Head coach Will Bolt has the Nebraska baseball team competing for Big Ten titles and regional hosting bids on a regular basis now after several down seasons. But what is the program’s next step? Why did Oklahoma, which finished 11th in the SEC regular season, win the College World Series, while the Huskers, who finished second in the Big Ten, got run out of the regionals even though the postseason took place in Lincoln? Former Husker slugger Cayden Brumbaugh thinks he knows.
Brumbaugh transferred to the Sooners last offseason and got to witness OU’s run to greatness firsthand. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to contribute much, as an injury limited him to six games; he spoke with the Omaha World-Herald earlier this week about the differences between the old Big 8 and Big 12 rivals. Bolt and his staff also ought to be picking Brumbaugh’s brain.
Brumbaugh was a big reason Nebraska won the Big Ten Tournament title and got back to the regionals in 2025. He hit .309 and a career-high 5 home runs with 33 RBI. After transferring to Oklahoma, he picked up where he left off in those six games, hitting .385 and driving in three runs until that injury ended his campaign. He made sure that, instead of just sitting on the bench and watching, he stood by OU head coach Reggie Willits and learned everything he could, including the right way to get to the College World Series.
Brumbaugh, who is believed to be the first former Husker to win a D1 baseball national title, said the biggest thing he noticed about the differences between his old team and new one is the pitching depth.
Cayden Brumbaugh says Nebraska baseball needs more pitching depth to reach Omaha
Oklahoma had pitchers with mid-90s velocity who weren’t on the travel roster. In their decisive fifth regional game against Georgia Tech’s powerful lineup, they started a seldom-used sophomore for three innings as one of four hurlers with earned-run averages above 5.00 who also possessed high-end ability. That sophomore might have struggled over the course of the season, but he harnessed his ceiling in the playoffs.
“Compare that to a Nebraska where maybe you have your Ty Horns and Carson Jasas and one or two back-end guys,” Brumbaugh said, referring to NU’s top two rotation starters. “We just had arm after arm after arm that can roll out there and shut down an offense.”
“Granted, they could be sporadic at times, but they had the stuff to do it. When those arms came in and we needed shutdown innings, we got them.”
He also pointed out that Bolt and Co. tended to treat the Huskers as more of a college team. They required events like team meals and watched what the players did in their “down time” more often. In contrast, Oklahoma had a more professional atmosphere. Players were encouraged but not required to spend their off-field time together.
“It’s more a pro-ball structure than college here at OU,” Brumbaugh said. “You’re accountable for your own work and you’ll be as good as you want to be. You’ll either run and train and work or you don’t and fall behind and leave.”
That’s not to say that everything is better in Norman. Brumbaugh said that Nebraska absolutely has better facilities. He also pointed out that the Huskers’ more community-oriented approach isn’t necessarily worse than OU’s more “go it alone” style. It just works for the Sooners.
Where Brumbaugh says Nebraska really needs to heed his words is on the mound: “You’re going to go as far as your starting pitching will take you.”
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