The Nebraska softball team begins postseason play this week when the Huskers travel to Iowa, which is hosting the 2024 Big Ten Softball Tournament at Bob Pearl Field.
The Huskers ended the regular season with a 29-22 record and finished fourth in the Big Ten Conference with a 12-9 record. Nebraska earned the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye for the Big Ten Tournament. The Huskers will open play on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in a quarterfinal matchup against either No. 5 seed Minnesota or No. 12 seed Illinois.
Nebraska has had success at the Big Ten Tournament since it was brought back in 2022 following a two-year absence due to the pandemic. The Huskers won the 2022 Big Ten Tournament and made the semifinals at last year’s tournament. Nebraska and Northwestern are the only teams who have made the Big Ten Tournament semifinals each of the past two years.
Nebraska has won 10 conference tournaments in school history, including six in the Big Eight, three in the Big 12 and one in the Big Ten. The Huskers have made the championship game 15 times in their 39 all-time conference tournament appearances in program history, including two championship game appearances in their first nine Big Ten Tournaments.
Every game of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament will air live on the Big Ten Network. A free radio broadcast of every Nebraska game will also be available on Huskers.com and the official Nebraska Huskers app.
Leading Off
- Nebraska is seeking its 30th win which would be the 24th time Rhonda Revelle has led NU to 30 wins in a season.
- Six of Nebraska’s 24 players (25 percent of the roster) are out for the season with an injury.
- Nebraska has played nine extra-inning games this season, its most extra-inning games in a season since 1982 (11).
- The Huskers have played 18 one-run games this season, their most one-run games in a season since 2007.
- Nebraska has come from behind in 18 of its 29 wins, including 11 wins when the Huskers trailed by multiple runs.
- Nebraska ranks fifth nationally in double plays (30) and sixth in doubles (89).
- According to the NCAA RPI, Nebraska has played the 36th-toughest schedule in the country and the toughest schedule of any Big Ten team.
- Billie Andrews needs one stolen base to become the first player in school history with 50 career steals & 50 career homers.
- Sarah Harness won twice last weekend to give her 65 career wins. She is one of 20 active Division I pitchers with 65 wins.
- Katelyn Caneda has 96 career hits and is four hits from becoming the 12th Husker with 100 hits prior to her junior year.
Several Huskers on Hot Streaks
A trio of Huskers have hit well down the stretch of the regular season and enter the Big Ten Tournament with noteworthy streaks.
- Ava Bredwell has reached base safely in 12 consecutive games. She also brings a six-game hitting streak into the Big Ten Tournament, including multiple hits in four consecutive games.
- Emmerson Cope enters the Big Ten Tournament with a seven-game hitting streak and a streak of 10 consecutive games reaching base safely.
- Sydney Gray has had multiple hits in each of her last three games. She has also had at least one hit, one run and one RBI in three consecutive games.
Gray Ties Record With Third Big Ten Player-of-the-Week Award
Sydney Gray was named the final Big Ten Player of the Week of the 2024 season on Monday. Gray was honored for the third time this season, which ties for the most player-of-the-week honors in a single season in Big Ten history.
- Gray is just the eighth player in Big Ten history to be named the Big Ten Player of the Week three times in one season. She is only the third player to win the award three times in a season since the Big Ten expanded to 12 teams beginning with the 2012 season.
- Gray is a four-time Big Ten Player of the Week in her career, which ties for the 10th-most awards in conference history.
- Gray was honored this week after an outstanding series at Minnesota last weekend, when she helped the Huskers to a 2-1 series victory and a top-four conference finish. Gray went 6-for-11 (.545) in the three-game series with two home runs and seven RBIs. She had at least two hits, one run and one RBI in each game of the series.
- In game one, Gray homered as part of a 2-for-4 day in Nebraska’s 7-6 come-from-behind victory. The next day, Gray hit the go-ahead three-run homer in another comeback win and finished 2-for-3 with five RBIs. In the series finale, Gray went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
- Led by Gray, Nebraska took home five player-of-the-week awards in 13 weeks this season. While Gray was a three-time winner of the award, Billie Andrews was named the Big Ten Player of the Week twice.
Nebraska Conference Tournament History
Nebraska has won a total of 10 conference tournament titles in school history, including six in the Big Eight, three in the Big 12 and one in the Big Ten (2022).
- Nebraska has qualified for each of the nine Big Ten Tournaments since the tournament was reinstated in 2013.
- NU is 8-8 at the Big Ten Tournament.
- Nebraska owns an all-time record of 67-43 in conference tournaments.
- Rhonda Revelle owns a 41-27 record (.603) in her 24 conference tournament appearances at Nebraska. She has accounted for 61 percent of the Huskers’ all-time conference tournament victories (41 of 67).
- Revelle has guided the Huskers to four conference tournament titles and five runner-up finishes.
