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One of the top baseball prospects from Wisconsin in the 2025 class committed to Nebraska a full year ago and assumed his process would play out like that of his older brother, now on the roster of a smaller Division I school. Figure out what percentage of a scholarship he might get. Then sign a National Letter of Intent and celebrate a major life moment.

Change and uncertainty have instead marked the times for future college athletes set to be on campuses next fall. Nebraska baseball’s incoming class is no exception.

Financial opportunities in the sport are opening up — after decades of limiting team scholarship totals to 11.7, the NCAA will have no such restrictions moving forward while players will also benefit from the impending revenue-share model. On-field opportunities are narrowing — roster caps are expected to set at 34 after half a decade at 40.

None of the new standards are official until the NCAA-House settlement reaches final approval in April. A multitude of details must come together after that, not the least of which is each school determining the number of scholarships it will actually offer.

Until then, Nebraska baseball is among the sea of major-college sports programs with no choice but to be flexible. Plans continue to be uncomfortably fluid for coaches and recruits alike.

“It’s almost bittersweet to be graduating in 2025 because it’s such a funky time with the rule changes,� said Kutz, an infielder and right-handed pitcher. “It seems like everyone sort of has their own way of building their roster and I’m just glad I found my right fit with Nebraska and how they’re dealing with it.�

The Huskers assembled a moving-target collection of talent by leaning heavily on Midwest prep prospects and making a late run on junior-college experience. All 14 known high-school pledges are no more than a state or 530 miles away, with half of them from Nebraska. Six juco additions have all come on since Halloween a year after most of Nebraska’s two-year bets paid off immediately during a return to the NCAA Tournament.

“All the changes mean you have to be the best you can possibly be,� juco lefty Brooks Jones said. “You have to prove you can be that guy, which is a good thing. You need confidence to be playing in college sports at the moment.�

NU’s prep haul is strong — a No. 38 ranking by Perfect Game is among its best in the Big Ten era after ranks of 66th, 72nd and 89th the last three years. Commits are attracted to the vast nutritional options of the new training table, Haymarket Park, working with pitching coach Rob Childress and joining a tight-knit team with momentum.

Yet unique circumstances remind that this isn’t business as usual. With the recent elimination of national letters of intent, signing-day ceremonies on the official day Wednesday are no longer a given. For example, Lincoln East High School — home of Nebraska commits in infielder Joey Senstock and catcher/utilityman Jeter Worthley — will hold an event in December for all its college-bound athletes.

Meanwhile and in a related new twist, many Husker baseball commits won’t go on their official visits until the winter after traditionally taking them in the fall.

NU coach Will Bolt said last month Nebraska is still working through how many scholarships it will have available when the rules overhaul takes effect for the 2025-26 year. The program is likely to offer a total somewhere in the low 20s. The Big Ten isn’t expected to impose limits though the SEC is reportedly exploring a baseball cap of around 25.

“We don’t have a lot of answers right now,� Bolt said. “We don’t know what it’s going to look like so we’re still working through it.�

Nebraska’s recruiting formula will remain the same, Bolt said, albeit on a smaller scale. Find young pitching and a core of high-school positional talent, then supplement it with juco prospects and occasional portal adds. The team must cut down from 46 members to 40 for the spring season and will probably need to trim to 34 by next fall. It has 13 seniors certain to be playing their last college campaign.

The Huskers have already needed to part ways with multiple previous 2025 commits to accommodate the new and abrupt numbers requirements. Five former pledges have since pivoted to junior colleges. NU typically announces much of its signing class in November, though there’s less incentive to do so now.

“This new rule has kind of thrown a wrench into everyone’s plans,� said Lane Fenske, a right-hander from Louisiana now heading for a local juco.

“It’s just a matter now of with 34, you can’t miss,� Bolt said. “You’ve got a lot less room for development and you have a lot less room for error.�

Senstock is the class’s longest commit — he joined midway through his freshman year in an early declaration that the NCAA no longer allows. His personal situation is “a lot better� in the new scholarship climate, he said, though he hurts for friends whose chances at other schools are tougher. The top-200 national prospect via Perfect Game has a rising MLB draft stock worth watching next summer.

“I know all these guys can play, for sure,� Senstock said of his fellow commits.

Omaha Skutt right-hander Jace Ziola said he will be among those having a signing-day ceremony Wednesday. He sees this as a good time to be an arriving college athlete — it either means extra financial support or more clarity about the challenges of making a team.

“People are getting paid a lot more money to play college baseball,� Ziola said. “Other people are losing the opportunity because it’s more of a business and more competitive.�

One commit, Worthley, flipped from Michigan last month. Another, Bishop Neumann outfielder/catcher Conor Booth, is doubling as a Husker football running back pledge. The other in-staters are middle infielder Drew Grego (Bellevue West), left-hander Cal Cooper (Elkhorn South) and righty Noah Gartner (Millard North) along with Senstock and Ziola.

Three sought-after prep talents from Kansas are also in the fold in right-handers Blake Sebastian (Blue Valley North) and Cooper Grace (Hayden) and two-way player Bradley Janes (De Soto).

Everyone is growing up quicker in the modern recruiting process, Kutz said. What choice is there? But with the extra anxiety come new possibilities for what players can do off the field — and what the Huskers can do on it.

“It’s scarier as a high school player having to compete with these older men for money,� Kutz said. “It’s always stressful seeing what’s going on with rule changes but I always felt a sense of security with the coaching staff at Nebraska and how they’ve treated us.�