Nebraska baseball: Vote of confidence for Erstad an embrace of mediocrity

By Oliver VanDervoort | Apr 24, 2018

(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Nebraska baseball coach Darin Erstad is staying “right where he is” according to AD Bill Moos. That’s not a good thing for the program.

Nebraska baseball head coach Darin Erstad was given a second life on Tuesday. Athletic Director Bill Moos said the coach’s job was safe, during a recent luncheon.

In explaining why Erstad isn’t going anywhere, Moos termed the coach “solid.” While that’s certainly good news for the Cornhuskers’ head coach and the players who love playing for him, it might be bad news for the long term viability of the program.

Terming Erstad’s tenure at Nebraska as anything other than “up and down” is not being truthful. Since being hired by former AD Tom Osborne, Erstad has been a fan favorite, in large part because he’s a former Huskers.

During the press conference announcing the hire, Osborne made it clear he made the hire despite more qualified candidates expressing interest in the job. The hope has always been that Erstad would learn on the job (he had no paid coaching experience of any kind before being the head man for the Huskers,) and that his love of the game would translate to his players.

The jury is still very much out on both of those points. Yes, Erstad has a winning record and he’s made the postseason more often than not.

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Both of those things are due in large part to playing in a Big Ten conference that just isn’t that good at baseball. In fact, it’s so mediocre that many people though the Cornhuskers were going to dominate the Big Ten when they arrived. That dominance has never materialized.

Erstad’s first team taking over for Mike Anderson actually brought some optimism. It posted 35 wins and finished fourth in the conference. His second team, was his first (and so far only) losing season as the team went 29-30.

Erstad’s third year was supposed to be the beginning of a big run. The Huskers went 41-21 and 18-6 in conference. They got to the NCAA regionals for the first time under this head coach. Then they lost two of three and went home.

Since that season, the team has fallen into a bit of a rut. Winning seasons, a nice showing in the Big Ten and then no noise at all on the national stage.

This year, it’s looking increasingly likely the Cornhuskers are going to suffer through their second losing season in seven. Some programs would kill to only have two losing seasons in seven years.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers should not be one of those programs. Here’s the most depressing statistics of them all: Under Erstad, the Huskers are 9-11 in the Big Ten Tournament and 1-6 in NCAA Regionals.

Those records include five straight losses in Regional games and a 1-6 record in the Huskers’ last seven Big Ten tournament contests. All of that was before what Moos termed, according to the Omaha World Herald, “tough luck with our pitchers,” this year.

Moos pointed to Erstad’s will to win yet again when defending the coach Tuesday afternoon. Someone ought to tell the athletic department that will to win doesn’t always mean “winning” when talking about a coach.

Next: Spring Game visitors react to the day

For now, the Nebraska baseball team is going to be playing the rest of this season knowing they aren’t costing their coach a job. The question that has to be asked, is whether keeping Darin Erstad on board is costing the program in the long run.

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