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Nebraska Pitcher Mason McConnaughey Earns More National Attention

The Husker junior is on the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List and a preseason All-American by the NCBWA.
Kaleb Henry|
Mason McConnaughey
Mason McConnaughey | Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska pitcher Mason McConnaughey has plenty of expectations going into the 2025 season.

The Husker junior was named a a preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and to the 2025 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List.

Mason McConnaughey
Mason McConnaughey | Amarillo Mullen

Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2025. Following the midseason watch list announcement on April 3, baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com with the naming of the semifinalists and finalists. The 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced in late June in conjunction with the end of the amateur baseball season.

McConnaughey is the first Husker Husker named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List since Ryan Boldt in 2016. The junior is one of 55 players across high school and college baseball to earn mention on the watch list from USA Baseball.

The Topeka, Kan. native was a second-team selection by NCBWA after picking up third-team All-America honors from D1Baseball in January.

Mason McConnaughey
Mason McConnaughey | Amarillo Mullen

McConnaughey totaled 91 strikeouts and held opposing hitters to a .239 batting average in 73 innings last season, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. He is the fifth NU pitcher in school history to return after a 90-plus strikeout season, joining Bob Sebra, Troy Brohawn, Shane Komine, and Joba Chamberlain.

Earlier this week, McConnaughey and the Huskers were listed No. 24 in NCBWA’s preseason poll. Nebraska opens the 2025 campaign next weekend at the MLB Desert Invitational in Arizona. The Huskers will face UC Irvine on Friday, No. 16 Vanderbilt on Saturday, and San Diego State on Sunday.

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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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