GRAND ISLAND, KEARNEY FALL IN HAC BASEBALL SEMIFINALS, LINCOLN EAST WINS THIRD STRAIGHT:
Grand Island and Kearney both struggled in their HAC Baseball semifinal games against Lincoln Southwest and Lincoln East, respectively.
Grand Island fell to Lincoln Southwest, 13-2, with the lone runs for GISH being scored by Broxton Barrientos and Gage Gannon. Kearney lost to Lincoln East, 9-5, with the Bearcats showing a rally in the top of the 7th inning, scoring three runs. Both teams had four errors in their losses.
East won their third consecutive HAC Championship with a 6-1 win over Southwest.
Kearney’s five game win streak is snapped, and have today and tomorrow off before going up against North Platte and Lincoln North Star on Saturday. Both games will be on KGFW.
HUSKER PUNTER MCALLISTER IN TRANSFER PORTAL:
Nebraska’s special teams room got thinner with the departer of punter Jack McAllister yesterday.
McAllister, who joined the Huskers last semester from fellow B1G school Washington, entered the Transfer Portal.
Last season at Washington, McCallister punted 36 times, averaging 44.0 yards per kick and having 12 of his 36 punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. He handled all of Washington’s punts for the past two seasons.
Redshirt freshman Kamdyn Koch, who didn’t appear in a game last season, is now the lone punter on the roster.
HUSKER WBB PICKS UP SECOND INTER-CONFERENCE TRANSFER IN MARYLAND’S FISHER:
Nebraska notched a fourth signing this week when Emily Fisher joined the 2025-26 Husker women’s basketball team on Wednesday, April 16.
Fisher, who spent her first two collegiate seasons at Maryland, comes to Lincoln after playing 52 games with the Terrapins. As a freshman, the 6-0 guard/forward averaged 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds while playing in all 33 games for a Terp team that advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She scored a career-high nine points and added a career-best eight rebounds in a win over Towson (Dec. 12, 2023). She also had eight points at both Penn State (Jan. 28, 2024) and against UMass (Nov. 25, 2023).
“We had a strong relationship with Emily from her recruitment out of high school and believe that she fits perfectly with our tough, hard-nosed, gritty, hard-working culture here at Nebraska,” Head Coach Amy Williams said. “She brings a versatility and a willingness to guard almost any position on the floor. We are excited to have her spend her remaining two years here in Lincoln.”
Fisher was ranked as the No. 80 overall prospect by ESPN out of Libertyville High School in Illinois.
HUSKER VOLLEYBALL ANNOUNCES FIRST RECRUIT OF DANI BUSBOOM KELLY ERA:
Nebraska volleyball program has announced the addition of middle blocker Kenna Cogill for the upcoming 2025 season.
Cogill is the first signing under new head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. The 6-4 middle blocker is the No. 24 overall prospect by PrepVolleyball.
As a senior at Perry High School in Arizona in 2024, Cogill averaged 2.5 kills per set and hit .443.
A Gilbert, Ariz., native, Cogill was club teammates with fellow Husker freshman Teraya Sigler. Together they won three club national championships with Arizona Storm. Cogill is the sixth incoming freshman for the Huskers in 2025, joining Campbell Flynn, Ryan Hunter, Keri Leimbach, Manaia Ogbechie and Sigler.
KHS SWIM AND DIVE WINS ACADEMIC HONOR:
Kearney High School/Kearney Catholic High School is proud to announce that both the boys and girls swimming and diving teams have been recognized with the Nebraska Coaches Association (NCA) Currency Academic Excellence Award for the 2024-2025 winter season. This prestigious honor is awarded to teams that have achieved a minimum unweighted cumulative GPA of 3.30 during the Fall 2024 semester or the 3rd quarter.
Sarah Coffman, Current KHS Head Swimming and Diving Coach, said, “Balancing demanding athletic schedules with academic responsibilities, these student-athletes have shown exceptional dedication and discipline in both the pool and the classroom.”
Other teams awarded include: Columbus, Lincoln Southeast, Lincoln Standing Bear, Millard North, Omaha Burke, Omaha Central, Papillon-LaVista South, Omaha Marian (girls team)
UNK WOMENS TENNIS SWEEPS FORT HAYS:
The now 19th-ranked Nebraska Kearney women’s tennis team won two doubles matches and three singles matches in three sets to sweep Fort Hays State, 7-0, Wednesday evening in Kansas.
Since joining the league in 2012, UNK (16-4, 6-1) has taken all 13 MIAA duals with the Tigers (12-7, 2-5). Eight of those wins have been sweeps.
The Lopers are off until a trip to Newman and Central Oklahoma next weekend.
UMPIRE HUNTER WENDELSTEDT GOES TO HOSPITAL AFTER BEING HIT BY FOUL BALL IN METS-TWINS GAME:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Veteran umpire Hunter Wendelstedt went to a hospital for further examination on Wednesday after he was struck in the face behind first base by a line drive foul ball in Minnesota.
Crew chief Todd Tichenor, who called home plate during the 4-3 victory by the Twins over the New York Mets, told a pool reporter after the game that Wendelstedt was coherent and speaking but going through a concussion protocol.
“Hopefully it’s just some stitches is what I’m thinking,” Tichenor said.
Major League Baseball said Wendelstedt was undergoing additional tests.
SACRAMENTO KINGS PART WAYS WITH GM MCNAIR:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento Kings and general manager Monte McNair have agreed to part ways, two years after McNair helped end the longest playoff drought in NBA history.
A person familiar with the decision said the sides mutually agreed on a breakup shortly after the Kings’ season ended Wednesday night with a 120-106 loss to Dallas in the Play-In Tournament. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t announced the move.
The Athletic first reported that McNair was out as general manager.
McNair was hired by Sacramento before the start of the 2020-21 season and helped put together the team that ended a 16-season playoff drought in 2023 when it went 48-34 to finish third in the Western Conference. McNair won NBA Executive of the Year in 2022-23.
