Huskers Hope to Stay Hot at Michigan State

The No. 9 Nebraska softball team is set to travel to East Lansing, Mich., to take on the Michigan State Spartans in a three-game conference series at Secchia Stadium. Games will be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. NU is ranked No. 5 by USA Softball, No. 6 by D1 Softball, No. 8 by Softball America and No. 9 by the NFCA.

 

The two teams will face off at 4 p.m. (CT) on Friday, March 20 and will play at 12 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, March 21. The third matchup is set for 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday, March 22. 

 

Last weekend, the Huskers hosted the Michigan Wolverines for their first conference series of the season. NU swept the Wolverines by scores of 5-2, 8-4 and 5-2. Alexis Jensen went 2-for-2 with three RBI and claimed the pitching win in game one, while games two and three were highlighted by Katelyn Caneda homers. Caneda started all three games over the weekend at second base after injuries put the Huskers’ primary first baseman, Lauren Camenzind, behind the plate. 

 

Jensen was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and the Softball on Sports Illustrated Freshman of the week for her performance last weekend.

 

All three games this week - and every game this season - will have a free radio broadcast with Nate Rohr on the call. The radio broadcast is available at Huskers.com/listen and on the official Huskers app. All three games this weekend will be streamed on B1G+.

 

Huskers Enter Weekend on Hot Streak
Going into the series at Michigan State, the Nebraska softball team is on a 10-game winning streak and has won 17 of its last 18 games.

• In the 10-game streak, the Huskers have posted three run-rule victories -- 9-1 (6 innings) over Tulsa, 8-0 (5 innings) over South Dakota State and 10-2 (six innings) over Omaha. 

• The Big Red also posted a win over then-No. 21 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. NU won, 4-3, on Feb. 28. The victory was powered by two RBI from Jordy Frahm and a homer from Malia Thoms.

• Ava Kuszak has hit her stride over the last 10 games, as she has 11 RBI on 10 hits, eight of them coming for extra bases. Kuszak has hit five homers in the stretch. Hannah Camenzind adds 15 RBI with three doubles and 11 hits.

• Two-way players Alexis Jensen and Jordy Frahm also key the Huskers offensively during the stretch. Jensen owns a batting average of .583 across 12 at bats and hit her first career homer in last weekend’s series against Michigan. Frahm is batting .500 with six extra-base hits and nine RBI. 

• Collectively, Nebraska’s pitchers have a 1.91 ERA in the last 10 games. They also have struck out 86 while allowing only 16 walks, for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.38. Alexis Jensen is 5-0 and Frahm is 4-0, while Hannah Camenzind adds another win. 

Tough Schedule Paying Off for the Big Red
With a majority of its non-conference schedule played, the Nebraska softball team is positioning itself to host an NCAA Regional in 2026.

• As of March 18, Nebraska sits at third in the NCAA Softball RPI. The Huskers have the hardest strength of schedule in the nation so far and have played 10 games against other teams in the top 25 of the RPI. NU is 5-5 in those games and 16-0 against teams outside of the top 25 in the RPI.

 

• Nebraska’s past opponents this season have a combined record of 476-209 (.695), while its future opponents are 365-243 (.600). All in all, Nebraska’s opposition this season has a combined winning percentage of .650.

 

• The Big Red has two wins this season over the No. 1 team in the country. At the Huskers’ season-opening tournament in San Antonio, Texas, they downed the Longhorns, 8-5, behind three-run homers by Ava Kuszak and Emmerson Cope and a scoreless four innings 

from Jordy Frahm. Just over a week later, NU took down Texas Tech, 3-2. The victory included a pitching win from Alexis Jensen, a perfect final three innings from Frahm and a home run from Jesse Farrell.

 

• Overall, the Huskers have posted eight wins in 13 games over teams that are currently ranked in the top 25 of the NFCA Coaches Poll or the USA Softball Poll -- Washington, Texas, LSU, UCF, Texas Tech, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. 

 

Pitching Trio Emerging for Huskers
The pitching staff of Jordy Frahm, Alexis Jensen and Hannah Camenzind has been impressive for the Huskers so far, with the three combining for all of Nebraska’s 21 wins in the circle.

• Frahm and Jensen have started 19 games for the Big Red and have a combined record of 17-5. The two have accounted for every win the Huskers have against a ranked team this season. In the games that Jensen has started and Frahm has come in in relief, the two combine for a record of 8-0 and an ERA of 1.69 with 86 strikeouts.

• There are only three Division I pitchers in the country to have struck out 95+ batters and allowed fewer than 15 walks -- two of them are Frahm and Jensen. The other is Maya Johnson from Belmont

• In the Huskers’ win over then-No. 1 Texas on Feb. 7, Jensen tossed the first three innings before Frahm came in and threw four innings with no runs to claim the win. When NU beat then-No. 1 Texas Tech, Jensen grabbed the win, as she pitched the first four innings of the game and allowed only one earned run. Frahm threw a perfect final three innings with four strikeouts to claim the save.

• Hannah Camenzind had a solid weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, solidifying her place in NU’s pitching rotation and earning her Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors. Camenzind went 2-0 in the circle and threw a five-inning no-hitter against Hawaii. She tossed 10.0 innings last weekend and allowed no runs and only four hits. Her opponents averaged .118 at the plate.

• Camenzind is 4-0 this season and has not posted a loss since March 1, 2025.

 

Huskers Relying on Experience
The Nebraska softball team will rely on its experience in 2026, as the squad includes 12 seniors and 10 players with 100+ games played in their careers. 

• Nebraska returns 97% of its innings pitched from last year, including 58% from 2025 NFCA Player of the Year Jordy Frahm.

• The Big Red welcomes back 84% of its at-bats from last season, including the top nine batting averages. Frahm and Ava Kuszak highlight the returning bats, as both are in the top 10 in school history for single-season batting average (Frahm, 1st, .462; Kuszak, 7th, .412). 

• Ten total Huskers on this year’s roster have played 100+ games in their career and 10 have started more than 80 games.

• The Huskers’ 23-player roster includes 12 seniors and 17 total upperclassmen, 15 of which were on last season’s Super Regional team.

• With last year’s Super Regional berth, 20-of-23 (87%) of the NU’s 2026 squad has experience being in the NCAA Tournament. Frahm and Hannah Coor have WCWS experience and won national championships at Oklahoma.

 

A Look at the Huskers' Newcomers
Nebraska’s 2026 roster includes four newcomers, including two transfers and two true freshmen.

• Hannah Coor is a senior outfielder who came from Oklahoma, where she was a three-time national champion and played with current Husker Jordy Frahm. Coor appeared in 152 games with 25 starts in her time with the Sooners. She owns a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and has racked up 31 hits and 23 RBI on a .279 batting average. Coor was named a Big Ten Player to Watch prior to the 2026 season.

• Jesse Farrell, a junior catcher from UNLV, is the Huskers’ second transfer for 2026. Farrell was on the All-Mountain West second team in 2025 and was tabbed Second-Team NFCA All-West Region in 2024. Also in 2024, she was one of 25 finalists for the National Freshman of the Year. In her two years at UNLV, Farrell played in 100 games and started 99. She has 221 putouts with 139 assists in her career, along with a .338 batting average with 100 hits, 74 RBI and 19 homers.

• Nebraska adds freshman two-way phenom Alexis Jensen to its pitching staff and batting order in 2026. Jensen, a state champion at Gretna, was a MaxPreps Second-Team All-American in 2025 and a two-time Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year. Jensen was also a three-time Nebraska-All State Team member and owns Gretna program records in batting average (.445), career wins (83), strikeouts (959) and ERA (1.30). Jensen is a D1 Softball and Softball America Freshman to Watch.

• Skarlett Jones rounds out the newcomers for Nebraska. Jones played with Jensen and redshirt freshman Carlie Muhlbach at Gretna, where she was a state champion in 2024. Jones was on the Nebraska All-State team twice and was a two-time Omaha World-Herald All-Nebraska selection. She posted a .409 batting average and .502 on-base percentage in her high school career.

 

Nebraska returns a majority of its high-powered offense from 2025 that set 16 records, individually and as a team.

• The 2025 Nebraska softball team is first in school history with 107 home runs, 218 extra-base hits and 459 runs.

• The 2025 squad also ranks first in batting average (.346) and slugging percentage (.628) and second in on-base percentage (.430).

• NU notched the most run rule victories in program history with 26 last season.

• The Big Red scored 10+ runs in five straight games from Feb. 14-16 for the first time in program history. NU also notched five home runs in three straight games for what is believed to be the first time in school 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. NU scored 300 runs through 37 games, which marked the quickest the team has hit the 300-run milestone. The Big Red hit the 400-run milestone through 49 games, which is the fastest it got to that mark as well.

• Ava Kuszak and Samantha Bland both posted three-homer games last year and are now tied with Kaylan Jablonski and Christie McCoy for the school record for home runs in a game. 

• Jordy Frahm and Ava Kuszak are both in the Nebraska record books in numerous offensive categories, which are tabled below. 

 

Huskers Earn Preseason Recognition
The Big Red have garnered preseason honors, both team and individual, in 2026.

• For the third straight season, the Huskers were ranked in every preseason poll. NU earned its highest spot from D1 Softball and USA Softball, both of which ranked the Huskers No. 9. Nebraska was tabbed No. 10 by the NFCA and No. 11 by Softball America.

• Jordy Frahm was named to the Top 50 Watch List for the USA Softball Player of the Year for the second straight season. She was a top-three finalist for the award last year. Frahm was tabbed a Preseason First-Team All-American by both D1 Softball and Softball America  and was the No. 2 overall player for both outlets. She was Softball America’s No. 1 two-way player and D1 Softball’s No. 2 pitcher and two-way player. Frahm was also named a Big Ten Player to Watch.

• Ava Kuszak was also on the Top 50 Watch List for USA Softball Player of the Year and was a Big Ten Player to Watch. She was a D1 Softball Preseason Second-Team All-American and the outlet’s No. 24 overall player and No. 4 shortstop. Softball America tabbed her the No. 43 overall player and No. 5 shortstop.

• Alexis Jensen was tabbed a Freshman to Watch by both Softball America and D1 Softball.

• Hannah Camenzind was Softball America’s No. 90 overall player and the No. 5 two-way player.

• Hannah Coor was named a Big Ten Player to Watch.

 

Frahm Back for Final Season
2025 NFCA Player of the Year and First-Team All-American Jordy Frahm returns for her final season of college softball. Frahm (previously Jordy Bahl) got married to former Husker baseball player Trey Frahm over the summer and changed her last name.

• Frahm earned numerous major national accolades last season, including being named a top three finalist for both the Honda Award for Softball and the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award.

• The two-way star was a First-Team All-American for the third time in her career and was named the NFCA DI Player of the Year after leading the Huskers to their first Super Regional appearance since 2014. 

• Frahm was both the 2025 Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Pitcher of the Year. She is the first athlete in Big Ten history to earn both awards in the same season.

• The Papillion, Neb., native owns the top season marks in school history in extra-base hits (41), home runs (23), runs scored (72), total bases (167), batting average (.462) and slugging percentage (.988).

• Frahm ended the season ranked in the top 10 nationally in hits allowed per seven innings (2nd), runs per game (4th), shutouts (4th), total bases (4th), runs (5th), strikeouts (5th), batting average (6th), complete games (6th), slugging percentage (6th), strikeouts per seven innings (6th), wins (6th), WHIP (6th), home runs (7th), ERA (8th), games started (8th) and home runs per game (9th).

• Frahm became the first player in NCAA history with more than 20 wins in the circle and more than 20 home runs at the plate in the same season.

• She was the first Husker ever with 15+ home runs and 15+ doubles in the same season, and the second Husker in history to record 60+ hits, runs and RBI in the same season.

• Frahm became the first player since 2017 to score more runs (72) than she allowed (68) with a minimum of 130 innings pitched.

 

Nebraska Natives Power Red Team
Nebraska softball’s 2026 roster boasts 11 local products, which is 48% of the team. 

• The Huskers’ 11 Nebraska natives come from seven different towns throughout the state -- Gretna, Valley, Omaha, Lincoln, Elkhorn, Blair and Papillion.

• Seniors Lauren and Hannah Camenzind, Bella Bacon, Kacie Hoffmann and Jordy Frahm all chose different programs out of high school and transferred back to Nebraska to finish out their careers.

• Shortstop Ava Kuszak is from Colorado, but played club ball for Nebraska Gold with Frahm and Bacon.

 

Nebraska's Pitching Staff
The Huskers return 97% of their innings pitched from last season, including 206.1 from two-way player Jordy Frahm. NU also welcomes back Kylee Magee, Hannah Camenzind and Emmerson Cope and adds freshman Alexis Jensen.

• Frahm pitched the majority of the Huskers’ innings last year and grabbed a 26-8 record. Her 26 wins were the sixth-most in the country. She finished the year with an ERA of 1.56, eight shutouts and 286 strikeouts. Her opponents logged a batting average of just .156.

• Going into the 2026 season, Frahm has the second-lowest ERA (1.27) of any active player in D1. She also has the third-most wins (70), fourth-most career strikeouts (686) and the fourth-most shutouts (23).

• Kylee Magee amassed a record of 8-4 with an ERA of 4.38 in her first season back from injury. She logged 45 strikeouts to 37 walks in 48.0 innings pitched.

• Magee was on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team her first year at Arizona State and has a 13-11 record in her career with an ERA of 3.81.

• Hannah Camenzind threw the second-most innings for the Huskers last year at 63.0. The two-way player also had the second-lowest ERA on the team at 3.11 and totaled a record of 5-2 in 24 appearances in the circle.

• In her career, Camenzind is 19-5 with an ERA of 3.11 and 96 strikeouts.

• Emmerson Cope tossed 29.1 innings last season and posted a 4.06 ERA. She was 4-1 in the circle in 2025 with nine strikeouts.

• Alexis Jensen will add even more depth to the Huskers’ pitching staff, as she was a MaxPreps Second-Team All-American in high school and a two-time Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year. Jensen has the Gretna records in career wins (83), strikeouts (959) and ERA (1.30). 

 

Scouting Michigan State (13-13, 3-0 Big Ten)
Michigan State is an even 13-13 on the season. Nebraska and MSU have a common opponent in the LSU Tigers. The Huskers are 1-0 against LSU, while the Spartans are 0-2. 

• Zoie Bernard and Sydney Doloszycki lead the Spartan offense. Bernard has a .352 avrage on a team-high 32 hits and a .427 on-base percentage. She adds two homers, nine doubles and five triples. Doloszycki has a team-high 18 RBI with four doubles and 21 hits.

• Kendall Smiley and Hannah Hawley own averages of .286 and .269, respectively. Smiley has 14 RBI with two triples and three doubles, while Hawley has four homers and five doubles.

• Sophia Grillo and Britain Beshears are also strong contributors, as Grillo has posted 16 RBI on 15 hits, seven of which have gone for extra bases. Beshears has 15 hits and 15 RBI with four doubles.

• Carsyn Cassady has thrown a team-high 42.1 innings for MSU. She is 3-5 on the season with a 5.29 ERA, 35 strikeouts and 35 walks. Autumn Behlke has the lowest ERA on the team at 4.60 but has walked 17 and only struck out seven. Jacey Schuler has tossed 37.0 innings with an ERA of 6.05 and a 4-4 record, and Alex Starr is 1-1 on the season with 26.1 innings pitched.

• Head coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley is in her fourth season with Michigan State and has amassed a 64-104 record with the Spartans. She is 165-185 in her career.