A second-inning home run by junior Bella Bacon nearly was enough to secure a victory for the No. 15 Nebraska softball team against Baylor at the 2025 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California.

The Nebraska softball team opened the 2025 season with three consecutive wins, before running into a couple of ranked buzzsaws to close out the opening weekend of play.

Now that the Duke softball team has been to the NCAA Women’s College World Series, anything less than another trip might feel like a letdown for the Blue Devils.

It could be argued that no one in college softball had a better offseason than Nebraska. Mainly because of one program-changing player.