Honors & Awards
• Four Letters (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
• 2019 MLB Draft Pick (Cleveland Indians, 18th Round)
• 2016 Big Ten All-Freshman Team
• Big Ten Pitcher of the Week (5/16/16)
• Big Ten Freshman of the Week (5/16/16, 5/24/16)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Spring 2016, 2017, 2021)Â
2019: Matt Waldron (pronounced WALL-drun) was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft after a stellar career at Nebraska on the mound • Finished his career ranked in the top 10 of several Nebraska pitching career record lists, including strikeouts (fourth, 253), innings pitched (third, 300.1), wins (tied for eighth, 21) and games started (tied for fifth, 43) • After coming out of the bullpen for his first two appearances as a senior, he started his final 14 games • Led the team in ERA (3.05) and innings pitched (100.1), while ranking tied for second in wins (6) • Compiled 93 strikeouts and only seven walks, ranking second nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (13.29), behind only Elon’s George Kirby (17.83) • During his first nine outings of the season, he went 5-0 • In eight consecutive starts from March 8 to May 4, he went at least 6.0 innings, including seven appearances of at least 7.0 innings • Struck out eight batters and allowed only one earned run in 7.0 innings at Baylor on March 8 • Threw a complete game against Michigan State on March 22, allowing only one run and tallied six strikeouts • Earned the win against Minnesota at the Big Ten Tournament on May 22 when he tossed 7.1 innings and notched nine strikeouts • In the final game of his career, Waldron compiled a career-high 11 strikeouts against Oklahoma State at NCAA Regionals and allowed only two runs in 7.2 innings.
2018: Waldron started each of his last nine outings after coming out of the bullpen for five of his first eight appearances on the mound • His 17 appearances were the third-most on the team and his 12 starts tied for second-most on the team • Led the Husker pitching staff in ERA (4.26) and wins (6) • Ranked second among the Husker pitchers in strikeouts (61), fewest walks (12) and innings pitched (69.2) • Struck out eight Hoosiers in his 7.0-inning victory over Indiana on May 11, giving up two runs on five hits and allowed only one walk • Recorded eight strikeouts in 6.0 innings against Maryland on May 4 • Struck out seven batters and didn’t allow any walks in 6.0 innings against Nevada on April 27 on the way to his third win in a row • Recorded seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings at Rutgers on April 21 en route to the win • Earned the win on April 13 in the second game of a doubleheader against Iowa when he went 7.0 innings and allowed three runs on only three hits and one walk, while striking out four Hawkeyes • Allowed two runs (one earned run) in the start at Michigan State on April 8 and earned two strikeouts • Earned the win against Minnesota on March 24 when he threw 7.0 innings and allowed two runs (one earned run), while recording five strikeouts and no walks • Made two appearances at the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, including a start against Oregon State on Feb. 22 • Earned the win in the season opener against UC Riverside on Feb. 16 when he threw 1.1 innings of relief.
2017: Waldron logged 55.0 innings, the fourth-most among all Husker pitchers in 2017 • Made 16 appearances, which included six starts • Went 2-5 with a 4.09 ERA • Recorded 43 strikeouts and nine walks • Despite taking a loss in the season opener, didn’t give up an earned run in 7.0 innings against UC Riverside on Feb. 17 • Tossed 3.0 scoreless innings of relief against Oklahoma State with a season-high six strikeouts on March 3 • Earned a win on March 7 against Northern Colorado, striking out four in 5.0 innings • Threw 3.0 no-hit innings in a scheduled short start against Kansas State on March 28 • Recorded five strikeouts in 4.0 relief innings at Minnesota on April 22 • Struck out five in 3.0 scoreless innings of relief against Iowa at the Big Ten Tournament on May 26.
2016: Waldron was a significant piece of the Huskers’ weekend rotation as a true freshman in 2016 and was a unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection • Made 11 starts over 13 appearances and posted a 7-3 record with a 2.87 ERA • Was 4-1 with a 2.47 ERA in six starts during Big Ten play over a team-high 40.0 innings • Struck out 28 and walked just five • Led the Huskers in wins (7), innings pitched (75.1) and strikeouts (56), while walking just 15 batters • Became just the third Husker freshman since 2000 to post seven or more wins in a season, trailing just Johnny Dorn (12 in 2005) and Jamie Rodrigue (9 in 2000) • Finished the year tied for 15th nationally in wins among freshman pitchers • Went 6.0 innings or more seven times, including a four-start stretch from April 30 to May 20 • Walked one batter or less in each of his first 10 appearances on the year • Walked multiple batters for the first time on May 20 against Indiana, but tossed 8.0 shutout innings against the Hoosiers and struck out a season-high seven batters • Was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week after tossing a complete-game shutout against Penn State on May 14, the first by a Husker since Tom Lemke against Texas A&M in 2010 • Started NU’s NCAA Tournament opener against Oklahoma State and lasted a season-low 3.2 innings.
Before Nebraska: Waldron joined the Huskers after a successful prep career at Westside High School in Omaha • Helped the Warriors win three straight Class A state titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015 • Tossed a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts in the 2015 state title game, a 1-0 win over Millard South • Tabbed as the No. 2 right-handed pitcher in the state of Nebraska and the No. 4 overall player by Perfect Game • Ranked as a top-275 right-handed pitcher in the nation by Perfect Game • Was named an honorary captain of the Omaha World-Herald All-Nebraska team in 2015 and was also a first-team Super-State selection by the Lincoln Journal Star • Was 9-0 as a senior with a 1.29 ERA over 65 innings • Notched 82 strikeouts to just seven walks and held opponents to a .177 batting average • Earned first-team Super-State honors from the Lincoln Journal Star and first-team All-Nebraska honors from the Omaha World-Herald for the second straight year in 2014 as a pitcher • Was 6-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 41.1 innings of work as a junior in 2014 • Posted a 6-2 record with a 1.42 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 46.2 innings as a sophomore in 2013 • Tossed a complete-game shutout against Millard West in the 2013 Class A state title game.
Personal: Born on Sept. 26, 1996 • Parents are Steve and Brenda Waldron • Has one sister, Lauren, and two brothers, Mike and Mark • Twin brother, Mike, is also on the baseball team • Earned his bachelor's degree as a psychology major at Nebraska in May of 2021.