Nebraska wins Big Ten Softball title: how it happened

The Nebraska softball team was an unstoppable force in the 2026 Big Ten Conference tournament.

Top-seed Nebraska, which went 23-1 in conference play this season, won its second Big Ten tournament title in four years earlier this month.

The 2026 conference softball tournament ended May 9 after four days of play.

Nebraska’s win puts it among the 64 teams competing for a spot in the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series.

Third-ranked UCLA faced the Huskers for the trophy, a matchup that surprised few fans. The Bruins threatened early but ultimately lost 7-2.

Nebraska, in a very unorthodox Big Ten fashion, boasts a fantastic pitching staff. The Huskers’ two-way star, Jordy Frahm, has a 1.26 ERA this year, while Alexis Jensen, the team’s second starter, has a 2.72 ERA.

Two front-line starters are especially valuable in this format, as Nebraska would play on three straight days if it advanced. Giving Frahm a break between Games 1 and 3 while handing the ball to another dominant starter is a major advantage for the Huskers.

Frahm also leads the way offensively, with a 1.412 OPS and 19 home runs. Three other regular starters have an OPS above 1.000.

UCLA has a case for the best offense in college softball, headlined by arguably the two best hitters in the sport, Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery.

No team wants the Bruins on its schedule.

Grant has a triple slash of .477/.646/1.326 with 35 home runs. Woolery owns a slash line of .513/.612/1.241 with 33 home runs. The best offensive duo in college softball is surrounded by six other regular starters with an OPS above 1.100.

UCLA struck first, taking the lead on a throwing error in the top of the second inning to make it 1-0. Grant came up in the next inning and launched a solo home run to extend the lead to 2-0.

Nebraska responded immediately by plating three runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to a single by Hannah Camenzind that was aided by a throwing error. Kacie Hoffmann then launched a two-run home run in the fourth to give Nebraska a 5-2 lead.

Ava Kuszak and Camenzind added two more runs in the sixth on a home run and a throwing error. After allowing a solo home run to Grant in the second, Frahm gave up just one hit and no more runs the rest of the way, securing the Big Ten softball championship for Nebraska.

The conference tournament featured a surprising number of upsets, much like the SEC tournament.

For example, second-ranked Oregon, one of the tournament favorites, made an early exit.

The first game featured No. 5 Washington and No. 12 Minnesota. Washington won 4-2 to earn the right to face No. 4 Indiana.

Indiana won easily, 9-2, to advance and face Nebraska, which had taken down Michigan in the previous round.

Nebraska’s Jensen pitched a complete-game — a 5-0 shutout — to send the Huskers to the Big Ten Softball Championship Game.

Seventh-ranked Wisconsin put on quite a show in the Big Ten tournament. After edging No. 10 Purdue 4-3, Wisconsin pulled off an upset over third-ranked Oregon, winning a thriller 11-9.

Like Wisconsin, No. 11 Penn State notched an upset of its own, taking down No. 6 Northwestern 11-5. Penn State then lost 6-1 to UCLA, and Wisconsin met a similar fate, falling 19-5 to the Bruins.

That set up a matchup between Nebraska and UCLA for the Big Ten Softball Championship.

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Carter Joseph Brooks is a student-intern at Penn State University.