Northwestern's baseball team has had a middling start to the season. At times, it's looked a lot better than recent NU squads, and at other times, it's really struggled both on the mound and at the dish.
Through 17 games, the 'Cats are 7-9-1, which isn't great seeing as they're just starting Big Ten play. But it also certainly could be worse -- their most recent game was a gutsy upset over No. 25 USC.
The good news is, Northwestern's best players at the most important positions on the field are performing well. Both Jackson Freeman and Jack Lausch, the team's shortstop and center fielder, have had really solid starts to their 2026 campaigns.
Freeman is a junior, and this is his third year with the program. From the start, it was clear he had a lot of potential when he made the All-Big Ten Freshman team back in 2024. That season, he hit .247 and launched 11 bombs.
Since then, he's been getting even better. Last year, he made some mild improvements, but he's really taken off so far this season. Freeman has started all 17 games for the 'Cats and he's currently hitting .371 with three bombs on the young season.
He's also getting more extra base hits and reaching base more consistently, as his .OPS has jumped to .992 to lead the team. That's an elite number in MLB, and although the smaller sample size in college should impact analysis, it's flat-out too high not to take notice.
Seventeen games isn't a ton of games, but it is enough to definitively say that Freeman has taken an offensive leap. If he keeps his game at this level, he's going to be a massive threat in every series the Wildcats play this season.
Just behind Freeman on the .OPS leaderboard is center fielder Jack Lausch (.915). Lausch has had a unique story up to this point, beginning his Northwestern Athletics career as a quarterback for the football team.
After 2024, a football season in which he started most games and struggled mightily, Lausch decided to switch to baseball. It's been a good decision.
Last year, as he made his transition, he showed some promise, but he struggled with consistency. This year, he's found that, and he's taking off as a result. Lausch is currently hitting .258 and leads the team in homers with four. He hit one this past weekend in a blowout loss to the Trojans on Friday.
Lausch also sports a .915 .OPS and a .561 SLG%, both of which are good for second on the team among consistent contributors behind Freeman.
Northwestern might not make a whole bunch of noise in the Big Ten this season, but it is a more entertaining group than in years past. Freeman and Lausch are both legitimately very good hitters, and they're not too shabby out in the field either.