full List
PlayerTeamLeagueStatsGarrett AnglimWilson TobsCoastal Plain League.209 BA, 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBIAustin BerggrenWalnut Creek CrawdadsCalifornia Collegiate League3.68 ERA 14.2 IP, 6 ER, 15 H, 18 K, 9 BBJackson BrockettWilson TobsCoastal Plain League7.31 ERA, 16.0 IP, 27 H, 13 ER, 14 KDylan CareyTraverse City Pit SpittersNorthwoods League.239 BA, 17 H, 3 2B, 10 RBIJosh CaronHigh Point-Thomasville HiTomsCoastal Plain League.159 BA, 2B, 3B HR, 8 RBIDrew ChristoMatsu MinersAlaska Baseball League3.92 ERA, 18.1 IP, 12 H, 21 K, 23 BBCaleb ClarkWilson TobsCoastal Plain League1.74 ERA, 10.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 16 K, 5 BBBen ColumbusBrazos Valley BombersTexas Collegiate League.291 BA, 9 2B, 2 HR, 21 BB, 15 RBIJC GutierrezLa Crosse LoggersNorthwoods League7.53 ERA, 14.1 IP, 12 ER, 16 H, 13 K, 12 BBZach JohnsonTraverse City Pit SpittersNorthwoods League.155 BA, 13 H, 8 RBISam NovotnyHutchinson MonarchsSunflower Collegiate League6.43 ERA, 7 IP, 5 ER 9 H, 5 KWill RizzoMatsu MinersAlaska Baseball League7.59 ERA, 10.2 IP, 4 Saves 9 ER, 6 H, 12 K, 15 BBBrett SearsRockford RivetsNorthwoods League0.62 ERA, 29 IP, 2 ER 13 H, 32 K, 3 BBGabe SwansenWillmar StingersNorthwoods League.340 BA, 3 2B, 2 HR, 14 RBI Will WalshMorehead City MarlinsCoastal Plain League7.26 ERA, 17.1 IP, 14 ER, 22 H, 9 K
Batting: .318, 5 2B, 8 RBIJalen WorthleyLa Crosse LoggersNorthwoods League5.60 ERA, 27.1 IP, 17 ER, 21 K, 17 BBDaniel YoungNormal CornbeltersProspect League.271 BA, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBIMax Buettenback*Hutchinson MonarchsSunflower Collegiate League.364 BA, 20 H, 4 2B, HR, 13 RBIMatt Evans*Great Lakes Canadians – 18U—.369 BA, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 22 RBIRyan Harrahill*TBDMLB Draft League9.82 ERA, 11.0 IP, 12 ER, 16 H, 6 K, 2 BBCarson Jasa*Fremont MooIndependence League Baseball Association8.25 ERA, 9.1 IP, 11 ER, 8 H, 15 K, 13 BBCase Sanderson*Normal CornbeltersProspect League.337 BA, 5 2B, 3B, HR, 24 RBIAaron ManiasPeninsula PilotsCoastal Plains League .307 BA, 23 H, 2B, 3B, 9 RBI
***Time to give an update on where things stand roster-wise. Here is my latest summary.
Incoming freshmen: 12
Transfers (JUCO/Division-I): 13
Returners: 24
Total: 49
***Bolt shed some light on the decision to bring back sixth-year senior Kyle Perry. He first highlighted that the southpaw has had just one truly healthy season in Lincoln. Injuries and COVID-19 have prevented Perry from playing much baseball in the last five years. That itch still needs to be scratched, according to Bolt.
But, the head man has an important role in mind for Perry.
“What we need more than anything from Kyle Perry is to be a great example for Husker baseball,” Bolt said. “He’s always been an awesome teammate, but when you’re a sixth-year player, the eyes are on you. So, making sure that everything he does every single day has Husker baseball at the front of his mind and being a great example for the young players, that’s what I’m excited to see from him.”
That’s a critical role that Perry will be charged to help fulfill.
***The middle infield is another question mark after Brice Matthews and Max Anderson sign their professional contracts. In general, the infield has a pair of returners in Dylan Carey and Ben Columbus. Two Huskers who were injured in 2023 could also be players on the infield.
“(Bryce) Hughes and (Cayden) Brumbaugh,” Bolt said. “Those two guys would probably have factored in pretty heavily for our team last year had they been healthy.”
Bolt continued to say there were many moving parts on the infield right now but that he and his staff felt confident in their ability to develop high-level players at those positions.
***Speaking of Matthews and Anderson, Keith Law of the Athletic did quick evaluations of the top ten rounds of the MLB Draft. Here’s a distilled version of his analysis, including thoughts on Emmett Olson and Jace Kaminska. The link to find his full thoughts here (AL/NL).
Brice Matthews, Houston Astros No. 28: Law regards Matthews as a reach from the Astros. Roughly a round too early. He said the shortstop has plus speed but has questions about an approach that he believes leaves Matthews exposed to high fastballs. Correcting for that may diminish his power. Max Anderson, Detroit Tigers, No. 45: Anderson’s bat is something Law definitely believes in. He has questions about his ability to stick at second base and thinks left field may be a possibility down the line.Emmett Olson, Miami Marlins, No. 110: Law highlighted Olson’s spin rate as a major plus and described his curveball as an excellent chase pitch. His fastball, however, doesn’t miss bats much, according to Law. That’s why Olson started to struggle toward the end of the year in his mind. Jace Kaminska, Colorado Rockies, No. 292: A 40-percent drop in Kaminska’s walk rate jumps out right away. Law likes that and thinks the righty is good enough to try out as a starter in A-ball and see if the Rockies’ farm system can improve Kaminska’s stuff.
***One more nugget. I recently checked in with the top in-state player for the class of 2025. Danny Wallace, a Papillion LaVista South product, told me directly he hopes to make a decision by the end of the fall. I’ve been told he could potentially commit sooner. If he goes NU’s way, the Huskers will have five of the top ten players in the 2025 class.
Perfect Game Profile: HERE
-Grant Hansen
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