Husker Big Red Daily: Red-hot Arkansas up next for Nebraska softball, WCWS Preview, more

Welcome to Husker Big Red Daily, your daily stop for the latest Nebraska football news, recruiting buzz, transfer portal updates, and Huskers headlines. Here’s a quick look at the latest storylines surrounding Nebraska athletics.

The wait for the Women’s College World Series is over for the Nebraska softball team, or it will be at 8:30 PM CST, as the Huskers will take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in the opening game for both teams.

Nebraska’s game against Arkansas will be televised on ESPN2. The radio broadcast can be heard on Huskers.com. Nebraska softball is 49-6. The Razorbacks, who are making their first-ever appearance, are 47-11.

Arkansas is the No. 5 overall seed out of the SEC and put together one of the most dominant runs to the Women’s College World Series in NCAA Softball Tournament history, becoming just the second team to win all five games on the way to the WCWS by run-rule.

Nebraska wasn’t quite that dominant, but the Huskers outscored Oklahoma State 17-2 in the Super Regional, winning by run-rule in the second game. In five games in the NCAA Tournament, Nebraska has outscored its opponents 24-3. Not a single team has scored more than one run.

That’s because of the dynamic pitching duo of Jordy Frahm and Alexis Jensen. Frahm was named the National Player of the Year, as well as becoming a four-time first-team All-American. Alexis Jensen, a true freshman, earned third-team all-american honors.

Jensen has allowed just two runs in three starts this postseason. Frahm is 2-0 and has allowed just one run. She tossed a complete-game shutout, a one-hitter against Grand Canyon. She also has two saves and won game one against Oklahoma State, despite allowing one run, the only run she has allowed this postseason. For the season, Frahm has 20 wins under her belt, with a 1.14 ERA.

The Nebraska native also leads Nebraska in home runs (19), runs (59), batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, and is second on the team in RBI. The gold-glove winner is a stellar defender, too.

Frahm and Jensen will determine how far Nebraska goes. Hannah Coor, a national champion with Oklahoma, has been huge. Hannah Camenzind, too, is a former Arkansas Razorback. Jesse Farrell and Kacie Hoffman were also all-region players, along with Ava Kuszak and Samantha Bland.

Arkansas bats are red hot

The Razorbacks entered the Women’s College World Series with the top individual batting averages in the tournament. Dakota Kennedy is batting .588, followed by Atalyia Rijo (.571), Brinli Bain (.545), and Karlie Davison (.538). Davison is also leading the NCAA Tournament in home runs (4), RBI (13), slugging percentage (1,615), OPS (2, 282), and total bases (13).

While the offense is firing on all cylinders, the pitching staff is, too. Sophomore Payton Burnham has been solid this postseason and had a no-hitter in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. She’s 14-3 with a 1.90 ERA with 64 strikeouts. Robyn Herron, another sophomore, is 16-6 with a 2.09 ERA and 169 strikeouts.

The Huskers have been to Oklahoma City in 13 years; Arkansas has never been. The first pitch is at 8:30 PM CST. The winner will play either UCLA or Alabama in the next round.

Multiple schools aim to flip Nebraska football commitment

The interest of Scott Frost and UCF in Nebraska football pledge Kaden Howard isn’t anything new. Howard, who is ranked No. 778 overall in the 2027 class, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, is taking an official visit to Nebraska in June.

The 6-foot wideout who runs the 100-meter dash in 10.6 will also visit Georgia Tech, following a recent offer, as well as UCF. Howard also visited Miami soon after his Nebraska commitment, so it feels like the writing might be on the wall here.

Matt Rhule has some other wide receiver targets, beyond top-100 wideout Matthew Gregory, who is also trending to Nebraska football. The Huskers have a 92 percent chance to land his commitment going into official visit season. 

Nebraska football times announced

The Huskers will open the season against Ohio at 11 AM CST on September 5th. That was announced on Wednesday, along with a September 12th game at 6 PM against Bowling Green, followed by a September 19th game against North Dakota that will kick off at 6:15.

Nebraska football will play Iowa on Black Friday at 11 AM CST on CBS.

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel.