Nebraska Baseball 2026 Preview: Outfield

So we took a look at the experienced guys in the dirt with the infield preview yesterday. Today we take a look at the outfield. It does have some familiar names, but the entire starting outfield for the postseason run in 2025 is gone either with the transfer portal or graduation. Husker head coach Will Bolt has said who will get the first crack at starting in the new look outfield. So lets go through that group of returners and then check on who will be pushing them for playing time.

Left Field

Gone: Gabe Swansen (Sr.), Hayden Lewis (R-Soph.)

Back: Will Jesske (Jr.)

Mr. May, Gabe Swansen, is leaving quite a void in left field. He finished 1 home run shy of tying Ken Harvey for 10th all time in program history. Combine that with the numerous clutch hits in some of the biggest games of the last 20 years for the program, and it’s going to take a lot to replace him. Will Jesske is going to get the first opportunity to take over his spot. Jesske will be fully giving up his original position of catcher to move into the outfield full time. He has always been a good line drive hitter, but added some more power last year with 11 extra base hits in his 29 starts.

Center Field

Gone: Riley Silva (Sr.), Robby Bolin (Jr.)

Back: Devin Nunez (Soph.)

It’s hard to see the outfield defense being anywhere near as good as 2025. Riley Silva roamed the Haymarket Park outfield as well as anyone of recent memory. And Robby Bolin looked primed to succeed him the same way he did in JUCO. Bolin was probably the biggest surprise of the transfer portal departures. He would have been the only true outfielder returning, but instead chose to head south to Kansas State.

That void in center will be filled by Devin Nunez. Originally brought here as a second baseman, he transitioned to the outfield to get more at bats as the outfield was really struggling offensively for large stretches of the 2025 season. His bat has been elite since he was inserted into the lineup, so he has to be an everyday player, and the most obvious slot for him is taking over the center field duties. He is a good athlete and has great natural baseball instincts, so I don’t feel he will be a liability on defense, but it’s going to be hard to live up to Silva and Bolin’s playmaking abilities.

Right Field

Gone: Cael Frost (Sr.)

Back: Max Buettenback (Jr.)

Cael Frost was supposed to be the big addition offensively in 2025. He had the long 0-for start to the season and despite showing off his incredible power when he did make contact, his hits were few and far between. He left to use his extra year of eligibility from the JUCO ruling at Western Kentucky.

After his breakout summer ball campaign, Max Buettenback was the best and most consistent hitter in the Husker lineup until he was sidelined with mono. He never really regained his form, as he only had 3 hits in the month of May. Before that he had a stretch where he had multiple hits in 7 out of 14 games, batting .417 over that stretch. He will be the everyday right fielder to start the season, and a fixture in the middle of the lineup.

Backups

New Faces: Mac Moyer (Jr.), Preston Freeman (R-Jr.), Drew Grego (Fr.)

An Oregon commit out of high school, Mac Moyer comes to Lincoln after a very productive JUCO career. Baseball fans will know his dad, Jamie Moyer, a left handed pitcher who lasted 25 years in the Major Leagues despite never getting close to throwing 90 mph. He was a World Series champion with the Phillies in 2008 and has the wild fact of having faced 7.5% of all batters to have ever played in the majors when he retired. Both of Mac’s brothers have also been drafted into the MLB. Like his old man, Mac throws and hits lefty. He batted .394 his first year in JUCO and .354 last season with 38 extra base hits in his two seasons in which he was named first team all conference both times. Baseball is in his blood, and he will be hard to keep down.

Nebraska tried to get some speed back with Preston Freeman. Freeman didn’t get on the field much his first year in JUCO, but then took off in his second year to the tune of a .355 batting average, 16 doubles, 7 triples, 4 home runs and an OPS of .966. Freeman has the ability to play a high level of defense at not only the outfield positions, but on the infield as well, providing a lot of versatility.

The Huskers added one of the best baseball athletes in the state in Drew Grego. He owns nearly every record at Bellevue West playing mainly short stop and pitcher. He was a two time Super State honoree and tabbed the #7 ranked recruit coming out of his class in Nebraska. Grego hit over .450 both of his last two seasons, and had 27 RBIs and 26 runs scored last season. His future looks bright, but it will take some fighting to get through all the bats ahead of him.

On Deck

Two of the most important bats in Nunez and Buettenback reside in the Husker outfield, but none of the main contributors in the outfield are in their natural position. Nunez, a middle infielder and Jesske and Buettenback are former catchers and 3rd basemen. The coaches tried this a few years ago with mixed results defensively. This outfield is better athletically than the one in 2022, so hopefully that wont be quite so glaring. Speaking of athletes moving positions to the outfield, don’t be surprised to see Jeter Worthley out in left field should the staff deem he needs a day off from the rigors of catching. He was there in fall ball and didn’t look out of place in the least.

Our preview extravaganza continues Wednesday with a look at the pitchers. The weekend rotation has been set by Coach Bolt, so Todd will dig into the roles of the staff and what to expect for the coming season.