BSB Preview: vs. No. 12 USC

NEBRASKA VS. NO. 12 USC
April 17-19, 2026
Hawks Field at Haymarket Park | Lincoln, Neb.

Friday, April 17 – 6:02 p.m. 
Pitching: RHP Cooper Katskee (5-0, 3.27 ERA) vs. LHP Mason Edwards (6-0, 1.35 ERA)
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers Radio Network, Official Huskers App

Saturday, April 18 – 2:02 p.m. 
Pitching: RHP Carson Jasa (7-0, 2.13 ERA) vs. RHP Grant Govel (7-0, 2.13 ERA)
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers Radio Network, Official Huskers App

Sunday, April 19 – 12:02 p.m. 
Pitching: RHP Gavin Blachowicz (3-1, 2.27 ERA) vs. RHP Andrew Johnson (3-1, 3.66 ERA)
TV/Streaming: NPM/B1G+
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers Radio Network, Official Huskers App

Follow the Game
• All three games of this weekend' series can be seen on B1G+, while Sunday's game will also be broadcast on Nebraska Public Media, with Larry Punteney and Brian Duensing on the call.
• Fans can also listen to Nick Handley and Ben McLaughlin call this weekend's action on the Huskers Radio Network.
• Every game of the 2026 season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and Android devices.

Nebraska vs. USC
• Nebraska and USC have met seven times on the diamond, with the Trojans holding a slim 4-3 lead over the Huskers in the all-time series. 
• The two teams met last season in California, where USC took two of three games against the Big Red.
• Prior to last season's series, the Huskers and Trojans played single games in the 1979, 1984, 2005 and 2013 seasons.
• This weekend's series is USC's first visit to Lincoln in the all-time series between the two programs.

In the Polls
• Nebraska checked in at No. 22 in the Perfect Game rankings, No. 24 in the NCBWA poll and No. 25 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 after going 1-3 last week against Kansas and No. 21 Oregon. 
• The Big Red fell out of the D1 Baseball rankings and Baseball America's Top 25, while No. 1 UCLA, No. 12 USC and No. 19 Oregon represent the Big Ten in D1Baseball's Top 25.

A Look at the Weekend Rotation
• Redshirt junior Cooper Katskee moves into the Friday night role and is 5-0 on the season with a 3.27 ERA in 44 innings this season with 51 strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .182.
• Redshirt sophomore Carson Jasa gets the nod on Saturday and is 6-1 with a 4.34 ERA and 70 punchouts in 42 innings across nine starts.
• Gavin Blachowicz returns to the Sunday spot in the weekend rotation and is 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 39.2 innings on the season.

Home Sweet Home at Haymarket Park
• Nebraska is in its 25th season playing at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park this year and hasn't had a losing season at home in any of the last 24 seasons.
• Following Tuesday's 5-4 win against Creighton, the Huskers are 456-184-1 in 641 all-time games at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
• The Big Red is 16-1 in home games this season, recording their best home start since opening the home slate with a 17-0 record in 2005.

Big Red Off to Best Start Since 2008
• With a 28-9 record through 37 games, the Huskers have compiled their winningest start since opening the 2008 campaign with a 29-7-1 record.
• The 28 wins in the first 37 games are tied for fifth-most this century, trailing 31 wins in 2006, 30 victories in 2005 and 29 wins in 2008 and 2001.
•This season marks the second time the Huskers have reached 26 wins in the first 37 games under head coach Will Bolt after beginning the 2021 campaign with a 26-11 record. 

Notables on the 2026 Campaign
• With wins against No. 7 Auburn, No. 16 Florida State and No. 21 Oregon this season, the Big Red have nine wins against ranked opponents in the last two seasons.
• Nebraska has recorded multiple 10-game win streaks in the same season for the first time since 2006 after posting win streaks 10 and 11 games this season. 
• With Mac Moyer and Dylan Carey leading the Big Red with 57 and 56 hits, respectively, the Huskers are one of four teams nationally with two players with 55-plus hits on the season. 
• Mac Moyer has reached base safely in 36 consecutive games this season, which is the longest streak by a Husker since Brice Matthews' string of 52 straight games in 2023.
• The Husker offense is scoring 7.4 runs per game through 37 games this season. The Big Red have finished a full season above 7.0 runs per game once since 2013 after scoring 7.5 runs per game in 2023.
• The Huskers have recorded three walk-off victories this season. Going back to the final three weeks of the regular season in 2025, the Big Red have totaled seven wins in walk-off fashion.
• Nebraska has run-ruled their opponent five times and has scored 10-plus runs 11 times through 37 games this season.
• The Husker offense is batting .305 with two outs this season and has recorded 91 of its 252 RBI with two outs.
• The NU pitching staff is holding opponents to a .222 batting average through 37 games, which would be the lowest opponent batting average for a full season this century, besting the previous low of .227 in 2005.
• The NU pitching staff has recorded 14 strikeouts four times in 37 games this season, after totaling just six such performances combined in 2024 and 2025.
• Dylan Carey ranks among the top eight of DI's active career leaders in four categories, including second in at-bats (814), third in doubles (57), fifth in games played (212) and eighth in hits (237).
• Dylan Carey was named a third-team midseason All-American by Perfect Game and selected to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch list, while Ty Horn and Gavin Blachowicz landed on the Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List.

Unger Holding Down NU's Closer Role
• Sophomore J'Shawn Unger is 4-1 with a team-high eight saves in 14 relief appearances this season.
• The right-hander holds a 3.16 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 25.2 innings while limiting opponents to a .148 batting average.
• Unger's eight saves are the most by an NU underclassman since Colby Gomes' 13 saves in 2019 as a freshman.

Mac Attack: Moyer Pacing Big red in Leadoff Spot
• Mac Moyer leads the Big Ten in hits (57) and is second in batting average (.393) while ranking 12th and 34th nationally in those respective categories through 37 games.
• The leadoff hitter has reached base at a .491 clip, collecting 57 hits and 27 walks in 145 at-bats while scoring a team-high 43 runs, good for second in the Big Ten and 40th nationally.
• Moyer is one of 13 players nationally, including one of seven P4 players, to score at least 43 times with a on-base percentage greater than .490.

Huskers Creating Traffic on Basepaths
• The Husker offense has had 56.2 percent of its at-bats this season with runners on base.
• Prior to this season, the Huskers' highest mark since 2000 was a rate of 55.4 percent during the 2001 campaign.
• The Big Red have completed five seasons since 2000 above a 52 percent rate, while the 51.5 percent finish in 2024 is the best season in the Bolt era.

Stokes Becomes NU's Nine-Hole Catalyst
• Rhett Stokes has been a spark at the bottom of the lineup for the Husker offense, batting .392 with 20 hits, four doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI and a .456 on-base percentage out of the nine-spot.  
• The bottom-of-the-order bat has been a catalyst for Nebraska's offense, as the Huskers have scored runs in the inning Stokes records a hit 18 times in 28 such opportunities this season.
• On the year, Stokes is slashing .364/.430/.530 with five doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI while scoring 13 times across 31 games.