University of Washington
Nebraska
Huskies To Face Nebraska For First Big Ten Series In Program History
March 06, 2025 | Baseball
All three games will beΒ broadcast on Big Ten Plus with live stats available at Huskystats.com.
DAWG BITES
- The Huskies earned their first shutout of 2025, a 3-0 win over Portland. Washington pitchers combined for a season-best three hits allowed against the Pilots
- Washington tied its most runs in a game this season against Texas Tech with 12
- Three Huskies were named to the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic All-Tournament Team (AJ Guerrero, Colton Bower, Casen Taggart)
- Nine Huskies have produced 27 multiple hit games (Kole β 5,Β Taggart β 4, Bower β 4, Guerrero β 4, DeCarlo β 3, Whitton β 3, Knight β 2, Terry β 1, Wilson β 1)
- Eight Huskies have generated 19 multi-RBI games, with Casen Taggart leading the way with five (Taggart β 5, Guerrero β 4, Kole β 3, Bower β 2, Whitton β 2, DeCarlo β 1, Knight β 1, Wilson β 1). Guerrero has UW's only four-RBI game, which came against No. 15 Texas
- AJ Guerrero is on a nine-game hitting streak. The senior has recorded at least one hit in every game he's been active for this season and has homered in three of the last four
- Guerrero's home run against Texas Tech moved him into a tie for fourth in the Husky home run record book with 36 career home runs (T-1. 42, Kyle Conley, 2006-09; T-1. 42, Ed Erickson, 1997-00; 3. 41, Zach Clem, 2003-06; 4. 36, Will Simpson, 2020-23)
- Colton Bower has reached base safely in the last 10 games
- The Huskies have turned 13 double plays this season. Washington turned three against No. 15 Texas, two against Illinois, and one against Texas Tech in Las Vegas
- 28 of Washington's 64 RBIs have come from new transfer players (Casen Taggart - 13, Trevor Kole - 9, Malakhi Knight β 5, Julian Sanders β 1)
- Four Huskies are batting .300 or better (Guerrero - .378, Taggart - .349, Knight - .348, Bower - .333)
- 19 Huskies have made their program debuts (Banks, Brandenburg, Bronzini, Bujacich, Crawford, Curran, Denomme, Gilbert, Henning, Hotchkiss, Knight, Kole, Nichols, O'Neal, Sanders, Taggart, Thomas, Tims, W. Woodward)
FIRST SEASON UNDER SMITH
On July 9, 2024, Eddie Smith was named the 25th head coach of University of Washington baseball, announced by UW Director of Athletics Pat Chun. Smith, a native of Olympia, Washington, comes to Montlake after three seasons at Utah Valley, quickly turning the Wolverines around from a Western Athletic Conference bottom dweller to one of the nation's most feared mid-major outfits.
UP NEXT
Washington heads to Lincoln, Neb. to take on Nebraska in the first Big Ten series in program history. The first game was slated for a 12:00 p.m. PT first pitch on Friday, but due to snow and cold weather, the two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch for the first game is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. PT and the second game is TBD. The third game of the series will still be played on Sunday.
SHUTOUT START AT HOMEΒ
Washington took down Portland 3-0 in the home opener on Tuesday night, recording the first shutout of the season. Justin Tims made his first Husky start, pitching three shutout innings with three strikeouts. Jase Evangelista earned the win, tossing 3.2 innings with no hits allowed and one strikeout. And Bradley Gilbert finished the game off, collecting his first career save over the final two innings, allowing one hit and striking out three. It was Washington's least hits allowed in a game this season with three total while Sam DeCarlo hit his second home run of the season and AJ Guerrero got his fourth multi-hit game of the year.
FEELING LUCKY
Washington collected its fourth win of the season against Texas Tech on Sunday, taking home a 12-8 victory over the Red Raiders. The Huskies tied their best run output of the season (2/17 vs. Saint Joseph's) as AJ Guerrero, Colton Bower, and Malakhi Knight each hit home runs.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TALENT
Three Huskies were named to the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic All-Tournament Team (AJ Guerrero, Colton Bower, Casen Taggart), the second-most of the four teams competing in Sin City behind No. 15 Texas. The trio batted 16-35 with three doubles, four home runs, and 18 runs scored during the tournament.
AJ Guerrero (5-13, 1 2B, 3 HR, 8 R, 8 RBI, 3 BB)
Colton Bower (6-11, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB)
Casen Taggart (5-11, 3 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB)
GUERRERO POWER
Senior slugger AJ Guerrero moved into a tie for fourth all-time in career home runs after hitting a home run in each game in Las Vegas, including a grand slam against No. 15 Texas. Guerrero has 36 career home runs, tied with Will Simpson (2020-23).
Following his massive weekend in Las Vegas, AJ Guerrero was named to the NCAA Baseball Lineup of the Week. Guerrero went 5-13 with three home runs and two doubles while scoring eight runs and batting in eight runs. He's riding a nine-game hitting streak - every game that he has been active so far this season.
RISPY BUSINESS
Three Huskies are batting .500 or better with runners in scoring position (DeCarlo - .556, Bower β .500, Guerrero β .500) while four Dawgs are batting .300 or better overall (Guerrero - .378, Taggart - .349, Knight - .348, Bower - .333).
DAWG DEFENSE
Through the first stretch of the season, Washington has been one of the best defensive teams in the nation. The Huskies have turned 13 double plays, the top mark in the Big Ten and the sixth-best in the NCAA. The Huskies have also earned a 0.982 fielding percentage, the fourth-best total in the conference and 27th nationwide. In Las Vegas, Washington had a tournament-best 0.991 fielding percentage, only one error allowed, and six double plays.
TRANSFER POWER
The Huskies have hit 16 home runs this season, seven of which have come from transfer players. Casen Taggart shares the lead for Washington with three long balls. Malakhi Knight knocked his second homer of the season against Texas Tech while Trevor Kole hit his second homer against Stanford. Washington's other home runs have come from Colton Bower (3), AJ Guerrero (3), Sam DeCarlo (2), and Cooper Whitton (1).
MAX BANKS DOMINANCE
Washington's new ace had once of the best Husky pitching debuts in recent memory. The opening day starter threw scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and striking out nine batters. He pitched the most innings by a Husky opening day starter since 2018 when Joe Demers also tossed six innings. His strikeout total was also the most by an opening day pitcher for Washington since 2017, when Noah Bremer fanned 10 batters.
In his second start, Banks pitched six innings again, allowing two runs and striking out two batters in the series opener against Stanford. Against No. 15 Texas, Banks fanned eight batters, the second best strikeout total of all pitchers in the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic.
HUSKIES HIT THE CYCLE
As a team, Washington hit for the cycle twice while in Las Vegas. Against Illinois, Blake Wilson bagged the first Washington triple of the season while the Huskies collected four doubles and a home run from AJ Guerrero. Then, against Texas Tech, Trevor Kole hit a triple while Washington added three doubles and three home runs.
BOWER BOOMING
Colton Bower has been a force behind the plate and as a hitter so far this season. Defensively, he's caught eight runners stealing. As a hitter, Bower's logged three home runs and has 14 hits on the season, including five doubles. His .667 slugging percentage and .491 on-base percentageΒ are in the top three on the team.
In the Big Ten rankings, Bower is seventh in doubles (5), third in hit by pitch (7), sixth in sacrifice bunts (2), sixth in hit by pitch per game (0.58), 16th in runs (14), and 16th in slugging percentage (0.667).
WASHINGTON DEBUTS
19 Huskies have made their program debuts through four games (Banks, Brandenburg, Bronzini, Bujacich, Crawford, Curran, Denomme, Gilbert, Henning, Hotchkiss, Knight, Kole, Nichols, O'Neal, Sanders, Taggart, Thomas, Tims, W. Woodward).
IMPACT RELIEVER
Josh Emanuels collected a save in both of Washington's wins during the opening weekend. The redshirt senior currently sits third in the Big Ten in total saves, 34th nationally.Β
THOMAS ON TOP
Jackson Thomas had a dominant first start for Washington, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings while allowing three hits, two walks, and fanning seven batters. Thomas currently holds a 0.0 ERA across 9.1 IP this season. Thomas is set to start against Nebraska on Saturday, his second start of the season.
INAUGURAL BIG TEN SEASON
Washington will compete in the Big Ten for the first time in 2025. The Huskies join the new-look conference as one of 17 competitors. Washington will face Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue, UCLA, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Oregon, and USC this season.
This year'sΒ conference tournament will feature 12 teams and incorporate pool play with four groups consisting of three teams each. The four pool winners will meet in the single-elimination semifinals on May 24, followed by the championship game on May 25.
NEW FACES
The Huskies return 20 players while losing 21 following the 2024 season. Of the returners, four position starters come back to Montlake along with 10 pitchers.
BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
Transfer pitcher Max Banks, along with returners Isaac Yeager and AJ Guerrero were each named among the Big Ten's most notable players for the 2025 season.
Banks, a native of San Francisco, pitched three seasons at Chapman before joining the Huskies. He was named to the ABCA All-Region third team his sophomore year, and also earned first team All-SCIAC honors following a season with 12 starts, 76 innings, and 84 strikeouts.
Isaac Yeager was a key pitcher for the Dawgs in 2024, as he made 21 relief appearances and posted a 6.34 ERA in 38.1 innings with 31strikeouts.
AJ Guerrero figures to be one of the conference's best run producers in 2025. The senior slugger moved into a tie for fifth all-time in career home runs last season with 33, with a career-high 15 of them coming in 2024. He also knocked in a career-high 50 RBIs last season.
D3 DIAMONDS
For the third straight year, Washington has hit the NCAA Division III ranks to add to its pitching staff through the transfer portal. The Huskies added right-hander Max Banks who enjoyed a strong three-year career at Division III Chapman, collectively going 12-4, 3.35 in three seasons with a 185-to-67 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 150 2/3 innings. Last season, Washington signed right-hander Spencer Dessart out of Middlebury College in Vermont, who posted a 4.32 ERA with 63 strikeouts over 50 innings. And in 2023, UW brought in D3 transfer Kiefer Lord out of Minnesota's Carleton College, with Lord going on to be a third round draft choice in the 2023 MLB Draft.Β
IT CAN WAIT
For the third year in a row, a Washington commit turned down the opportunity to sign with an MLB team to join the Husky roster. Jackson Hotchkiss was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but opted to take his talents to UW first. Last season, Blake Wilson was drafted in the 20th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals but still made his way to Montlake. Former Husky Aiva Arquette was a 18th round draft choice by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 before coming to campus.
