2017 Season Preview

Nebraska has been one of the nation's most successful programs over the past four seasons. The Huskers have posted three top-20 national finishes and two top-10 finishes in the last four years, while winning two NCAA Regional titles and advancing to the 2013 Women's College World Series. Nebraska also claimed its first Big Ten title in 2014.

The 2016 senior class was the cornerstone for that four-year run in which the Huskers averaged 40 wins per season. For Nebraska to continue its impressive run in 2017, the Huskers must replace five departed seniors, a decorated group that included four all-conference players, three all-region honorees and one two-time All-American.

Nebraska must replace not only the quality of its departed seniors, but also its experience, as the five graduated seniors combined to start 914 games in their careers, which are 122 more starts than the current 21-player roster can claim. Offensively, the four graduated hitters totaled 378 more at bats and 145 more hits in their careers than Nebraska's 12 returning hitters combined. In the circle, two-time all-region right-hander Emily Lockman started 29 more games in her career and threw 143.2 more innings than the Huskers' four returning pitchers combined.

As large as the lost production looms, the Huskers are actually in a similar spot to when this successful four-year run began. In 2013, Nebraska boasted the largest freshman class in Rhonda Revelle's tenure as Husker head coach. NU was tasked with replacing six productive seniors from the 2012 season and despite a relatively inexperienced roster, Nebraska went 45-16 in 2013 and advanced to the Women's College World Series.

The situation is similar this spring, as the Huskers once again feature a seven-player freshman class and a roster that is relatively inexperienced. It took a true team effort and contributions from all four classes to make that memorable run in 2013, and it will require a similar formula if Nebraska hopes to approach that level of success in 2017.

The Huskers' prospects this spring start with leadership and production from their 12 upperclassmen. Nebraska boasts four seniors this season, led by MJ Knighten and Cassie McClure. Knighten was a 2016 first-team All-American and is a two-time all-region and three-time All-Big Ten selection, while McClure is a three-time all-region honoree and was a third-team All-Big 12 pick as a freshman at Texas Tech in 2014. Knighten and McClure are the only players on Nebraska's roster who have earned an all-region or all-conference award in their career. Both are among the most distinguished players at their positions in the country, as Knighten is one of only eight returning 2016 first-team All-Americans, while McClure is one of only four Division I pitchers who is a three-time all-region performer.

While Nebraska's most decorated players are seniors, the Huskers' success this season may come down to the production of the eight-player junior class, although that group is down to seven as Madi Unzicker will miss the season due to injury. Three of the Huskers' five pitchers are juniors, while five juniors are competing for a starting spot in the lineup. Laura Barrow, Kaylan Jablonski and Austen Urness have been the most productive members of the class to this point in their careers. Barrow is a .313 career hitter and is the only Husker other than Knighten and McClure with a .300 career average. Urness ranks third on the roster with nine career home runs and 42 RBIs. Jablonski has made 34 career starts in the circle - the most of any current Husker - while also earning 62 starts in the lineup. She has recorded eight wins in each of her first two seasons, while totaling 17 career extra-base hits and 31 RBIs.

Both of Nebraska's sophomores are also expected to play prominent roles this season. Bri Cassidy started 21 games at catcher as a freshman last spring, and she is expected to be the Huskers' primary catcher in 2017 following Unzicker's injury. Alyvia Simmons started a team-high 35 games in right field last season, and 11 of her 26 hits went for extra bases. She also ranked third on the team with five home runs.

Nebraska's seven freshmen will have chances to make immediate contributions, much like the 2013 class that helped the Huskers to the Women's College World Series. Five of the seven freshmen were named regional high school All-Americans following their senior seasons. Tristen Edwards was one of 36 players nationally selected to participate in the 2016 Premier Girls Fastpitch High School All-American Game, while Haley Donaldson was the 2016 Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year.

Knighten a Returning First-Team All-American
MJ Knighten earned first-team All-America honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association in 2016. She was one of 16 players and eight infielders named to the first team. Knighten became the seventh Husker to be selected as a first-team All-American and was the third NU infielder to earn the honor and the first since 1999.

One of only eight returning 2016 first-team All-Americans, Knighten will look to build off an impressive junior season. She hit .376 with 21 doubles and 60 RBIs in 2016 while ranking fourth nationally in home runs, 13th in runs per game, 19th in RBIs per game and 23rd in slugging percentage. She is one of four returning players who averaged 1.0 run, 1.0 hit and 1.0 RBI per game in 2016 and is one of five returning players who totaled 60 hits, 60 runs and 60 RBIs. Knighten was the first Husker to accomplish either of those feats.

This spring, Knighten will look to become the first Husker to earn back-to-back first-team All-America accolades. With a second first-team All-America nod, Knighten would become just the second Husker to be a two-time first-team All-America selection, and she would become the 10th two-time All-American in program history. Knighten is also on pace to challenge Nebraska's all-time hits, runs and RBI records this spring.

McClure a Returning Three-Time All-Region Selection
For both her offensive and pitching prowess, Cassie McClure has earned all-region accolades each of her first three collegiate seasons. She was a third-team All-Central Region pick as a freshman at Texas Tech in 2014, and McClure has earned first-team All-Midwest Region accolades at the pitcher/utility spot in each of her first two seasons at Nebraska. McClure is one of four 2017 Division I pitchers who is a three-time all-region honoree. This spring, McClure will look to become the first pitcher in school history to be recognized as a three-time first-team all-region performer.

Nebraska to be Led by Tri-Captains in 2017
Seniors MJ Knighten and Lotte Sjulin and junior Madi Unzicker will serve as tri-captains for Nebraska this spring. All three are serving as team captains for the first time.

Knighten has been Nebraska's starting third baseman the past three seasons and was a 2016 first-team All-American. Sjulin is a two-time recipient of the Nebraska Coaches' Award and also serves as the 2016-17 President of Nebraska's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Unzicker is serving as captain even though she will miss the 2017 campaign following offseason knee surgery.

Huskers Have Largest Roster in Program History
Nebraska boasts a 21-player roster in 2017. The roster is the largest in Rhonda Revelle's 25 seasons as Husker head coach and ties the 1992 squad for the largest roster in the 42-year history of Nebraska softball.

The roster features seven freshmen, tying for the largest freshman class in Revelle's tenure. Nebraska also had seven freshmen in 2013, when the group helped the Huskers advance to the Women's College World Series.

Three Thoughts From Coach Revelle
1) "We have to look to MJ (Knighten) for leadership. She has taken it upon herself to be a leader by example. She will not only be a leader by her play, but also by voice and by emotion. The biggest thing for her is to not try and do too much. She just needs to do what she does both on the field and off the field as a leader."

2) "I think you will see a determined Cassie (McClure) in her senior year. She has shown that on any day she can compete well with some of the top teams in the country. Kaylan (Jablonski) is someone who has really worked to take every aspect of her pitching to the next level, starting with her mental game. Sydney (McLeod) is coming off her (elbow) injury nicely and will be an X-factor for this staff because she is unknown to her opponents, and she is a lefty that keeps the ball down and gets ground balls. She can add a very valuable dimension to the staff. Caitlin Bartsch and Taylor Kadavy have focused on their strengths, and there will be situations this season when we are going to rely on them to come through."

3) "If I had to write the lineup today, MJ (Knighten) would be leading off because it would force teams to pitch to her and ensure that she gets the maximum number of at bats. The other two at the top of the order would be Tristen (Edwards) and Kaylan (Jablonski). From there, we have players with a lot of capability. We've seen some really good things out of a lot of players like Austen (Urness), Taylor (Otte) and Alexis (Perry). We've also seen a lot of improvement out of Bri (Cassidy). If they all do what they are capable of doing, we're going to do some good things."