Upsets and Walk-Offs Shake Up 2025 Big Ten Tournament Heading Into Day 2 Pool Play

The 2025 Big Ten Tournament opened with two extra-inning thrillers and a power surge from Rutgers, as Illinois outlasted Michigan in 10 innings, Nebraska walked off against Michigan State, and the Scarlet Knights homered three times to take down Indiana.

The 2025 Big Ten Tournament began May 20 and runs through May 25 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, where 12 programs are competing for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

All games will be televised on Big Ten Network through the final out of the championship game on May 25. The Big Ten Network is also available via the Fox Sports App for cable subscribers.

The tournament features four pools—A, B, C, and D—each consisting of three teams. Pool A includes Oregon, Nebraska, and Michigan State. Pool B includes UCLA, Michigan, and Illinois. Pool C has Iowa, Indiana, and Rutgers. Pool D features USC, Washington, and Penn State.

Tuesday, May 20 – Pool Play Results

Game 1 – No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini 6, No. 7 Michigan Wolverines 5 (10 innings) – Pool B
Illinois opened the tournament with a thrilling extra-inning win over Michigan. First baseman Drake Westcott launched a solo home run in the eighth to give the Fighting Illini the lead, and reliever Zach Bates earned the win after working out of a late jam.

Tyler Schmitt started for Illinois, throwing seven strong innings with nine strikeouts. DH Nick Groves went 2-for-5 with a walk, and Kyle Schumann drove in two.

Michigan fought back in the bottom of the eighth with a solo homer by second baseman Mitch Voit and a two-run blast from catcher Noah Miller to tie the game.

Illinois improved to 30-23 (14-16 Big Ten), while Michigan dropped to 33-22 (16-14 Big Ten).

Game 2 – No. 10 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5, No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers 2 – Pool C
Rutgers slugged its way to a win behind three home runs and a dominant outing from starter Landon Mack, who threw six shutout innings to improve to 6-5 on the year.

Designated hitter Brennan Hyde homered in the seventh for two of his RBIs, while first baseman Ty Doucette and right fielder Jack Sweeny each added solo home runs in the middle innings.

Indiana’s Ryan Kraft allowed four earned runs over 6.2 innings in the loss.

Rutgers moved to 29-27 (15-15 Big Ten). Indiana fell to 31-24 (16-14 Big Ten).

Game 3 – No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers 5, No. 12 Michigan State Spartans 4 (10 innings) – Pool A
Robby Bolin drove in the winning run with a walk-off RBI single to center field in the bottom of the 10th, giving Nebraska a dramatic win to close out Day 1 of tournament play.

Nebraska used four pitchers—Luke Broderick, Tucker Timmerman, Ty Horn, and Drew Christo—to combine for 10 innings and 11 strikeouts, allowing just three earned runs.

First baseman Case Sanderson went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, while Cayden Brumbaugh added three hits and scored once. Bolin went 2-for-4 with a walk and the game-winning hit.

Michigan State’s Nick Williams had two of the Spartans’ seven hits.

Nebraska improved to 29-27 (15-15 Big Ten). Michigan State dropped to 28-26 (13-17 Big Ten).

Tiebreaking procedures and seeding rules are available here. According to the Big Ten, “The 12-team tournament will determine the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Oregon and UCLA clinched a share of the Big Ten Championship on the last day of the season Saturday, with Oregon earning the No. 1 seed based on a tiebreaker.”

This year’s format features four pools of three teams each. If pool play ends in a tie, the highest-seeded team advances. Pool winners move on to the single-elimination semifinals May 24. The title game will be held May 25.

The NCAA Tournament Selection Monday Show airs May 26 at noon EDT on ESPNU.

Nebraska won the 2024 Big Ten Tournament, defeating Penn State 2-1 as the No. 2 seed. Last year’s field featured eight teams; this year’s field expanded to 12.

Michigan, Ohio State, and Minnesota each have 10 Big Ten Tournament championships. Indiana and Illinois have four apiece.

In the latest D1Baseball.com Top 25 rankings published May 19, Oregon is ranked No. 4 and UCLA is ranked No. 13.

2025 Big Ten Regular Season Standings

1. Oregon (41-13, 22-8 Big Ten)

2. UCLA (39-15, 22-8 Big Ten)

3. Iowa (32-20-1, 21-9 Big Ten)

4. USC (34-20, 18-12 Big Ten)

5. Washington (29-26, 17-13 Big Ten)

6. Indiana (31-23, 16-14 Big Ten)

7. Michigan (33-21, 16-14 Big Ten)

8. Nebraska (28-27, 15-15 Big Ten)

9. Penn State (31-22, 15-15 Big Ten)

10. Rutgers (28-27, 15-15 Big Ten)

11. Illinois (29-23, 14-16 Big Ten)

12. Michigan State (28-25, 13-17 Big Ten)

Wednesday, May 21 – Pool Play 

Game 4 – No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 11 Illinois – 11 a.m. – Pool B 

Game 5 – No. 9 Penn State vs. No. 5 Washington – 3 p.m. – Pool D 

Game 6 – No. 3 Iowa vs. No. 10 Rutgers – 7 p.m. – Pool C 

Thursday, May 22 – Pool Play 

Game 7 – No. 7 Michigan  vs. No. 2 UCLA – 11 a.m. – Pool B 

Game 8 – No. 4 USC vs. No. 9 Penn State – 3 p.m. – Pool D 

Game 9 – No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 12 Michigan State – 7 p.m. – Pool A 

Friday, May 23 – Pool Play 

Game 10 – No. 5 Washington vs. No. 4 USC – 11 a.m. – Pool D 

Game 11 – No. 6 Indiana vs. No. 3 Iowa – 3 p.m. – Pool C 

Game 12 – No. 8 Nebraska vs. No. 1 Oregon – 7 p.m. – Pool A 

Saturday, May 24 – Semifinals 

Game 13 – Pool A Winner vs. Pool D Winner – 3 p.m. 

Game 14 – Pool B Winner vs. Pool C Winner – 7 p.m. 

Sunday, May 25 – Championship Game 

Game 15 – Game 13 Winner vs. Game 14 Winner – 3 p.m. 

Big Ten Conference MLBPipeline.com Top 150 Draft Prospects 

No. 23 – OF – Devin Taylor – Indiana 

No. 62 – OF – Mason Neville – Oregon 

No. 63 – LHP – Cade Obermueller – Iowa

No. 70 – LHP – Joseph Dzierwa – Michigan State  

No. 76 – OF – Korbyn Dickerson – Indiana 

No. 121 – LHP – Caden Hunter – Southern California 

No. 143 – OF – Paxton Kling – Penn State

Photographer Mark Kuhlmann