Big Red Rundown: ‘An extremely tough’ regional for Nebraska baseball, 2027 recruiting class living up to the hype

Welcome to the Big Red Rundown, 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.

After a 42-win season, with 41 of those wins coming in the regular season, the Nebraska baseball team earned a top-16 seed for the NCAA Baseball Tournament, giving the Huskers the right to host a regional.

Nebraska ended up as the No. 13 overall seed. UCLA was seeded No. 1. Oregon was No. 11. The Huskers will open play in the NCAA Baseball Tournament on Friday against South Dakota State, just like the Nebraska softball team. The first pitch will go out at 3 p.m. CST.

However, the Lincoln Regional is being talked about for its difficulty. Nebraska avoided Arkansas, but Ole Miss, another top-20 team, one ranked ahead of Nebraska is also in the regional. The Rebels ranked 17th in the last D1 Baseball Poll. Nebraska was 20th, and Arizona State, the No. 3 team in the regional, is ranked No. 21.

So the Huskers have two other ranked teams in their regional. Kendall Rodgers of D1 Baseball described the region as “extremely difficult.”

It’s the third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for the Huskers. It will be the first regional hosted at Haymarket Park since 2008. The Lincoln Regional has been paired with the Auburn Regional for supers. The Tigers are the No. 4 overall seed.

Nebraska football surges into top 20 after a major commitment

The Nebraska football 2027 recruiting class continues to look better and better, following the commitment of four-star offensive tackle Timi Aliu. 

The No. 293 overall prospect in the 2027 class, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings, gives Nebraska football six blue-chip commitments out of 11 (54 percent). Nebraska football also has four top-100 commitments right now, which is tied for the second most in the Big Ten behind USC (6).

After ranking 87th in the 2026 class, Nebraska’s 2027 class is looking much better. It’s ranked 20th right now. There is a long way to go, and the Huskers will need to add more blue-chip talent if they are going to maintain a top-20 ranking, but with four top-100 commitments and another potentially on the way, this class is living up to the hype for Matt Rhule.

Nebraska excellence

One final note, the Huskers are one of just three programs, along with Texas and Texas Tech, to make a college football bowl game, reach the NCAA volleyball tournament, the NCAA softball tournament, the NCAA baseball tournament, as well as having both teams make the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Nebraska wrestling also finished third. So in the top three women’s sports, the Huskers made the NCAA Tournament in all three, and contended for the national title in two. Nebraska made the NCAA Baseball/Basketball Tournaments, while reaching bowl and having one of the best wrestling programs in the NCAA.

If the football program ever gets back to winning championships or competing for them, this athletic department will be one of the most complete in the entire NCAA.

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