How to Watch No. 16 Nebraska Baseball vs. Kansas State with Preview, Breakdown, Streaming

After a small hiccup, the No. 16 Nebraska baseball team continued its winning form that has followed them for the 2026 season.

Coming off another close, disappointing loss to a surging Kansas team, the Huskers were forced to turn around and face a pesky Illinois team on the road. The Illini pounded a shellshocked NU squad, turning a fielding error in the third inning into a game-changing grand slam to take a 7-0 lead on Nebraska starter Cooper Katskee. Despite a late charge, Illinois stacked runs to come away with a 10-5 series-opening win.

The Cornhuskers flipped the script on Saturday, plating three runs in the second inning before adding three more in the third frame to chase Illinois starter Mitch Dye. That was all the cushion needed for sophomore Carson Jasa, who turned in his eighth win of the season as Joshua Overbeek drove in three runs and closer J'Shawn Unger recorded a seven-out save to clinch a 12-5 Nebraska win.

Unlike the first two contests, Sunday's rubber match turned into a pitching duel. Husker starter Gavin Blachowicz won that battle, going 6.1 innings with just one walk compared to four strikeouts. Clinging on with a 1-0 lead after a Rhett Stokes RBI double in the second inning, true freshman Jeter Worthley crushed a solo home run in the seventh before Mac Moyer added more insurance by scoring on a wild pitch in the ninth inning. That's all NU needed with Ty Horn on the mound as he churned out an eight-out save for a 3-0 Nebraska win and series victory.

Despite the loss to KU, the Huskers moved up the rankings to No. 16 and have a clear path ahead to finish runner-up in the Big Ten behind No. 1 UCLA. For now, Nebraska has two more midweek contests to worry about, which start with the season series decider against Kansas State. Here's all you need to know.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: No. 16 Nebraska (33-11, 17-4 B1G) vs. Kansas State (26-18, 9-12 Big 12)
When: Tuesday, April 28
Where: Hawks Field at Haymarket Park, Lincoln, Neb.
Time: 6 p.m. CDT
Watch: B1G+
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Probable Pitchers

Nebraska: TBD
Kansas State: TBD

Series History

Nebraska leads 175-120

Nebraska avenged its Feb. 21 loss to Kansas State with a 14-9 victory on March 24 on the road.
For the Huskers, a win on Tuesday would mark the first season series win over the Wildcats since 2017.

Kansas State head coach Pete Hughes (left) looks to lead the Wildcats to their third straight NCAA Regional in 2026. | Kansas State Athletics

Kansas State Scout

Last Season: 32-26 (17-13 Big 12, 6th)
Finish: L, 15-8 to No. 4 Texas in Austin Regional
All-Big 12: 2x Second Team, 1x All-Freshman, 3x Honorable Mention

Head Coach: Pete Hughes
Year at School: 8th
Kansas State Record: 224-186 (.546)
Career Record: 876-678-3 (.563)
NCAA Regionals/Championships: 1x Super Regional, 4x NCAA Regional
Awards: 2x Big East Coach OTY

All-Conference Returners: AJ Evasco (All-Fr.), James Guyette (HM)
Big 12 Preseason Poll: 7th of 14
All-Big 12 Preseason Honors: None

Kansas State's Dee Kennedy ranks near the top of the Big 12 in most offensive categories. | Kansas State Athletics

Key Returners

Dee Kennedy | INF | Jr. | All-American candidate that's enjoying a breakout campaign; ranked in the top five of the Big 12 in home runs (19), RBIs (65), and average (.395) while also leading the conference in both runs scored (62) and stolen bases (20).
Ty Smolinski | INF | Soph. | The Bellevue West graduate appeared in just 11 games as a freshman last season before moving into a starting role this year, where he's hitting .336 with six homers and 32 RBIs.
Shintaro Inoue | INF | Sr. | A returning starter from 2025 that once transferred from Western Nebraska CC; the Japan native has slashed .310 in all 44 games with the third-most hits (54) on the Wildcats.
AJ Evasco | INF | Soph. | The Lincoln native was named a Freshman All-American and made the Big 12 All-Freshman team last season after hitting .311 with 11 home runs; he's still hitting .343 on the year, but his power has been down this season with only five in 172 at-bats.
Bear Madliak | C | R-Sr. | The returning starter behind the dish has improved his average to .328 this season with seven home runs and 37 RBIs.
Tazwell Butler | RHP | R-Sr. | Ranked sixth on KSU last year with 15 appearances, he's the team leader in 2026 with 17, including a 6.00 ERA and three saves in 33 innings.
Cole Wisenbaker | LHP | R-Jr. | Missed all of 2025 with an injury, which came after a stellar sophomore campaign that had him record a 2.67 ERA across 22 relief appearances; he's struggled in his 13 appearances and six innings this season, posting a 13.50 ERA in those outings.
Miles Smith | RHP | R-Sr. | The veteran righty has seen his ERA rise to 7.52 ERA after a good start to the year.

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

Carlos Vasquez | INF | R-Sr. | All-Conference USA Second Team transfer from Western Kentucky, who's second on the Wildcats with a .367 average, seven homers, and 46 RBI.
Cohen Feser | RHP | R-Sr. | A four-year transfer from TCU, the righty from San Antonio has two saves and owns a 5.46 ERA in 28 innings and 12 appearances, which includes three starts.
Carson Liggett | RHP | R-Sr. | After being named an All-ACC Second Team pick at Louisville, the Kansas native missed all of 2025 with injury, but has returned to lead the Wildcats in ERA (0.00) in 10.1 innings with eight strikeouts and four walks.
Grant Gallagher | INF | Sr. | A transfer from East Tennessee State, Gallagher earned All-SoCon Second Team honors after hitting over 20 homers; he doesn't have the same power stroke with KSU (four home runs), but he's hitting .271 through 155 at-bats this season.
Micah Kendrick | INF | R-Soph. | With Kansas State marking his third different school after stops at TCU and Folsom Lake College, the Texas native has launched four home runs and owns a .304 average through 38 games this year.
Robby Bolin | OF | Sr. | The Topeka, Kansas outfielder transferred from Nebraska to Manhattan, but he's only hitting .220 in starting for all of his 17 appearances this season.
Robert Fortenberry | LHP | Sr. | After earning NJCAA National Pitcher of the Year honors at Weatherford College in 2024, Fortenberry transferred to Mississippi State, where he logged an 11.12 ERA before coming to Kansas State, where he's again struggled with an ERA north of nine.
Matt Flores | RHP | Sr. | After spending seasons at both Hawaii and UC Riverside, the California native has recorded an 8.44 ERA in 21.1 innings while making three starts.
Austin Haley | INF/RHP | Jr. | A two-way player that transferred from Murray State College, Haley's 3.80 ERA in over 21 innings ranks second on the Wildcats.

Bellevue West graduate Ty Smolinski is hitting .332 with six homers in his first year starting with Kansas State. | Kansas State Athletics

Outlook

Nebraska has certainly found more fortune than the Wildcats since the last time the two teams met in late March. Kansas State is 9-11 in that span, dropping Big 12 series to Utah (1-2), TCU (1-2), and No. 16 Kansas (0-3) while losing a tough midweek matchup to Omaha. The Wildcats did come away with series wins over Oklahoma State (2-1) and Arizona (2-1), plus midweek wins over BYU, Wichita State, and Grand Canyon. However, their recent results have jeopardized their chances of reaching a third-straight NCAA Regional despite such a good start.

KSU's Dee Kennedy continues to be a problem for opponents as he ranks in the top five in home runs (19, RBIs (65), average (.395), OPS (1.332), doubles (15), and stolen bases (20). With Bellevue West grad and first-year starter Ty Smolinski hitting .332, the KSU offense has been the vocal point of their 2026 squad.

Ranked in the bottom half of the conference in most categories, it's the Wildcat pitching that's been an issue. Aaron Arnold (3.50 ERA in 18 IP) and Austin Haley (3.80 ERA in 21 IP) give Kansas State a pair of decent relievers, but everyone else is above a 5.00 ERA.

Those pitching woes came to fruition in KSU's last matchup against NU as the Cornhuskers plated two runs in two innings against starter Cohen Feser before scoring four more on Robert Fortenberry in just 0.2 innings. It was the same story for Nebraska's bullpen, but that was only in the early stages as the quartet of Ryan Harrahill, Chase Olson, Tucker Timmerman, and Caleb Clark combined to allow just one run in the final five innings after the Wildcats scored eight in the first four innings.

At this point in the season, the Huskers are clearly the better team, and I have them coming away with their first season series victory over Kansas State since 2017 with a win on Tuesday.

Add us as a preferred source on Google