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Big Ten Softball Tournament Bracket Revealed; Nebraska Earns the 3 Seed

Earning a top-four seed, the Huskers have a bye into the quarterfinal round on Thursday.

Kaleb Henry

Samantha Bland (left), Jordy Bahl (middle) and Ava Bredwell (24) celebrate Bredwell's diving catch in the infield.
Samantha Bland (left), Jordy Bahl (middle) and Ava Bredwell (24) celebrate Bredwell's diving catch in the infield. / Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska softball's postseason begins this week in West Lafayette.

Purdue is hosting the Big Ten Conference Tournament May 7-10. The field is comprised of the top 12 teams in the final regular-season standings.

Nebraska shortstop Ava Kuszak (left) and utility Olivia DiNardo (right) celebrate during a 9-2 win over Maryland.
Nebraska shortstop Ava Kuszak (left) and utility Olivia DiNardo (right) celebrate during a 9-2 win over Maryland in front of a sold out Bowlin Stadium. / Nebraska Athletics

The entire tournament will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.

The Huskers are the No. 3 seed. NU, along with 1-seed Oregon, 2-seed UCLA, and 4-seed Ohio State, has a bye through the first round. Those top four seeds will begin their Big Ten Tournament runs on Thursday in the quarterfinals.

Nebraska will take on the winner of Penn State (11) and Iowa (6). They will play in the first game of the day Thursday at 10 a.m. CDT. If the Huskers win, they would play at 4 p.m. CDT on Friday and then 3 p.m. CDT on Saturday.

Ava Kuszak celebrates her home run with teammates at home plate.
Ava Kuszak celebrates her home run with teammates at home plate. / Amarillo Mullen

The Big Red have not played the Nittany Lions this season, but beat the Hawkeyes in a series in Iowa City in early April. The first two games went to Nebraska 12-0 and 14-1, with Iowa winning the finale 5-2.

The Huskers went 38-12 during the regular season, including 17-5 in league play. NU did not drop a conference series.

Nebraska has set multiple program records this season, including runs in a season (409) and run-rule wins (22). The Huskers have won the Big Ten Tournament just once, back in 2022.

Nebraska softball players gather before a game against Northern Iowa at Bowlin Stadium on March 9, 2025.
Nebraska softball players gather before a game against Northern Iowa at Bowlin Stadium on March 9, 2025. / Nebraska Athletics

The full Big Ten Softball Tournament schedule is below.

Wednesday, May 7 (First Round) 

Game 1 (#11 Penn State vs. #6 Iowa) – 10 a.m. CDT (BTN) 
Game 2 (#10 Indiana vs. #7 Washington) – 12:30 p.m. CDT (BTN) 
Game 3 (#9 Wisconsin vs. #8 Michigan) – 3:30 p.m. CDT (BTN) 
Game 4 (#12 Purdue vs. #5 Northwestern) – 6 p.m. CDT (BTN) 

Thursday, May 8 (Quarterfinals) 

Game 5 (#3 Nebraska vs. Game 1 winner) – 10 a.m. CDT (BTN) 
Game 6 (#2 UCLA vs. Game 2 winner) – 12:30 p.m. CDT (BTN) 
Game 7 (#1 Oregon vs. Game 3 winner) – 3:30 p.m. CDT (BTN) 
Game 8 (#4 Ohio State vs. Game 4 winner) – 6 p.m. CDT (BTN) 

  Friday, May 9 (Semifinals) 

Game 9 (Game 5 vs. Game 6 winner) – 4 p.m. CDT (BTN) 
Game 10 (Game 7 vs. Game 8 winner) – 6:30 p.m. CDT (BTN) 

  Saturday, May 10 (Championship) 

Game 11 (Game 9 vs. Game 10 winner) – 3 p.m. CDT (BTN) 

NOTES: Dates and times are approximate and subject to change … Big Ten Network (BTN) games are also available on the FOX Sports app.

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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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