Big Ten tourney preview; ESPN high on Nebraska football transfers

The Big Ten baseball tournament opens Tuesday, and we’ll get to preview in a moment, however, ESPN weighed in on the Nebraska football transfer portal class with its top 100 rankings.

The rankings were put together by Max Olson, and four Nebraska football transfers ended up on his list of the top 100 transfers ahead of the 2025 college football season.

Dane Key, the transfer portal addition from Kentucky, topped the list, ranking 12th for the Huskers. People probably haven’t talked about his impact quite enough, but with an elite quarterback throwing him the ball, Key could have a huge impact in Lincoln.

Key wasn’t the only wide receiver for Nebraska football to make the top 100. Nyziah Hunter, who has three years of eligibility, checked in at No. 77.

Williams Nwaneri, the former five-star defensive end who transferred from Missouri, ranked No. 24, while Rocco Spindler, the offensive guard from Notre Dame, ranked 93rd. All four players are expected to start or play key roles for Nebraska football this season. Two have at least three years to play.

Those players are just one reason to feel confident in Nebraska football this season. We went through our game-by-game predictions on Friday and have the Huskers finishing 9-3. 

Big Ten tournament preview

Sophomore pitcher Ty Horn will get the ball tonight for Nebraska baseball as the starting pitcher against Michigan State.

Nebraska (28-27, 15-15) enters the tournament as the No. 8 seed. The Huskers will likely need to beat Michigan State on Tuesday, then Oregon on Friday, to advance to the semifinals.

Both games will be played at 6 PM CST on the Big Ten Network. On Tuesday, 12th-seeded Michigan State awaits. The Spartans are the lower-seeded team, but have the pitching edge as they will roll with Joseph Dzierwa, who is 8-3 with a 2.31 ERA.

Dzierwa is quite possibly the best pitcher in the Big Ten. He won Big Ten Pitcher of the Week multiple times during the season and will try to get the Spartans off to an all-important 1-0 start.

Nebraka is the defending Big Ten tournament champion. Guys like Gabe Swansen, Dylan Carey, Cayden Brumbaugh, Joshua Overbeek, Drew Christo, Case Sanderson, and others were part of last season’s magical run.

Maybe the Huskers can do it again, but they need to start with a win on Tuesday in Omaha. Top-seeded Oregon, the regular-season champion, awaits on Friday. The Ducks will play Michigan State on Thursday.

The winner of each three-team pool advances to the semifinals. Nebraska could technically advance with a 1-1 record, but it seems nearly impossible, so just win.

UCLA is the second-seeded team. Iowa is No. 3 and USC is No. 4. Those are the top-seeded teams in each pool. There are 12 games over the next four days in Omaha, and all will be on the BTN.

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