Husker Big Red Daily: Trae Taylor will be a 5-star recruit, two stellar seasons come to an end

All good things must come to an end. That was the case for the Nebraska softball and baseball teams on Sunday.

After a rough outing on Saturday for Jordy Frahm, the National Player of the Year, opened Sunday’s game against Texas with a home run. She was dealing, too. The Nebraska softball pitcher was five outs away from a no-hitter when Texas got a hit, and later a home run, after a walk, that plated three runs.

That was the difference. It was a heartbreaking end to an incredible season. The Huskers tied the program record for wins with 52. Nebraska swept the Big Ten tournament and regular-season titles and reached the Women’s College World Series for the first time in 13 years.

For all intents and purposes, this was the greatest season ever for Nebraska softball. There isn’t a single thing that these ladies, or their coaches, have to hang their heads about. Those 12 seniors left it all on the line.

They will be dearly missed, especially Frahm, the best player this program has ever seen. Her home run on Sunday made her the only player in college softball history to have two seasons with 20 home runs and 20 wins.

One of a kind.

Nebraska baseball misses golden opportunity

Pitching and defense. That’s what wins postseason games, but Nebraska made three unfortunate errors, while the bullpen fell apart. Nebraska allowed a combined 17 runs to Ole Miss and Arizona State.

The Huskers fought valiantly and had chances to tie in the ninth, but it wasn’t meant to be. The real bummer is that the winner of the Lincoln Regional will be hosting a Super Regional, so Nebraska didn’t have to win a game outside of Nebraska to reach Omaha, and didn’t come close.

The 42-win season was another step forward, but the pitching has to improve if the Huskers are going to take the next step.

Trae Taylor is the bright spot

If Nebraska fans need a bright spot, it’s Trae Taylor. He frankly dominated at the Elite 11, winning the MVP award from Rivals and Co-MVP from 247 Sports. The national analysts are drooling over him, and it’s easy to see why.

It seems like he never misses. After the first day, it was a foregone conclusion that he was going to win, and based on that, plus everything else, it’s hard not to see Taylor getting a big ratings  bump, into five-star range. Rivals has him ranked as the fifth-best quarterback. He’s ranked third by ESPN and 247 Sports.

Maybe that won’t change, but you can’t tell me there are 62 recruits better than Taylor. He’s ranked 63rd right now. It feels like he’s due for a jump. Either way, the future is bright, and Nebraska has a class with four top-100 commitments already, a number that could grow by one or two before the class is signed.

So the arrow is pointing up, even if it’s hard to believe it for some.