These Huskers can pitch, just not a baseball.

Make these guys practice twice a day and you’ll get a “yesssss” rather than a groan.

And it all comes down to the weigh-in, even if they’re not wrestlers.

They’re members of the Husker Bass Anglers.

The club, officially sanctioned by University of Nebraska-Lincoln, started in 2007 as a way to bring together students who love fishing and competition.

Several club members have already entered college bass tournaments, which are growing in popularity. For example, last year’s National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship on Lake Lewisville, Texas, drew 83 two-person teams from scores of colleges and universities across the country.

So far Husker Bass has about a 10 student members, a faculty adviser, a few sponsors, two boats and a possession limit of optimism.

Some might question how guys from a state known more for walleye than largemouth could possibly compete against teams from Southern schools that have better bass lakes and longer fishing seasons. Sounds like a familiar knock on Nebraska, huh?

Tony Cimino, Husker Bass president, refuses to use geography as an excuse.

“I would say it’s an advantage” to be from Nebraska, he says. “The local lakes get hit so hard by weekend anglers, you’ve got to use different presentations and find the fish. I think it can make you better.”

That may not just be big red smoke.

After all, Denny Brauer, who learned to bass fish while living in Seward, has made a fortune from competitive bass fishing and even got his picture on a Wheaties box. And the team from the University of Iowa is currently in the top 10 of the Collegiate Bass Anglers Association.

Cimino, a senior criminal justice major from Omaha, has fished competitively in the Twin Rivers B.A.S.S. Club for several years. Last fall, by making contacts through the Nebraska Fish and Game Association’s forum, he got the Husker Bass Club formed just in time for him and Drew Friedrich to fish in the championship tournament. They placed 44th out of 83 boats.

Their faculty adviser is Mako Furukawa, who works at the Research Computing Facility and loves to fish. They’ve grown the club to include students from across the state majoring in everything from business to engineering to fisheries and wildlife.

So far the club has not charged annual dues, although that may change. It does, however, require members to join the B.A.S.S. Federation, an angling organization that runs national, state and local tournaments.

The club is open to women, although so far only male students have joined. No tournament experience is required, just a love of fishing.

The club members meet at 7 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays of the month at the City Campus Union.

Their biggest challenge involves coming up with the gas and motel money to get to tournaments in states such as Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The trips typically span four or five days, which includes practice time on the tournament lake.

Teams currently compete in tournaments sanctioned by one of two organizations: the Collegiate Bass Anglers Association and College Bass. Winners pay minimal entry fees and compete for “scholarships,” which is essentially prize money that goes to their clubs to help cover travel and equipment expenses.

Cimino says he would like to see the club obtain enough funds — through winnings, donations and sponsorships — to help pay the expenses of members. As of now, the anglers have pay for most of their expenses.

But Husker Bass has been successful at getting sponsorships. The Nebraska B.A.S.S. Federation raised money for the club. Other Nebraska sponsors include Drydock Marine, Wolf Tackle Supply, the Blue Valley B.A.S.S. Club in Seward and the Nebraska Game and Fish Association.

Cimino says the club set up a nonprofit organization through the University of Nebraska Foundation so contributors can make tax-deductible contributions.

Boats represent the other primary challenge. So far, the club has regular access to just two bass boats, which, if you haven’t looked lately, can cost more than the median salary in Nebraska.

So when the club obtained a sponsorship from Triton boats, which essentially allows members to “borrow” a boat at a tournament, it was a big break.

The only other trick involves balancing school with fishing. Because the university endorses the club, members are allowed to miss class for tournaments like other student athletes. But just try telling a professor you have to take a test early so you can go fishing.

“They laugh at me,” said Logan Girardin, a freshman fisheries and wildlife major from Broken Bow.

For Ben Milliken, a freshman civil engineering major from Bennington, the rewards are worth the trouble.

Milliken grew up fishing on Johnson Lake near Lexington, as well as smaller public lakes in the Omaha metro area. He and Friedrich recently competed in a college tournament on Lake Dardanelle, a 34,000-acre reservoir in Arkansas.

They didn’t do well. But he doesn’t consider the experience a failure.

“It’s definitely going to be learning by trial and error,” he said.

Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.