Nebraska ranked in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25

[ASFN Admin]

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are coming off the most successful men's basketball season in program history and the national media is expecting that to carry over to this upcoming year. ESPN ranked the Huskers No. 22 in its 2026-27 Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings.

Nebraska finished the 2025-26 season 28-7 and made it to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time ever. The team will return several top players from last year, with first-team All-Big Ten pick Pryce Sandfort and Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Braden Frager both back.

Coach Fred Hoiberg has added several transfers as well with Trevan Leonhardt (Utah Valley), Sam Orme (Belmont) and Boden Kapke (Boston College) joining the roster this season. ESPN cited those additions as the main reason for ranking Nebraska this offseason.

One of the biggest surprises in college basketball last season, the Cornhuskers won their first 20 games and finished with 28 wins and a Sweet 16 appearance. What does Fred Hoiberg have for an encore? First-team All-Big Ten pick Pryce Sandfort, one of the elite shooters in the country, and Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Braden Frager are both back. Nebraska also quietly had a terrific spring. Point guard Trevan Leonhardt (Utah Valley) was underrated in the portal, and Sam Orme (Belmont) and Boden Kapke (Boston College) will also push for starting roles.'

ESPN projects those five players as Nebraska's starting lineup for this season. The Huskers open the season on Friday, Oct. 9, in an exhibition against Saint Louis.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Nebraska basketball ranked in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25

Continue reading...