10 Years Later, Four Huskers Playing Major League Baseball

Video Takes Us Back to Way We Were in 2005

Time Machine: Huskers' First-Ever CWS Win

NU’s Magical Game-by-Game 57-Win Season

Super Sweep Sent Nebraska to Omaha, CWS

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Ledbetters Focus on Organ Donation Sunday

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Official Blog of the Huskers

Nebraska’s three-game series against Minnesota this weekend will feature a perpetual flashback to the Huskers’ record-setting 2005 baseball team. The first 2,000 fans through the gates Friday night at Hawks Field will receive replica red jersey t-shirts to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of a team that not only won Nebraska’s first-ever College World Series game, but also still has four players from that historic roster playing Major League Baseball.

Chamberlain’s Dad Almost Didn’t Make It to Congratulate Joba

The four Husker legends will celebrate through HuskerVision videos that include memories from Alex Gordon, a junior third-baseman on the 2005 team before becoming a superstar for the 2014 MLB World Series runner-up Kansas City Royals; Joba Chamberlain, a junior right-handed pitcher in '05, who now plays for the Detroit Tigers after a stellar stint with the New York Yankees; Brian Duensing, a junior right-handed pitcher in '05, now playing for the Minnesota Twins; and Tony Watson,a redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher in '05 that joined Gordon as a 2014 Major League All-Star. Watson plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

To get a feel for how a three-game weekend series can trigger memories from yesteryear, check out this video, which begins with Luke Wertz, a freshman right-handed pitcher on that 2005 team from Parker, Colo. He asks a broad-minded question: What is Nebraska Baseball? Chamberlain provides the first answer, saying Nebraska Baseball is about “emotion” and shares a wonderful memory about his dad, Harlan. To be "the guy" who won Nebraska's first CWS game was "something special, and I’ll never forget it,” Joba said. “My dad was in such a hurry to get to the team bus after the game, he ran his scooter off the edge of the sidewalk. He thought he missed me. But he got there to tell me ‘job well done,' something else I’ll never forget.”

Nebraska Natives Gordon, Duensing Had Great Expectations

Like Chamberlain, Gordon also grew up in Lincoln before becoming a Husker. “No one expected us to be who we were,” Gordan said, reflecting back on Nebraska’s remarkable 57-win season 10 years ago. “I think everyone on that team knew we were going to do something special, and that’s what we did, even though we fell a little short. Playing in front of Husker Nation was truly an honor. Growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, I knew what it meant to be in a game like that. I was among those fans, so I knew the tradition and why it was so important.” Since Duensing graduated from Millard South High School in Omaha, he felt the same pride from his home state. “We experienced a lot of great memories and moments,” Duensing said, “but the one that sticks out in my mind was going to Omaha and winning a College World Series game. It was epic.”

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of that fabled team, four Huskers will participate in Friday night’s pre-game ceremony. Johnny Dorn, a freshman pitcher in 2005, and Daniel Bruce, a senior outfielder, will throw out the first pitch. Jeff Christy (pictured below) and Curtis Ledbetter (pictured above) will catch Friday's ceremonial pitches. Christy was a junior catcher and Ledbetter a senior infielder on the 2005 team. Now Nebraska’s director of baseball operations, Ledbetter and his wife, Monica, will help raise awareness for organ donations at Sunday afternoon’s series finale. The Ledbetters’ 2-year-old daughter, Laney, will need a liver transplant in the future and her inspiring, heart-warming story was shared earlier this week in an N-Sider column that chronicles the team’s desire to show its love for Lacey. Zach Kroenke, a junior left-handed pitcher on the 2005 Husker team, will throw Saturday's ceremonial first pitch.

5-Year Total: 237 Wins, Three Big 12 Titles, Three CWS Appearances

The 2005 Nebraska team’s 57 wins remain the school record. The Huskers went from an eighth-place conference finish in 2004 to the Big 12 regular-season championship in 2005. The Huskers also won the 2005 Big 12 Tournament, hosted and won an NCAA Regional and beat Miami in an NCAA Super Regional in Lincoln. That magical season is well-framed in this videothat includes reflections from three leaders of the 2005 team – pitching coach Rob Childress, volunteer assistant coach Will Bolt and head coach Mike Anderson. For the eight seniors on that historic Nebraska baseball team, 2005 capped an amazing five-year run that saw the Huskers win 237 games, claim three Big 12 titles and make three College World Series appearances.

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