Preview: No. 24 Nebraska Baseball at Creighton

Creighton Scout

Last Season: 43-16 (17-4 Big East, T-1st); Big East regular season and tournament champions
Finish: L, 8-3 to No. 6 Arkansas; 2-2 at Fayetteville Regional
Big East Awards: Pitcher, Freshman and Coaching Staff of the Year
All-Big East: 3x First Team, 3x Second Team

Head Coach: Mark Kingston
Year at School: 1st; 2nd at CU; 16th as HC
Creighton Record: 28-21 (.571)
Career Record: 518-356-1 (.592)
NCAA Regionals/Championships: 2x Super Regionals, 7x Regionals, 2x MVC regular season titles, 1x MVC tournament
Awards: 2x MVC Coach OTY

All-Conference Returners: RHP Wilson Magers (Fr. OTY, 1st Team), C Connor Capece (2nd Team)
Big East Preseason Poll: 2nd of 8 teams; three first-place votes
All-Big East Preseason Honors: C Connor Capece, RHP Wilson Magers

Key Returners

• Ben North | INF | Gr. | A returning contributor from 2025, the long-time Bluejay is one of three players with an average above .300 (.344) and leads the team with 23 stolen bases while ranking second in home runs (10) and third in RBIs (41). 
• Connor Capece | C | Jr. | The Omaha Gross alum enjoyed a breakout sophomore season by hitting .351 in over 50 games while earning All-Big East Second Team honors, but he's taken a step back as a junior with a .297 clip in 49 games. 
• Nate McHugh | C | Sr. | A former transfer from Iowa Western CC and Boston College, McHugh is second on the team in average (.314) and has the third-most home runs with seven in just his second season with the Bluejays. 
• Teddy Deters | OF | Gr. | A returning starter from 2025, the graduate student has earned 31 walks (second on team) with seven homers and 29 RBIs on a .282 average in 170 at-bats. 
• Nick Venteicher | INF | Soph. | The Millard West graduate hit .198 as a freshman before returning this season to improve to a .241 average in 137 at-bats. 
• Shea Wendt | RHP | Jr. | Heralding from Blair, Nebraska, the junior has steadily improved throughout the season and now owns a 4.40 ERA in the third-most appearances (18) on the team.
• Jimmy Burke | RHP | R-Sr. | A returning reliever from last season, Burke has solid stuff with 32 strikeouts and owns an ERA of 5.40 in a team-high 23 appearances.

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

• Matt Goldenbaum | RHP | R-Soph. | A transfer from South Florida, Goldenbaum has broken out as a sophomore, recording a team-leading 0.46 ERA in 19.2 innings and 17 appearances with a pair of saves. 
• Nick Bowron | C | Fr. | Heralding from Minnesota, the first-year player has hit .225 in 40 at-bats, including 12 walks.
• Joe Washburn | INF | Fr. | The 5-foot-7, first-year infielder has slashed .300 in his first 60 college at-bats while contributing nine RBIs and seven stolen bases in 26 games. 
• Isaac Wachsmann | OF | R-Jr. | The 6-foot-4 transfer from Big East foe Xavier has grown his stats through the 2026 campaign and now leads CU in home runs (11), second in RBIs (45) and has boosted his average to .295 in 183 at-bats.
• JT Adams | RHP | Jr. | A starting pitcher transfer from Fort Scott CC, the Kansas native is in the bullpen for CU and owns a 5.62 ERA across 14 appearances.
• Jakob Ruhl | RHP | Fr. | A two-time All-State player at Central City, the Nebraska native is a swing starter for the Bluejays with a 5.25 ERA, as four of his 18 appearances this year have been as a starter. 
• Rocco Gump | INF | Gr. | The 6-foot-3 transfer was an all-conference player at Northwestern State before transferring to Creighton, where he's hitting .246 while starting all 49 games. 
• Chris Baillargeon | INF/OF | Gr. | A former All-Patriot League performer at Holy Cross, the New York native has added four home runs and 23 RBIs with a .226 average in a span of 46 games. 
• Lew Rice | OF | Gr. | After earning the conference batting title as a junior and being named to the 2025 Big South All-Tournament team, Rice hasn't seen that translate to Creighton, where he's hitting just .253 in 146 at-bats across 44 games. 
• Evan Stratton | RHP | Jr. | A swing starter at Riverside CC last season, the junior right-hander from California has produced a 7.54 ERA as one of nine pitchers on Creighton to have at least 12 appearances.

Outlook

If you're a college baseball fan in Nebraska, you've been treated pretty well for the quality of teams in the state, which includes both the Huskers and Creighton.

Taking control of a revamped team in his first season as head coach, CU skipper Mark Kingston has directed the Bluejays to a 28-21 record with a 12-6 Big East mark, which puts them one game behind for first place in a tight conference race that has three teams tied at the top. Ben North continues to lead the team with a .344 average and 10 home runs, while Xavier transfer Isaac Wachsmann has steadily grown his numbers throughout the season. Despite a slow start, he now leads CU with 11 homers and has collected 45 RBIs on a .295 average.

Catcher Connor Capece was in the midst of a dreadful campaign that saw him hitting around .251 after a 2025 season with a .350 average. However, the junior has turned it around in conference play and has built up his average to .295 and leads the offense with 48 RBIs.

Pitching has taken a downswing since Nebraska and Creighton last met, as the Bluejays' pitching staff has seen its team ERA balloon to 5.54. At one time, with ERAs below four, high-use relievers such as Jakob Ruhl (5.25), Jimmy Burke (5.40) and JT Adams (5.62) have seen their marks reach above five.

Dropping one-run games in each of their first two meetings, the Bluejays must be able to create offense in the late stages. Across the first two games, Creighton has scored a combined nine runs within the first five innings. That run production drops to one run in innings six through nine.

With that said, I think it'll be another close contest come Tuesday night as each team completes its midweek schedule, but give me the Huskers to continue their momentum from the weekend and complete the season sweep of their in-state rivals.