Sears selected in seventh round of MLB draft by Atlanta Braves – University of Nebraska

Nebraska senior Brett Sears was selected in the seventh round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Atlanta Braves on Monday afternoon. Sears, who became the fourth seventh-round pick in NU history, was the 221st overall pick in the draft.

Sears becomes the fifth Husker pitcher under head coach Will Bolt to be drafted in the first 10 rounds, joining Spencer Schwellenbach (2nd, 2021), Cade Povich (3rd, 2021), Emmett Olson (4th, 2023) and Jace Kaminska (10th, 2023).

The senior is the sixth Husker selected by the Braves in the draft after earning unanimous second-team All-American recognition from D1Baseball, Baseball America, ABCA/Rawlings, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game last month.

The Westphalia, Iowa, native was named a second-team Academic All-American by College Sports Communicators earlier this month, becoming the first NU baseball player to be an Academic All-American since 2016, and the first Husker to be an All-American and Academic All-American in the same season since Aaron Marsden in 2003.

Before earning All-American honors, Sears was a first-team all-region honoree and District 6 player of the year.

A semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the National Pitcher of the Year award, Sears was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and a first-team All-Big Ten selection while going 9-1 with a 2.16 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 104 innings.

Sears ranked among the Nationals leaders throughout the season, finishing the year ranked fourth with a 0.88 WHIP, fifth in ERA (2.16), 19th in strikeouts-to-walks ratio (5.32), 20th in hits allowed/9 innings (6.23) and 24th in walks allowed/9 innings (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 Huskers pitcher to have 100-plus strikeouts in a season since 2008 after tallying 101 strikeouts, which ranks ninth in program history. Sears also finished the season tied for eighth in program history with 104 innings pitched in 2024.