Belief drives the Nebraska softball team into prime position for Big Ten Tournament
By Aaron Bonderson 
, Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media
May 5, 2026, 2:25 p.m. ·
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Nebraska softball took a moment to celebrate this weekend, but the team continues to charge ahead following a dominating regular season.
The Big Ten Softball Tournament starts this week, hosted by the University of Maryland. The Huskers enter the event with the No. 1 seed, having won the regular season conference title by three games following a sweep of Penn State last weekend. Nebraska finished conference play with a 24-1 record, with the one loss coming against UCLA.
At a press conference Tuesday, head coach Rhonda Revelle said the regular season title feels good, but the team has bigger aspirations.
“I felt like we've just had this business about us this year. And we talked about joy. We've talked about all the things,” Revelle said. “But, like I said, we were just trying to win pitches and win another game, and we were able to do that. And then, some special things happened because of that.”
NU has won 32 of its last 33 games, including the last 18. The school record for consecutive wins is 23, which was set in 2002.
The team is playing with lots of belief, Revelle said.
“We've talked a lot this year about our self-talk, that our self-talk is kind of a superpower, or it can be detrimental, so we touch base on that a lot,” Revelle said. “But, our self-talk builds into what our belief system is about ourselves and our team.”
Preparation, belief and managing potential distractions are all different keys to success heading into the postseason, she said.
In the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, the Huskers will face the winner of No. 8 seed Ohio State and No. 9 seed Michigan. Those teams play Wednesday for the right to compete against Nebraska at 12:30 Central time Thursday. The Big Ten Network is broadcasting the entire tournament this week.
Nebraska, at 43-6 overall, is currently ranked No. 3 in the RPI rankings, which largely determine postseason seeding. That means the Big Red will likely play at home throughout the NCAA Tournament. The regional round starts May 15, followed by the super regionals on May 21, and the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City starting May 28.