Softball Updates: 2025 Roster & Schedule News

The Nebraska softball team has added 10 newcomers to its roster for the 2025 season. The 10 additions come after the Huskers saw 10 players depart from last year’s roster, including eight who exhausted their eligibility. Nebraska has also announced a portion of its non-conference tournament schedule for the 2025 season.

The Huskers’ 2025 roster features 24 players as of July 15. The 14 returning players are joined by six transfers and four freshmen.

Nebraska Roster Highlights

• NU returns 13 letterwinners from 2024, including six players who started at least 17 games.
• The Huskers also welcome back Abbie Squier, a two-year starter who missed the 2024 season following offseason surgery.
• Other players returning from season-ending injuries suffered last year include Jordyn Bahl, Dakota Carter, Caitlin Olensky and Talia Tokheim.
• Four of Nebraska’s returners – Squier, Bahl, Ava Bredwell and Katelyn Caneda – have been recognized as all-region performers in their career.
• Four of the Huskers’ six transfers – Olivia DiNardo (Arizona), Hannah and Lauren Camenzind (Arkansas) and Ava Kuszak (Wisconsin) – were either an all-conference or all-region selection at their former school.
• In total, Nebraska’s roster features eight players who have been honored as an all-conference or all-region player in their career.
• The Huskers also have two more players – Samantha Bland (Nebraska) and Kylee Magee (Arizona State) – entering their second full season who were all-freshman team selections in their first year.
• NU’s six transfers were all starters for major conference programs (Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas and Wisconsin).
• Four of the six transfers came from teams ranked in the top 20 of the final 2024 coaches’ poll.
• Nebraska’s four freshmen include two in-state players (Nessa McMillen from Blair and Kennadi Williams from Lincoln) and two players from California (Natalia Hill and Macie Vickers).

On the scheduling front, Nebraska has announced four of the five non-conference tournaments it will play over the first five weeks of the season. The Huskers will travel west for tournaments in New Mexico and California in weeks two and three, respectively. Nebraska returns to the Midwest for a tournament at Wichita State in week four before concluding the tournament portion of the regular season with a home tournament March 7-9 at Bowlin Stadium.

In 2025, the Big Ten will welcome Oregon, Washington and UCLA to the conference (USC does not have a softball program). The addition of these three programs – each of whom were ranked in the final poll of the 2024 season – will lead to a new conference scheduling format, which the Big Ten is expected to announce later this summer.

Nebraska’s Non-Conference Tournament Schedule (as of July 15)

• Feb. 14-16: Troy Cox Classic – Las Cruces, N.M.
• Feb. 20-23: Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic – Cathedral City, Calif.
• Feb. 28-March 2: Wichita State Tournament – Wichita, Kan.
• March 7-9: Big Red Spring Fling – Bowlin Stadium
  
  

A Brief Look at Nebraska’s Newcomers                

• Olivia DiNardo was one of the Pac-12’s best hitters the past two seasons at Arizona. DiNardo was a second-team All-Pac 12 and second-team All-West Region selection as a freshman in 2023, when she posted the eighth-highest batting average (.382) by a freshman in Arizona history. She repeated as an all-region selection as a sophomore in 2024, helping the Wildcats to an NCAA Regional title. DiNardo hit .340 in her two seasons at Arizona with 103 hits, 15 doubles, 20 homers and 74 RBIs in 106 games.
  
  
• Hannah Camenzind was able to excel as both a hitter and pitcher in the SEC during her two seasons at Arkansas. In the circle, the left-hander went 14-3 with one save in her two seasons. Camenzind was a second-team All-SEC selection as a freshman in 2023, when she posted a 2.52 ERA in conference play. As a sophomore in 2024, Camenzind went 9-1 as Arkansas earned the No. 12 seed for the NCAA Tournament. Offensively, Camenzind hit .308 in her two seasons as a Razorback.
  
  
• Lauren Camenzind was a versatile and valuable player for Arkansas the past two seasons. She was the Razorbacks’ starting catcher as a freshman in 2023 before becoming the starting shortstop in 2024. Camenzind batted .292 as a freshman, earning a spot on the All-South Region third team. She started 79 games with the Razorbacks and produced 47 hits, 29 runs and 28 RBIs.
  
  
• Natalia Hill comes to Nebraska as one of the nation’s top high school recruits. While leading her team to a state championship as a senior, Hill was named the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Player of the Year and the Long Beach Press-Telegram Player of the Year. Hill batted .549 as a senior with 46 hits, seven homers and 33 RBIs. She was invited to play in the 2023 All-Star Jennie Finch Classic and earned a spot on the All-World team while playing for Spain at the 2023 International Challenge.
  
  
• Kacie Hoffmann displayed a powerful left-handed bat while spending three seasons at Arkansas. She was a starter as a freshman in 2022 and a sophomore in 2023 before sitting out the 2024 season following offseason surgery. Hoffmann produced 16 doubles, 15 homers and 47 RBIs as a Razorback. She played a major role in Arkansas winning the SEC Tournament and an NCAA Regional as a freshman in 2022. Hoffmann earned a spot on the SEC All-Tournament team and homered twice in three games during the NCAA Regional.
  
  
• Ava Kuszak was one of the top players in the Big Ten Conference last season as Wisconsin’s starting shortstop. Kuszak was a second-team All-Big Ten and third-team all-region selection in 2024, when she hit .318 with 15 doubles, nine homers and 32 RBIs. A Colorado native who played for Nebraska Gold in the summer, Kuszak ranked sixth in the Big Ten in doubles last season.
  
  
• Kylee Magee adds a talented arm to Nebraska’s pitching staff after spending the past two seasons at Arizona State. Magee, who appeared in 27 games with 24 starts as a Sun Devil, earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in 2023 before an injury limited her to only six games in 2024. Magee posted an impressive 2.82 ERA in Pac-12 play as a freshman, ranking sixth in the league in ERA. Although she suffered a season-ending injury in 2024, she did not allow a run in four of her six outings last season and was 1-1 with two saves and a 2.86 ERA.
  
  
• Nessa McMillen was a four-time all-state selection for Blair High School. One of the top hitters in the state, McMillen hit above .400 in each of her four high school seasons. She batted .419 as a freshman, .469 as a sophomore, .451 as a junior and .538 as a senior, when she was a first-team All-Nebraska selection. McMillen produced more than 50 doubles, 20 home runs and 100 RBIs in her prep career.
  
  
• Macie Vickers brings an impressive athletic resume to Nebraska after starring in three sports at Escalon High School in California. A nominee for the 2023 PGF Futures All-American game, Vickers batted .604 as a junior, .500 as a sophomore and .451 as a freshman. An injury kept her out of the lineup for a large portion of her senior season. Vickers was a three-time all-league selection in softball and was an all-league pick in volleyball and an all-district selection in basketball.
  
  
• Kennadi Williams was a three-sport standout at Lincoln Southwest High School, and she will also play basketball at Nebraska. The Lincoln Journal Star 2022 High School Female Athlete of the year, Williams was a winner for the Silver Hawks. She helped Southwest to four consecutive state tournaments in softball, basketball and soccer, including a state championship in softball and a runner-up finish in basketball.  A two-time all-state selection on the diamond, Williams was a first-team All-Nebraska selection as a senior after batting .450 and leading Class A in runs scored.