The College World Series gets underway Saturday at T.D. Ameritrade Park in Omaha. The 8-teams vying for the National Championship are Texas, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Arizona, Mississippi State, Stanford, NC State and Virginia. NC State and Virginia are the only teams that were ranked outside the top 16 at the start of the playoffs. Vanderbilt is the odds on favorite to win the National title.
2021 College World Series schedule:
– Saturday, June 19
Game 1: Stanford vs. NC State – 1:00
Game 2: Vanderbilt vs. Arizona – 6:00
– Sunday, June 20
Game 3: Tennessee vs. Virginia – 1:00
Game 4: Texas vs. Mississippi State – 6:00
Nebraska senior outside linebacker JoJo Domann was named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy preseason watchlist Thursday. Domann played every defensive snap for the Huskers last year and finished with 58 tackles (6.5 for loss), two forced fumbles and five pass break-ups. That was good enough to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten. The preseason list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy includes 42 defensive players, including eight from the Big Ten. Last year, Northwestern linebacker Paddy Fisher took home the award.
In recruiting news;
Ashton Hayes, a three-star running back from Nevada, verbally committed to Nebraska yesterday. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Hayes also had offers from Cal, Nevada, Fresno State, Dartmouth, Hawaii, Oregon State, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah, Yale, Arizona, Oregon, and Wisconsin. According to 247 sports, Hayes is the 32nd best running back in the nation, and the 9th best overall prospect in Nevada. He is the fifth member of Nebraska’s 2022 recruiting class and the third to commit this month, following tight end Chase Androff and quarterback Richard Torres.
The Nebraska football team wraps up their recruiting camp schedule this weekend with tonight’s Friday Night Lights event, and tomorrow’s Adidas Pipeline camp. Both events are free and open to the public. All seating is limited to West Stadium in sections 21-31, and fans will not be allowed on the field at any time. The concourse will not be accessible and concession stands will not be open, though fans will be allowed to bring limited food and non-alcoholic beverages. Restrooms will be available. The Clear Bag Policy will also be in effect.
The Denver Broncos have signed former Husker wideout De’Mornay Pierson-El. Pierson-El has spent time with the Raiders during the offseason the last two years and has been on the practice squad for stretches of both seasons. He’s never appeared in a regular season game and spent time in both the AAF and XFL. Pierson-El caught 100 passes at Nebraska and also returned three punts for touchdowns during his freshman year.
The conference schedule for the Nebraska women’s basketball team was released the Big Ten yesterday. The 18-game regular-season conference schedule features both home and away games against NCAA Elite Eight qualifier Indiana and NCAA Sweet Sixteen participant Iowa. The Husker women will also face Minnesota, Penn State and Wisconsin both on the road and at Pinnacle Bank Arena. NCAA Sweet Sixteen participant Michigan and NCAA qualifiers Northwestern and Rutgers, highlight Nebraska’s Big Ten home-only games, along with the Purdue Boilermakers. The Huskers will face NCAA Sweet Sixteen qualifier Maryland along with NCAA participant Michigan State and nationally ranked Ohio State in road-only Big Ten match-ups, in addition to a meeting against Illinois in Champaign. Overall, Nebraska is scheduled to play nine of their 18 regular-season conference games against teams that advanced to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, including five on the road and four at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Beginning next season, Omaha will host both the Class “A” and “B” state high school baseball tournaments. The Nebraska Schools Activities Association board of directors voted 8-0 Thursday to accept Omaha’s bid to host the tournaments for three years beginning in 2022. For years, the tournament had been split between Omaha and Lincoln.
In other actions taken by the NSAA board Wednesday:
– The state volleyball tournament will stick with a four-day schedule. Pinnacle Bank Arena will host the first three days and the championship matches will take place on a Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. The tournament ran on a four-day format last year because of COVID-19.
– The state football championship games will return to Memorial Stadium in November. Last year’s championship games were played at host sites after COVID-19 protocols made it unfeasible for the NSAA to use the stadium.
– The four-day format for state track was well received this year, and the NSAA will strongly look at keeping it at four days instead of two at Omaha Burke Stadium. Classes A and D ran on Wednesday and Thursday and Classes B and C went Friday and Saturday last May.
Legion Baseball Results & Schedules:
Runza Seniors
– Friday
– vs. Millard North – 7:15 @ Memorial Field
– Sunday
vs. Millard Sox Black (DH) – 10:00/Noon @ Memorial Field
Post 52 Juniors
– Thursday/Sunday – @ Big Stick Tourney in Rapid City, S.D.
– vs. Brandon Valley, SD – Won 7-6
Jersey Seniors
– Friday/Sunday @ Grand Island Tourney @ Ryder Park
Five Points Juniors
– Tuesday
– vs. Grand Island @ Memorial Field (Fan Appreciation Night) – 5:30
