Jesse Wilkening Season 2018

Honors & Awards
• Three Letters (2016, 2017, 2018)
• ABCA/Rawlings First-Team All-Region (2018)
• Second-Team All-Big Ten (2018)
• 2018 MLB Draft Pick (Philadelphia Phillies, 14th Round)
• 2015 MLB Draft Pick (Arizona Diamondbacks, 28th Round)
• 2017 and 2018 Johnny Bench Award Watch List
• Academic All-Big Ten (2017, 2018)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2015; Spring 2016, 2017)
• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2016, 2017, 2018)

2018: Jesse Wilkening was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 14th round of the 2018 MLB Draft following his junior season and signed with the team • Earned first-team All-Region and second-team All-Big Ten honors, while claiming a spot on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List • Led the Huskers in batting average (.372), which ranked fourth in the Big Ten • His team-high 56 RBIs also ranked fourth in the Big Ten • Led the Huskers in doubles (14), while ranking second on the team in hits (74), second in home runs (9), tied for second in runs scored (45) and second in total bases (82) • Compiled a team-best 13 multi-RBI games and ranked second on the team with 22 multi-hit games • Had the team’s best bat over the last 16 games, batting .485 (32-for-66) with eight doubles, one triple, four home runs, 18 RBIs and 17 runs scored during that stretch • Had at least one hit in 15 of the last 16 games, including 10 multi-hit games during that time, and ended the season on a seven-game hitting streak • Was one of three Huskers to start all 52 games with 29 starts as the designated hitter and 23 starts as the catcher • Went 6-for-12 during the Illinois series with one home run, two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored • Continued his hot streak during the Indiana series, going 5-for-12 with two home runs, one double, three RBIs and two runs scored • Homered on May 11 and May 12 against Indiana • Went 7-for-13, including a four-hit performance on May 4, during the Maryland series with a double, three RBIs and four runs scored • Went 6-for-12 during the Nevada series with three RBIs, four runs scored and two doubles • Hit his sixth home run of the season on April 24 as part of a 2-for-3 performance with three RBIs and two runs scored against Creighton • Was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle at Rutgers on April 21, as he went 4-for-6 with two singles, a double and a triple, and scored two runs and notched one RBI • Had a hit in both games during the Iowa doubleheader on April 13, going 1-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBIs in the second game • Blasted the go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning in Nebraska’s win over Kansas State on April 10 as part of a 2-for-3 day which included a double, four RBIs and three runs scored • Drove in two runs as part of a 2-for-3 day at Michigan State on April 7 • Managed a hit in all three games during the Minnesota series, including a double in the series finale on March 25 • Went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI at Oral Roberts on March 21 • Managed at least one hit during all four games of the Cal Poly series, going 7-for-16 with six runs scored and a team-high nine RBIs • Slugged his third home run of the season as part of a 2-for-4 day against Cal Poly on March 9 • Went 4-for-12 during the Wichita State series with one home run, one double, two runs scored and a team-high four RBIs • In the series finale against the Shockers on March 4, went 3-for-5 with a home run, one double, two runs scored and three RBIs • Smashed the go-ahead home run in the 10th inning against Wichita State on March 4, which was the difference in NU’s 10-9 win • Led the Husker offense on the opening weekend when he went 6-for-14 with a home run and eight RBIs • Had a trio of two-hit efforts in Tempe, Ariz., including a career-high four RBIs against Washington State on Feb. 17 • First home run of the season came against Washington State on Feb. 18.

2017: Wilkening played in 50 games, making 47 starts behind the plate in 2017 • Hit .247 with eight doubles and one home run • Tallied 22 RBIs and 21 runs scored • Went 1-for-1 stealing bases • Defensively, his .991 fielding percentage ranked fourth on the team • Caught a team-leading nine baserunners in 31 attempts • Recorded 318 putouts, second-most on the team • Had 11 multi-hit games, three of which were three-hit games • Had four multi-RBI games, including a season-high three RBIs at Minnesota on April 23 • Was 3-for-5 with a home run in the series-clinching win at Minnesota on April 23 • Went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs against Creighton on April 4 • Roped a two-RBI double against Maryland on April 7 • Went 3-for-5 with two runs against Northern Colorado on March 8.

2016: Wilkening saw significant time behind the plate for the Huskers as a true freshman in 2016 • Played in 33 games and made 30 starts while splitting time with fifth-year senior Taylor Fish • Hit .270 (30-for-111) with 11 runs scored, four doubles, one home run and 12 RBIs • Homered and doubled in his first game as a Husker at College of Charleston on Feb. 20 • First Husker to homer in his first career game since Tanner Lubach in 2013 and the first freshman to do it since Chad Christensen in 2010 • Played in 12 games and made 10 starts during Big Ten play, hitting .351 (13-for-37) and had an on-base percentage of .442 • Ended the year with 10 multi-hit games, including three games with three hits • Threw out just under 45 percent of base stealers, as he caught a team-high 12 base runners in 27 attempts.

Before Nebraska: Wilkening was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 28th round of the 2015 MLB Draft, but turned down pro baseball to join the Huskers • Ended his career at Hanover Central High School in Cedar Lake, Ind., with a .516 batting average, a state record 206 hits, 20 home runs and 156 RBIs • Broke Adam Norton’s (Notre Dame) previous state record of 202 hits • Was a two-time first-team all-state selection and a four-time all-conference pick • Tabbed as a top-250 catcher in the nation by Perfect Game • Ranked as the No. 41 overall player in the state of Indiana and the No. 3 catcher by Perfect Game • Competed at the 2014 Perfect Game WWBA 17U National Championships for Gravel Baseball and the 2013 Perfect Game WWBA Underclass World Championships for the Evoshield Seminoles..

Personal: Born on Aug. 29, 1996 • Parents are Todd and Julie Wilkening • Majored in criminology and criminal justice and earned his bachelor's degree from Nebraska in December 2019.