The Big Ten baseball tourney ends — and Wisconsin fans are left wanting a team

Nebraska Cornhuskers huddle up after a NCAA Big Ten Conference baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2019, at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, Iowa.

190420 Bsb Neb 051 Jpg
Nebraska Cornhuskers huddle up after a NCAA Big Ten Conference baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2019, at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, Iowa. 190420 Bsb Neb 051 Jpg | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are the 2025 Big Ten baseball champions, and as the dust settles in the Big Ten after the tournament, Wisconsin fans are looking in from outside. It's the only major men's sport that Wisconsin doesn't compete in, and it's an absolute bummer.

This week, the Big Ten released a baseball shirt with an obvious flaw, which reminded fans of what could be with an official Badgers baseball team. The University of Wisconsin has been without a baseball team since 1991, and fans are clamoring for the sport to come back to Madison.

Big Ten Baseball only has 17 teams and the conference would be better with Wisconsin on the diamond

Wisconsin has a softball team that was relatively underwhelming this season, but I think most Wisconsin fans would take even a bad baseball team to a non-existent one. Lately, there has been a resurgence of Wisconsin fans talking about missing baseball or wishing there was a team again, especially as rival fanbases are watching their teams compete in the Big Ten tournament.

One consolation prize for Wisconsin fans to laugh at their rivals about is the fact that James Pruch pointed out online. He reminds the Big Ten fans that Wisconsin has one College World Series appearance while Illinois, Maryland, Purdue, and Northwestern do not. Even though it's been since 1991 that the Badgers have even had a team.

So, why doesn't Wisconsin have a baseball team? It's a bit more complicated than just a simple "funding," though that's the primary reason. You can read an article from the start of the season that explains it a bit more in-depth. Click here to access that article.

It's time to bring back Wisconsin Badgers baseball, and the 2025 Big Ten Baseball Tournament was just one more reminder of what's missing in the athletics department at the University of Wisconsin.