Nebraska basketball has been busy in the transfer portal. Earlier this week, the Huskers landed the commitment of former North Dakota State Andrew Morgan.
However, the Huskers have six scholarship spots to fill for the 2024-25 roster and that’s assuming that Rienk Mast returns. As of last week, the Nebraska basketball standout and starting center is undecided.
The Cornhuskers have been named as a “team to watch” for South Dakota State transfer William Kyle, who was the Summit Defensive Player of the Year last season. Nebraska basketball is going to host Kyle for a three-day visit at the end of the month, but according to a new update from Jamie Shaw, Wake Forest and Texas A&M are teams to watch too.
If Mast leaves, the addition of Kyle becomes even more important. But even if Mast returns, the Huskers could use another defensive piece. That’s why there has also been rumored interest between the Huskers and former Minnesota forward Pharrel Payne.
According to Shaw, Indiana is a team to watch for Payne, who averaged 10 points per game last season for the Golden Gophers. Both guys are good at scoring in the low post. They are each capable Big Ten bigs. Nebraska has one guaranteed on the roster for next season but they will need 2-3 more, Mast included.
Nebraska basketball standout Jaz Shelley projected to go in the WNBA draft
Jaz Shelley had an incredible career with Nebraska basketball. Yet, her days of playing hoops in the United States appear far from over. The Australian native has been projected to go in the second round of the WNBA draft. She went 17th overall to the New York Liberty.
The WNBA Draft is on Monday night. Caitlin Clark is going to be the No. 1 pick, but it will be fun to see where Shelley winds up. Shelley averaged 13.6 points per game over the last three years playing for the Nebraska women’s basketball team. She helped the Cornhuskers reach the Big Ten tournament title game and win their first NCAA tournament game in a decade.
Shelley made 305 3-pointers during her career and 244 came with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Nebraska Cornhuskers face key baseball series with Rutgers
All of a sudden, Nebraska baseball has lost three of its last five games. A three-game road series against Rutgers is up next. The Scarlet Knights (20-12, 1-5) are one of just four Big Ten teams with 20 overall wins. However, Rutgers is 1-5 in the Big Ten, the opposite of Nebraska baseball (22-8, 5-1) which leads the Big Ten standings at 5-1.
The first game of the series is Friday and Brett Sears will be back on the mound for Nebraska baseball. He’s 6-0 on the season with a 1.14 ERA, while averaging more than a strikeout per inning. Mason McConnaughey (3-2, 2.86 ERA) will start on Saturday followed by Drew Christo (1-2, 4.84 ERA) on Sunday.
Cole Evans is batting .299 for the season but hit a grand slam earlier this week. He’s got three home runs with 26 RBI. Josh Caron has also been key for the Huskers at the dish, batting .310 with a team-high six home runs and 36 RBI.
Rutgers is ranked 52nd in the RPI, so this weekend represents an important opportunity for the Huskers who are 0-3 in quad-1 games so far this season. Friday and Saturday’s games will be on BTN+ at 5 PM and 2 PM. Sunday’s game at 2 PM will be shown on Big Ten Network.
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