Nebraska Baseball's J'Shawn Unger Named Finalist for National Honor

The Blair native was named one of 14 finalists for the Stopper of the Year award after recording 13 saves and posting a 6-1 record as a sophomore.

J'Shawn Unger was named one of the finalists for the Stopper of the Year on Thursday. | Amarillo Mullen

J'Shawn Unger's impressive second-season in Lincoln has earned national recognition.

Nebraska baseball's sophomore right-handed pitcher was named one of the 14 finalists for the 21st annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, which is presented to the nation's top relief pitcher. Unger is joined with other finalists John Abraham (Florida State), Caden Aoki (Georgia), Nick Bonn (Cal Poly), Tanner Bradley (Oregon), Sam Cozart (Texas), Clayton Freshcorn (Texas A&M), Caden Glauber (North Carolina), Cooper Harrington (Liberty), Easton Hawk (UCLA), Skyler Hutto (Jacksonville State), Ethan McElvain (Arkansas), Wylan Moss (UCLA), and Albert Roblez (Oregon State). The national saves leader is automatically selected as a finalist each year, as Bonn leads the country with 17 saves.

Unger is one of four Big Ten representatives on the list, joining UCLA's relief duo of Hawk and Moss as well as Oregon's Bradley. Unger is also one of five sophomores, joining Bradley, Hawk, Moss, and Liberty's Cooper Harrington. Only one freshman is represented on the finalists list in North Carolina's Caden Glauber.

J'Shawn Unger earned a finalist spot on the National Stopper of the Year Award after finishing with 13 saves for the Huskers. | Amarillo Mullen

Unger is fifth nationally with 13 saves this season, tying for the third-most in program history in a season for a Husker pitcher. The right-handed pitcher added a 6-1 record and a 4.05 ERA in 40 innings of action for Nebraska. He had 25 relief appearances, striking out 39 batters while limiting his opponents to a .203 batting average.

Unger became a reliable relief pitcher early in the season after making only one appearance in 2025, earning a strikeout in 0.2 innings at Omaha in his freshman campaign. Making his first appearance at Grand Canyon on Feb. 15, Unger would strike out two batters across two innings to begin his stellar season. He would earn his first win at Auburn on Feb. 27 in Nebraska's 9-8 victory, and earned a save in the 8-5 victory over Omaha on March 3.

The sophomore maintained his pace throughout the season, as he was recognized on April 22 on the Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. Unger had recorded eight of his 13 saves up to that point, tallying victories over Omaha, Wichita State, Indiana, at Creighton, Penn State twice in back-to-back appearances, Oregon, and again against the Bluejays in Nebraska's 5-4 home win on April 14.

Trey Fikes (21) and J'Shawn Unger shake hands after the Huskers' win. | Amarillo Mullen

Unger tallied his last four of his last five saves in Big Ten Conference play, first taking down Illinois 12-5 on April 25, then rattling off back-to-back saves at Minnesota in mid-May. The sophomore closed his season with saves against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament and in the Lincoln Regional's opening contest against South Dakota State.

"I see ultimate confidence from him," Nebraska baseball coach Will Bolt said following Unger's close-out game against Creighton on March 31. "His body language and his presence on the mound... he's executing every pitch, even the balls."

Bolt put his trust in the young reliever on Nebraska's biggest moments, including in its postseason opener. The Huskers' sophomore stepped up in the seventh inning of Nebraska's first-round matchup of the NCAA Tournament against South Dakota State, working 2.2 innings while delivering four strikeouts against 10 batters.

Head coach Will Bolt argues with the umpire from the Husker dugout. | Amarillo Mullen

"He's our stopper. We just kind of felt like the game was kind of in balance right there," Bolt said on his decision to bring Unger in to close against the Jackrabbits. "Maybe going to let [Carson Jasa] finish that inning, fell behind 2-0, and he came in... that was J'Shawn's moment we felt like."

"We knew we would go to him as early as the seventh inning if we needed to. I'm glad he was able to finish it off," Bolt said.

The Blair native first arrived at Nebraska as the No. 139 right-handed pitcher nationally and was the No. 1 right-handed pitcher and No. 4 overall prospect in Nebraska by Prep Baseball Report. He joins Dylan Carey as a fellow Husker to continue to receive postseason honors following the conclusion of Nebraska's season, as Carey was named a finalist for the nation's top shortstop honor on Tuesday.

The 2026 NCBWA Stopper of the Year will be announced during a news conference at the College World Series on June 12 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.