NEB BSB: at Illinois Preview & Notes
NO. 20 NEBRASKA AT ILLINOIS
April 24-26, 2026
Illinois Field | Champaign, Ill.
Friday, April 24 – 6 p.m.
Pitching: RHP Cooper Katskee (5-0, 4.02 ERA) vs. LHP Regan Hall (5-4, 5.37 ERA)
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers Radio Network, Official Huskers App
Saturday, April 25 – 3 p.m.
Pitching: RHP Carson Jasa (7-1, 3.93 ERA) vs. RHP Mitch Dye (1-0, 5.35 ERA)
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers Radio Network, Official Huskers App
Sunday, April 26 – 1 p.m.
Pitching: RHP Gavin Blachowicz (3-1, 3.02 ERA) vs. TBD
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers Radio Network, Official Huskers App
Follow the Game
• All three games of this weekend's series at Illinois can be seen on B1G+.
• Fans can also listen to Kyle Crooks and Nick Handley call this weekend'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. Illinois
• Nebraska and Illinois have met 31 times on the diamond, with the Illini holding a slim 16-15 lead over the Huskers in the all-time series.
• The two teams last met in a three-game series in 2023, where the Big Red took two of three games against Illinois in Lincoln.
In the Polls
• Nebraska checked in at No. 20 in the D1Baseball, Baseball America and NCBWA rankings while also appearing 14th in Perfect Game's Top 25 and No. 16 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll after going 4-0 last week against Creighton and No. 12 USC.
• Nebraska is one of four Big Ten teams to appear in the rankings this week, with UCLA (No. 1), Oregon (No. 19) and USC (No. 23) also landing spots in D1Baseball's Top 25.
Grego Draws Praise From Big Ten, National Media
• Freshman Drew Grego was named Big Ten's Co-Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week, NCBWA's National Hitter of the Week, Perfect Game's Freshman of the Week and to Baseball America's National Team of the Week after leading the Huskers to a perfect 4-0 week against Creighton and No. 12 USC last week.
• The outfielder sparked the Husker offense across the four-game stretch last week, going 8-for-18 with two doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI and six runs scored with a 1.500 OPS.
• The Papillion, Neb., native recorded the second-most RBI nationally last week and posted a 1.056 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage.
A Look at the Weekend Rotation
• Cooper Katskee takes the mound on Friday's series opener and is 5-0 on the season with a 4.02 ERA in 47 innings this season with 52 strikeouts across 12 appearances.
• Carson Jasa gets the nod on Saturday and is 7-1 with a 3.93 ERA and 77 punchouts in 52.2 innings.
• Gavin Blachowicz is scheduled to start Sunday's series finale and is 3-1 with a 3.02 ERA, 50 strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .214 in 41.2 innings this season.
Huskers Off to Best Start Since 2008
• With a 31-10 record through 41 games, the Huskers have compiled their winningest start since opening the 2008 campaign with a 32-8-1 record.
• The 31 wins in the first 41 games are tied for fifth most this century, trailing the 35 wins in 2006, 33 victories in 2005 and 2001 and 32 wins in 2008.
• This season marks the third time the Huskers have reached 27-plus wins in the first 41 games under head coach Will Bolt after beginning the 2021 campaign with 30 wins and opening with 27 wins in 2024.
NU's First Ranked Sweep Since 2015
• With last weekend's sweep of No. 12 USC, Nebraska recorded its first series sweep against a ranked team since sweeping No. 19 Texas in a non-conference series in 2015.
• The Huskers overcame a five-run deficit and came away with an 8-7 walk-off victory against the Trojans in the series opener before run-ruling USC twice on Saturday and Sunday with wins of 12-2 in seven innings and 16-6 in eight innings in the series finale.
Carey Named Brooks Wallace Award Semifinalist
• Senior Dylan Carey was named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award this week by the College Baseball Foundation.
• Carey is hitting .385 with 12 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 38 runs scored while ranking seventh nationally with 65 hits and 19th in the country with 52 RBI on the season.
• The Castle Rock, Colo., native has a team-best 1.133 OPS and has totaled 20 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI performances this season.
Notables on the 2026 Campaign
• With wins against No. 7 Auburn, No.12 USC (3x), No. 16 Florida State and No. 21 Oregon this season, the Big Red have 12 wins against ranked opponents in the last two seasons.
• Nebraska has recorded multiple 10-game win streaks in the same season for the first time since 2006 after posting win streaks 10 and 11 games this season.
• Head coach Will Bolt recorded his 200th career win at Nebraska in the Huskers' 12-2 run-rule victory in seven innings vs. No. 12 USC, becoming the sixth head coach in program history to reach the 200-win mark.
• With Dylan Carey and Mac Moyer leading the Big Red with 65 hits, the Huskers are the only team in the country with two players with 65 hits on the season.
• Dylan Carey is the ninth Husker in program history, and the first since Scott Schreiber in 2018, to record at least 200 hits, 150 runs and 150 RBI.
• Mac Moyer has reached base safely in 40 consecutive games this season, which is the longest streak by a Husker since Brice Matthews' string of 52 straight games in 2023.
• The Husker offense is scoring 7.7 runs per game through 41 games this season. Since 2013, the Big Red have finished one full season above seven runs per game after scoring 7.5 runs per game in 2023.
• The Huskers have recorded four walk-off victories this season. Going back to the final three weeks of the regular season in 2025, Nebraska has totaled eight wins in walk-off fashion.
• The Big Red have run-ruled their opponent seven times and has scored 10-plus runs 13 times through 41 games this season.
• The Husker offense is batting .309 with two outs this season and has recorded 103 of its 288 RBI with two outs.
• The NU pitching staff is holding opponents to a .228 batting average through 41 games, which would be the second-lowest opponent batting average for a full season this century, trailing the current low of .227 in 2005.
• The NU pitching staff has recorded 14 strikeouts four times in 41 games this season, after totaling just six such performances combined in 2024 and 2025.
• Dylan Carey ranks among the DI's active career leaders in four categories, including second at-bats (833), third in doubles (59), fifth in games played (216) and sixth in hits (246).
Grego Among Top True Freshman Impact Since 2000
• Freshman Drew Grego has driven in 33 runs this season, which ranks sixth-most by an NU true freshman this century.
• Grego is batting .327 on the season with seven doubles, a triple, seven homers, 33 RBI, 23 runs scored and a 1.005 OPS.
• The outfielder is one RBI shy of tying Brice Matthews (2023) and four away from matching Pat Kelly in 2012.
Jasa Climbs Strikeout Chart in NU's Big Ten Era
• Redshirt sophomore Carson Jasa has 77 strikeouts on the year, which is fifth-most by a Husker in the Big Ten era and three away from tying Emmett Olson (2023) in fourth.
Unger Holding Down NU's Closer Role
• Sophomore closer J'Shawn Unger has been named to the NCBWA's Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, the organization announced this week.
• Unger is one of seven Big Ten pitchers on the 57-player list and is tied for 13th in the country with eight saves on the season.
• The right-hander is 5-1 with a 3.29 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 27.1 innings while limiting opposing batters to a .158 batting average across 16 relief outings.
• Unger's eight saves are the most by an NU underclassman since Colby Gomes' 13 saves in 2019 as a freshman.
Offensive Outburst Against Big Ten Foes
• Since joining the Big Ten in 2012, Nebraska has scored 30-plus runs in a three-game conference series 12 times after last weekend's series sweep of No. 12 USC.
• The Big Red totaled its second-highest Big Ten series total after racking up 36 runs against the Trojans in Lincoln last weekend.