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20 Years Without a College World Series Berth; Will Nebraska Ever Make It Back?

While Nebraska baseball has struggled to even make a super regional, 47 different programs have punched tickets to Omaha.

Kaleb Henry

The sun sets behind Rosenblatt Stadium during game the 2010 College World Series.
The sun sets behind Rosenblatt Stadium during game the 2010 College World Series. / Crystal LoGiudice-Imagn Images
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The 2025 edition of the "Greatest Show on Dirt" is the latest to be played without Nebraska baseball.

The Huskers have not made the Men's College World Series since 2005. Can the Big Red ever make it back to Omaha in June?

Since NU's last trip to the CWS, there have been 47 different programs make it to Omaha. Of those, 31 teams have made multiple appearances, with 13 making it at least five times.

  • Arizona x4
  • Arizona State x3
  • Arkansas x7
  • Auburn x2
  • California
  • Cal State Fullerton x5
  • Clemson x2
  • Coastal Carolina x2
  • Florida x9
  • Florida State x6
  • Fresno State
  • Georgia x2
  • Georgia Tech
  • Indiana
  • Kent State
  • Kentucky
  • LSU x7
  • Louisville x6
  • Miami (FL) x4
  • Michigan
  • Mississippi State x5
  • Murray State
  • North Carolina x8
  • NC State x3
  • Notre Dame
  • Oklahoma x2
  • Oklahoma State
  • Ole Miss x2
  • Oral Roberts
  • Oregon State x6
  • Rice x3
  • South Carolina x3
  • Southern Miss
  • Stanford x4
  • Stony Brook
  • Tennessee x3
  • Texas x6
  • Texas A&M x4
  • Texas Tech x4
  • TCU x6
  • UC Irvine x2
  • UC Santa Barbara
  • UCLA x4
  • Vanderbilt x5
  • Virginia x7
  • Wake Forest
  • Washington

The ACC and SEC have dominated the field in making the CWS, with 36 and 39 appearances, respectively. Both of those leagues are stronger now with the additions of Stanford to the ACC and Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC.

Next. 2025 College World Series Central. 2025 College World Series Central. dark

The Big Ten Conference has managed just three appearances in the last 20 years, including UCLA in this year's event. The other two came with Indiana in 2013 and Michigan in 2019. The Bruins have made four total trips over the past two decades.

Below is how many times each conference has made the CWS from 2006-25.

  • American
  • American East
  • ACC x36
  • Big 12 x20
  • Big East x2
  • Big South
  • Big Ten x3
  • Big West x8
  • C-USA x4
  • MAC
  • Missouri Valley
  • Mountain West
  • Pac-10/12 x21*
  • SEC x49
  • Summit League
  • Sun Belt
  • WAC

*Oregon State played as an independent in 2025 since the Pac-12 was down to just two teams. The other team, Washington State, played a Mountain West schedule.

Dave Van Horn, who led Nebraska to two College World Series appearances and left the foundation for Mike Anderson to get to another, has since been back to Omaha seven times with Arkansas. This year's team is one of the favorites to win the event and deliver him that elusive national championship.

Not only has Nebraska not been back to the College World Series, the Huskers have not made a super regional appearance in the last 20 years. NU is 9-20 in regionals during that time

The Huskers have also hosted a regional only twice during that time, going 0-2 in 2006 and 1-2 in 2008. The four losses came to Manhattan, San Francisco, UC Irvine and Oral Roberts.

Looking for the positive? Nebraska has won the Big Ten's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament in three of the past five years. The Will Bolt era has posted a 5-6 record in regionals, which is still below .500 but is trending upward from the 4-14 record before he took over in Lincoln.

As for what's working against Nebraska? Geography and league. Very few northern schools command respect when it comes to postseason bids and seeding. That goes double for leagues like the Big Ten, which has yet to prove it takes the sport seriously across the board.

The big questions heading into the new era are 1) can Bolt and company capitalize on making runs in the Big Ten and take that into the postseason and 2) how much will NU prioritize baseball.

With the House v. NCAA settlement, schools can now share up to $20.5 million with athletes for the 2025-26 season. Baseball is also going to be limited to 34 players on the roster, but they can all be on scholarship, a huge bump from the 11.7 scholarships allowed previously.

Does Nebraska fully fund baseball to make the program more attractive? Will the Big Ten push baseball more? Can Bolt figure out the formula to getting out of a regional where you're likely to be at an ACC or SEC host site?

If even one of those is a no, then Nebraska isn't getting back to Omaha anytime soon. But if all three become yesses, then the Big Red won't just get back to the College World Series in the next couple years, but they won't take another 20 years after that for the next appearance.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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