Brent Teller named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week

The pitching staff for the Scarlet Knights was expected to be strong coming into the 2021 season — and it has exceeded expectations.

Brent Teller was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday after a stellar outing against No. 19 Nebraska on Sunday.

Teller took the ball after watching Rutgers take the first two games of the series on the road. He delivered seven scoreless innings allowing just two hits and striking out eight. Kyle Muller and Dale Stanavich delivered a scoreless inning each to preserve the shutout. This was the first road shutout for the Scarlet Knights since joining the Big Ten.

“I felt great leading up to the game,” Teller said on Sunday. “It was great to score an early run to be able to pitch with the lead and attack hitters.”

This was the second-straight dominant start for Teller against a ranked opponent. On April 25, he took the ball in the rubber game against No. 17 Michigan. Teller delivered 7.2 innings and allowed two runs on two hits with eight strikeouts.

“Brent feels really good physically and has been pitching with excellent tempo,” head coach Steve Owens said. “He is throwing hard with a really good breaking ball and really a good changeup, working ahead in the count with quality strikes. Plus, he has gotten some weak contact and kept his pitch count low to be able to work deep into the game.”

The right-hander is ninth in the conference with a 3.35 ERA. He is 3-2 and has allowed 34 hits in 43 innings while striking out 37. Overall, the Scarlet Knights are fourth in the Big Ten with an ERA of 4.10.

Rutgers is now 17-13 after winning their last five games. They will return home this weekend to host a four-day pod that features three teams. The top two teams in the conference will be in town in No. 19 Indiana and Nebraska.

Confidence should be sky-high for the Scarlet Knights with the way they are going recently, especially for the pitching staff.