Sears Tabbed NCBWA District 6 Player of the Year

Nebraska senior Brett Sears was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) District 6 Player of the Year, the organization announced Friday.

The senior becomes the ninth Husker in program history to be named District Player of the Year, including the second in a row after Max Anderson in 2023.

A semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and National Pitcher of the Year, Sears was the Big Ten’s Pitcher of the Year and a First-Team All-Big Ten honoree while posting a 9-1 record with a 2.16 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 104 innings.

Sears had a breakout 2024 campaign, ranking among the national leaders throughout the season. The Westphalia, Iowa, native is fifth nationally with a 2.16 ERA and 0.88 WHIP, 19th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.32), 20th in hits allowed/9 inn. (6.23) and 24th in walks allowed/9 inn. (1.64).

After Nebraska’s win over Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, the senior became the first NU pitcher since at least 1999 to reach a 9-0 record on the mound.

Sears is the first Husker hurler with 100-plus strikeouts in a season since 2008 after compiling 101 punchouts, which is ninth-most in a season in program history. Sears also completed the season tied for eighth in program history with 104 innings pitched in 2024.