BSB Preview: at Wichita State

NEBRASKA at WICHITA STATE
March 17-18, 2026
Eck Stadium | Wichita, Kan.

Tuesday, March 17 – 6 p.m. CT
Pitching: RHP Cooper Katskee (2-0, 1.40 ERA) vs. LHP Ethan Rogers (0-1, 9.82 ERA)
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

Wednesday, March 18 – 2 p.m. CT
Pitching: RHP Pryce Bender (0-0, 5.19 ERA) vs. TBA
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

Follow the Game
• Both of this week's midweek matchups at Wichita State can be seen on ESPN+.
• Fans can also listen to Kyle Crooks and Nick Handley call this week's action on the Huskers Radio Network.
• Every game of the 2026 season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and Android devices.

Nebraska vs. Wichita State
• Through 55 all-time meetings, Nebraska holds a 29-26 advantage over Wichita State in the all-time series. 
• The Huskers and Shockers meet in a two-game midweek series for the third consecutive season after the two teams split in Wichita in 2024 and the Big Red swept Wichita State in Lincoln last season.

Best Start in the Bolt Era
• With a 14-5 record through 19 games, Nebraska has matched its best start under head coach Will Bolt. 
• The Big Red began the 2021 and 2024 seasons with a 14-5 mark, finishing in the regional final of the Fayetteville Regional and earning the No. 3 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional, respectively.

A Look at the Midweek Starters
• Cooper Katskee takes the mound on Tuesday for his third start as a Husker. The right-hander is 2-0 with two saves and a 1.40 ERA in 19.1 innings while recording 28 strikeouts and limiting opposing batters to a .134 batting average.
• Pryce Bender gets the nod on Wednesday for his second start of the season. The sophomore has made five appearances, recording a save and 5.19 ERA in 8.2 innings of action.

Notables on the 2026 Campaign
• With wins against No. 7 Auburn and No. 16 Florida State this season, the Big Red are 8-5 against ranked opponents in the last two seasons.
• Nebraska is one of 14 Power Four programs, to rank in the top 50 nationally in batting average (40th, .307) and fielding percentage (20th, .982).
• The Husker offense ranks 12th nationally with 49 doubles and is eighth in the country with 2.58 doubles per game, a pace that would produce the fourth-most doubles in program history over the 55-game regular-season slate in 2026. 
• Cooper Katskee is off to a strong start for the NU pitching staff, ranking fifth nationally in WHIP (0.57), ninth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (14.00), 11th in hits allowed/9 inn. (4.19), 23rd in walks allowed/9 inn. (0.93) and 35th with a 1.40 ERA.
• The NU pitching staff has recorded 14 strikeouts in four of the first 19 games this season, after totaling just six such performances combined in 2024 and 2025.
• Dylan Carey ranks among the top 15 of DI's active career leaders in four categories, including third in at-bats (742) and doubles (55), seventh in games played (194) and 14th in hits (212).
• Dylan Carey was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch list, while Ty Horn and Gavin Blachowicz landed on the Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List.
• The Big Red completed its nine-game homestand with a perfect 9-0 mark, recording their best home start since opening the home slate in 2015 with an 11-0 record.

Seven Walk-Off Wins Since April 2025
• The Huskers have recorded three walk-off victories through the first 19 games this season.
• Going back to the final three weeks of the regular season in 2025, the Big Red have totaled seven victories in walk-off fashion.

Mac of All Trades
• Junior Mac Moyer has been a mainstay in the leadoff spot and a key contributor for the Husker offense this season, ranking among the team leaders in a variety of categories.
• The center fielder has seen action in every game this season, reaching base safely in the last 18 contests
• Moyer leads the Huskers with a .426 batting average (40th nationally), .536 on-base percentage (48th nationally), eight doubles, 16 walks drawn and three stolen bases, while ranking second in hits (29) and OPS (1.080) and runs scored (17). 

Other Bats in the Husker Lineup
• Case Sanderson has scored a team-best 22 runs and is second on the team with 11 walks while batting .375 with seven doubles, a home run and 12 runs driven in.
• Jett Buck is batting .366 at the plate with six doubles, three homers, 14 RBI, 14 runs scored and team-high four stolen bases on the season.
• Joshua Overbeek is hitting .286 with six doubles, a homer, 11 RBI and 17 runs scored while tallying a .427 on-base percentage.
• Cole Kitchens has doubled five times and is second on the team with 16 RBI as NU's designated hitter, while Jeter Worthley has three doubles, is second on the team with seven hit by pitches and has reached base safely in seven consecutive games.
• Drew Grego is batting .300 at the plate after his three-hit performance in the series opener against Maine, and Devin Nunez hit 4-for-10 with four RBI in last weekend's series against the Black Bears.

Notable Arms in the Pen
• Caleb Clark has made a team-high eight relief appearances and holds a 3.86 ERA in seven innings, while Ryan Harrahill has compiled a 0.90 ERA with one run allowed in 10 innings across six relief outings.
• Kevin Mannell is 1-0 on the year with a save in seven appearances and has totaled a 4.35 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.
• J'Shawn Unger holds a 3-1 record and a save in six relief outings while posting a 5.23 ERA and nine strikeouts with an opposing batting average of .184 in 10.1 innings.
• Chase Olson is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA across four relief appearances.
• Tucker Timmerman and Colin Nowaczyk have seen action in five relief outings, while southpaws Grant Cleavinger and Braxton Stewart have toed the rubber four and three times, respectively.

Lucky Number Six in the Bolt Era
• Nebraska is 140-29 under head coach Will Bolt when scoring at least six runs.
• The Husker offense has scored six-plus runs in 11 of the 14 victories this season after reaching the six-run mark 32 times last season, compiling a 25-7 record.
• Nebraska scored six-plus runs in 34 contests (28-6) in 2024 after tallying at least six runs 33 times (26-7) in 2023, 23 times (19-4) in 2022, 28 times (26-2) in 2021 and seven times (5-2) in 2020. 

Carey Nearing All-Time Doubles Record
• With 55 career doubles in four seasons at Nebraska, Dylan Carey needs two doubles to become the program's all-time leader. 
• Carey is tied for second all-time after doubling eight times through Nebraska's first 16 games this season.
• The Castle Rock, Colo., native is tied with Daniel Bruce (2002-05) and Matt Hopper (2000-03) and is one shy of tying Will Bolt 's (1999-02) program record of 56 career doubles.

Going the Extra Mile
• The Huskers have recorded at least four extra-base hits in 120 games under head coach Will Bolt, posting a 95-24-1 mark in those games since 2020.
• Additionally, the Big Red are 63-9-1 when the Husker offense tallies five-plus extra-base hits under Bolt.

Get a Lead for the Bullpen
• During Will Bolt's tenure at Nebraska, the Huskers are 150-19-1 since the start of the 2020 season when they lead after the sixth inning.
• The Big Red are 146-17 when leading after seven innings and hold a 145-11 mark when leading after the eighth inning since 2020.

Big Innings Propel NU Offense in the Bolt Era
• During Will Bolt's tenure at Nebraska, the Huskers have scored three-plus runs in an inning in 174 games and hold a 138-35-1 record in those contests. 
• The Huskers are 63-15 in the last three seasons when the NU offense has generated the big inning (3+ runs) in 2024, 2025 and 2026. 
• In 2025, Division I teams who scored three-plus runs in an inning won 70.1% of the time.