While the Nebraska baseball team’s 2024 season isn’t going anywhere close to as well as it had hoped, one former Huskers officially launched his campaign to make a major league roster by the end of the year on Friday night.
Brice Matthews appears to be on the fast track to getting called up by the Houston Astros at some point this year. While his opening night performance wasn’t perfect (he went just 1-for-5) that one hit was a very big one.
Brice Matthews making strong early case for MLB call-up in 2025
Brice Matthews doing Brice Matthews things.
— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) March 29, 2025
pic.twitter.com/a9xZW3hyCH
Stepping up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, the former Husker capped the Sugar Land Space Cowboys’ come from behind victory by drilling the walk-off RBI single past a drawn in infield.
In delivering the hit when his team needed it the most, the former Nebraska baseball star seemed to demonstrate why the Astros have him on the fast track and why he’s already up in AAA despite just three years of minor league ball behind him.
The club’s third-ranked prospect tore up the Carolina League and quickly advanced from High-A Asheville to Double-A Corpus Christi, where he spent most of the season. In September, he was elevated again to Triple-A Sugar Land, where he helped the 93-win Space Cowboys capture their first Pacific Coast League title and Triple-A National Championship.
The 22-year-old recorded his first Triple-A homer during a 13-6 victory against Omaha in the national title game. Over 79 regular-season games, Matthews batted .265 with an .865 OPS, 15 homers, 52 runs, 44 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. It’s that blend of speed and power that makes him such an intriguing player. The fact that he can play third, short, or second base helps as well.
It feels like the ex-Nebraska baseball star will find his way to Houston at some point this summer. His start to the 2025 campaign indicates it might be sooner, rather than later.