Huskers Set for Midweek Contest at OmahaHuskers Set for Midweek Contest at Omaha
Levi Ottman
Softball

Huskers Set for Midweek Contest at Omaha

The No. 20 Nebraska softball team will play its first midweek game of the season this week, as it is set to face off against the Omaha Mavericks at 5 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday, March 26 in Omaha, Neb. 

The Huskers are No. 20 in the NFCA Coaches Poll and have been ranked every week this season. They were also tabbed No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Softball rankings.

Last weekend, NU hosted a three-game conference series against Minnesota and went undefeated. The Huskers won by a score of 8-0 (6 innings) on Friday, 8-3 on Saturday and 8-2 on Sunday. The Big Red outscored the Golden Gophers 24-5 across the three games. As a team, Nebraska hit .349 and held Minnesota to .216, while the Husker pitchers compiled an ERA of 1.75. Jordyn Bahl, Kylee Magee and Hannah Camenzind grabbed a win apiece.

With the three wins, the Huskers moved to 23-8 on the season and 4-1 in Big Ten play. The Mavericks are 20-7 on the season with a 1-2 mark in Summit League competition. As a team, they have a batting average of .286 and an ERA of 2.49.

Wednesday’s game will not be streamed on the Summit League Network and a broadcast with Nate Rohr on the call can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network. 

Leading Off

  • Nebraska now has 63 home runs this season, which would tie for the fourth-most in school history. The school record is 76. 
  • Olivia DiNardo is five RBIs away from 100 in her career.
  • The Huskers are ranked No. 20 in the NFCA Poll. NU has been ranked by the NFCA every week this season.
  • Hannah Camenzind has played in 98 games over the course of her career. The Huskers’ first game against Purdue on Saturday is expected to be her 100th collegiate game.
  • Katelyn Caneda’s next hit will be the 100th of her career.
  • The Huskers’ pitching staff ranks 15th nationally in improved ERA. NU’s ERA in 2024 was 4.35 and it is 2.82 in 2025.
  • Ava Bredwell is 23 RBIs away from amassing 100+ hits, 100+ runs and 100+ RBIs in her career. Abbie Squier is  27 RBIs and eight runs away from that accomplishment.
  • Nebraska has 15 run-rule victories on the year. The school record for most run-rule wins in a season is 17 (2015).
  • Nebraska has scored 10+ runs in 14 of its 31 games this season.

Camenzind Twins Making an Impact
Nebraska natives Hannah and Lauren Camenzind both transferred to the Huskers from Arkansas this season and are having solid seasons with their hometown team. 

  • Both twins are making their marks at the plate, as Hannah bats .390 and Lauren bats .326 on the season. Hannah has 25 RBIs, 12 doubles and three homers, while Lauren has logged 17 RBIs and 29 hits. In the Huskers’ series against Minnesota, the two combined for nine hits.
  • The two have both started in a majority of the Huskers’ games -- Lauren has played in every game and has started 30, 28 of them at second base. Hannah has played in 28 games and started 25. 
  • Hannah is also having an impact in the circle, as she has the second-lowest ERA on the team at 3.53 and a record of 4-2. In Saturday’s game against Minnesota, she struck out a career-high seven batters. 
  • In Big Ten competition, Hannah has racked up a team-high seven RBIs and a batting average of .588, along with five doubles, four runs and a homer.  
  • Lauren bats .389 against conference opponents  and has four RBIs, three doubles and five runs scored. 

Husker Home Run Quick Hitters
The Nebraska softball team has enjoyed a solid season at the plate, most notably with its home run numbers. 

  • Nebraska is second in the nation with 63 home runs in only 31 games.
  • NU is on pace to hit 102 home runs in a 50-game regular season. The school record for home runs in a season is 76 in 2022, and the Big Ten record is 118 by Michigan in 2015 (68 games).
  • A total of 14 Huskers have hit a home run this season, including 12 players with multiple home runs.
  • The Huskers have homered five times in a game on four occasions this season, including three consecutive games to open the Troy Cox Classic.
  • Nebraska has produced 11 innings this season with multiple home runs, including five innings with three or more home runs.
  • Nebraska has hit back-to-back home runs five times this season, including three times with three consecutive home runs that includes a school-record four straight home runs against San Jose State on Feb. 22.
  • Ava Kuszak (twice), Jordyn Bahl, Abbie Squier and Emmerson Cope (twice) have all had a multi-homer game this season, including a three-home run game from Kuszak against Montana on Feb. 16 which tied the Nebraska and Big Ten records for home runs in a game.
  • Kuszak has hit more home runs herself (12) than 109 NCAA Division I teams.
  • Together, Kuszak (12) and Jordyn Bahl (11) have combined for 23 home runs. Their two-player combined total of 23 home runs would rank 94th among all NCAA Division I teams this spring and would be more than five Big Ten schools have hit as a team.
  • Twelve Huskers – Bahl, Kuszak, Squier, Bella Bacon, Alina Felix, Malia Thoms, Olivia DiNardo, Hannah Camenzind, Lauren Camenzind, Ava Bredwell, Alina Felix and Samantha Bland, – have already matched or exceeded their career highs in home runs.

Huskers in the Record Books

  • The Big Red scored 10+ runs in five straight games from Feb. 14-16 for the first time in program history.
  • NU notched five home runs in three straight games for what is believed to be the first time in school history.
  • In the Huskers’ game against San Jose State at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, they hit four straight home runs for the first time in program history.
  • Nebraska scored 102 runs in its first 10 games of the season, which marked the quickest the team has hit the 100-run milestone.
  • The Huskers scored 200 runs in their first 23 games of the season, which marked the quickest the team has hit the 200-run milestone.
  • Ava Kuszak posted three home runs in the second game against Montana and is now tied with Kaylan Jablonski and Christie McCoy for the school record for home runs in a game.

Bahl Solid at the Plate
Nebraska softball pitcher and utility player Jordyn Bahl has not only had an impact in the circle, but her offense is a force to be reckoned with.

  • Bahl ranks in the top 20 nationally in extra-base hits (4th), total bases (7th), slugging percentage (8th), runs (8th) and runs per game (3rd). 
  • Bahl is tied for fourth in the country with 24 extra-base hits on the season. She is tied with Jasmyn Burns of Ohio State, Taylor Shumaker of Florida, Delaney Keith of Coastal Carolina and Rachel Roupe of Liberty.
  • On the season, 24 of Bahl’s 44 hits have gone for extra bases. She averages an extra-base hit every 3.9 at bats and almost one extra-base hit per game.
  • Bahl has nearly as many hits herself as she has allowed as a pitcher. Bahl has 44 hits in 93 at bats at the plate and in the circle, she has allowed only 52 hits in 374 opponent at bats.
  • Bahl has also scored more runs herself (41) than she has allowed (38) in 85.0 innings in the circle.

What Nebraska Returned in 2025
Nebraska’s 2025 roster consists of 25 total athletes. Fourteen of those are returners.

Huskers Hit the Portal
Nebraska utilized the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in six new players -- Hannah and Lauren Camenzind and Kacie Hoffmann from Arkansas, Olivia DiNardo from Arizona, Kylee Magee from Arizona State and Ava Kuszak from Wisconsin.

  • Hannah Camenzind was a second-team All-SEC member in 2023. Over her two seasons with the Razorbacks, she posted a 14-3 record with 3.11 ERA over 119.1 total innings. At the plate, she batted .308.
  • Lauren Camenzind was a third-team NFCA All-South Region member in 2023. Over her two seasons at Arkansas, she played in 86 games (79 starts) at both catcher and shortstop.
  • DiNardo racked up numerous accolades during her two years at Arizona. She was a second-team NFCA All-West Region member in 2023 and a Third-Team member in 2024 and was named a Second-Team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honoree in 2023. Over the course of two seasons with the Wildcats, DiNardo started 102 games and built up a batting average of .340, along with 15 doubles, 20 home runs and 74 RBIs.
  • Hoffmann played in 106 games with 96 starts during her time with Arkansas. She hit .244 and logged 16 doubles, 15 home runs and 47 RBIs. 
  • Kuszak earned second-team All-Big Ten honors and third-team NFCA All-Great Lakes Region accolades in 2024. During her two seasons at Wisconsin, she played in 76 games with 65 starts and notched 16 doubles, 10 home runs and 33 RBIs on a .278 batting average.
  • Magee was named a member of the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team at Arizona State in 2023. She suffered an injury early in the 2024 season. She pitched in 27 games with 24 starts and compiled a 3.51 ERA and two saves, along with striking out 79 batters in 89.2 innings.

Huskers Returning From Injuries
Nebraska faced significant adversity in 2024, as a total of six players suffered season-ending injuries, including four that are returning for the 2025 season. Additionally, Arizona State transfer Kylee Magee had to use the offseason for rehab. 

  • Jordyn Bahl suffered a knee injury in the Huskers’ 2024 season opener that required season-ending surgery. Bahl was a First-Team All-American, the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and one of 10 national finalists for player of the year in 2022 and 2023. 
  • Abbie Squier, a returning All-Big Ten and all-region selection, returns after being out for the 2024 season due to surgery. In 2022 and 2023, she was the Big Red’s starting left fielder. 
  • Dakota Carter, the Huskers’ designated player, was deemed out for the 2024 season before it even began. In 2023, she scored 13 runs as a pinch runner and appeared in 39 games. 
  • Caitlin Olensky suffered a season-ending injury in the Huskers’ conference opener against Illinois last year. Before her injury, she compiled a record of 3-2 with a team-best 3.30 ERA.
  • Emmerson Cope was out for almost a month of the 2024 season after battling a back injury. When she was in the lineup, the Topeka, Kan., native amassed an ERA of 4.76 in the circle. She racked up 21 hits, 10 runs, six homers and 19 RBIs. 
  • Talia Tokheim missed the first 23 games of the season while rehabbing an injury from 2023. She returned for nine games before suffering another season-ending injury in game three of the Penn State series. In her limited time on the field, she notched 46 total bases and seven home runs.
  • Kylee Magee suffered a season-ending injury after racking up six appearances with four starts in her sophomore year with the Sun Devils. In her first two years at Arizona State, she struck out 79 batters in 89.2 innings.

Scouting Omaha (20-7, 1-2 Summit League)
The Omaha Mavericks have compiled a record of 20-7 on the season with a 1-2 mark in conference competition. As a team, they bat .286 with a 2.59 ERA.

  • The Huskers and Mavericks have a common opponent in Northern Iowa. NU run-ruled the Panthers twice at the Big Red Spring Fling, while Omaha has a 1-1 record against them.
  • Rylinn Groff has started all 27 games and has the highest batting average on the team at .366. She totals 26 hits and 10 RBIs.
  • Sydney Thomason has 29 hits in 27 games for the Mavericks, including a team-high 28 RBIs. She also has seven home runs and seven doubles on the season with an OPS of 1.099. 
  • Maggie O’Brien totals 28 hits on 91 at bats for a .308 average. She has six doubles and 15 RBIs.
  • Sophomore Katherine Johnson has started every game for Omaha and has a batting average of .282, along with seven doubles and two homers.
  • Haley Wilwerding has the third-highest batting average on the team at .337. She adds four doubles, two homers and nine RBIs.
  • Ava Rongisch has five home runs and 21 RBIs on the season on a .276 batting average.
  • Sophomore Sammy Schmidt has played in 25 games for the Mavs and started 24. She bats .267 and has three home runs. 
  • Marra Cramer has started every game and compiled eight home runs and four doubles with a .263 average. 
  • Maddia Groff leads the Omaha pitching staff with a 1.58 ERA and 11-3 record over 84.0 innings. She has allowed 19 earned runs and racked up 115 strikeouts. 
  • Alexis Wiggins has pitched the second-most innings on the team at 62.1 and has an ERA of 3.48. She is 5-4 this season and has allowed 31 earned runs.
  • Alyson Edwards and Grace Hornbuckle round out the Maverick staff. Edwards has an ERA of 2.19 across 22.1 innings, while Hombuckle has pitched 15.1 innings with a 5.02 ERA. 
  • Mike Heard was hired as head coach of the Mavericks in August of 2021 and is in his fourth season with the team.