In the latest Big Ten player profile from the Big Ten Network, we meet Ohio State Buckeyes softball shortstop Alicia Herron, who lost her mother Janet Herron a year ago to gastric cancer. Herron’s mother was Alicia’s biggest fan attending every game and practice during her high school career. “She was really proud of us having a focus on something,” Alicia Herron said.

First-year Nebraska baseball coach Darin Erstad is as polished and decorated as college coaches come. Let’s list a handful of the accolades: No. 1 pick in the 1995 MLB First-Year Player Draft; 2002 MLB champion; two-time MLB All-Star; three-time Gold Glove winner; .339 lifetime hitter in playoffs. And the list goes on. So, why did Erstad, a two-sport star during his time at Nebraska, decide to start coaching college baseball? “It’s in the blood,” Erstad told BTN.Watch our feature with the former Husker now.

Former Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus didn’t have to wait long to hear his name called during the 2012 NFL Draft. With the 26th pick of Thursday night’s first round, the Houston Texans selected Mercilus, the first of four Illinois players taken in the opening 48 picks. Check out all the Big Ten draft picks and see who inked free-agent contracts. BTN cameras were at Mercilus’ family draft watching party in Akron, Ohio, to capture the nerves and jubilation of the memorable night. Watch the behind-the-scenes feature now.

New Michigan State quarterback Andrew Maxwell missed Saturday’s Green-White game due to a sprained right knee, but Mark Dantonio and company know what they have in their junior signal-caller. Maxwell, who spent the past two seasons as Kirk Cousins’ backup, is a sharp product who understands the game and his role — just like his predecessor. In nine game career games, Maxwell has completed 29 of 51 passes (57 percent) for 294 yards and one touchdown.

When you hear “Dream Team,” you think Magic, Bird and Jordan, and rightfully so. But there’s a current Dream Team in the Big Ten. The seniors on the Purdue baseball team gave themselves the nickname, and they break their huddles with the phrase. All this from a team that is trying to win its first Big Ten title since 1909. Leading the Big Ten by two games (standings) and ranked for the first time since 2001, the Boilers and their 14 seniors are on the right path. Watch our feature on the Dream Team now and catch an entertaining YouTube video of theirs in this post. Also, watch all of our Big Ten features.

When a tornado touched down in Harrisburg, Ill., on Feb. 29, it ripped through much of the city and left seven people dead. However, the destruction was deemed too small for federal assistance. Good thing for Harrisburg,  the Illinois baseball team has a proud native, Reid Roper, who wanted to lend a helping hand. Roper, with the help of his coaches and teammates, delivered 32,000 pounds of food and supplies to Harrisburg and presented a $10,319 check to the mayor during its spring trip to Carbondale in mid-March. Watch the entire touching feature now.

Iowa’s Morgan Johnson not only plays with pain, but lives with pain every day. The latest edition of the  “Big Ten Women’s Sports Report” features Johnson and what she goes through in order to play basketball. Watch the feature here and check out our entire collection of Big Ten video feature stories.

During the latest edition of “Big Ten Women’s Sports Report,” Kara Lentz offered fans a behind-the-scenes look into how Michigan State women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant balances being a coach and a mom. Watch the feature here and check out our entire collection of Big Ten video feature stories.

All 12 of the Big Ten’s women basketball teams played Thursday night, including Illinois who beat Michigan State 71-62 in overtime. Catch up on our scoreboard page, dive inside for highlights as well as a video feature on Illinois women’s basketball coach Jolette Law, who helped raise money for charity by coaching a game in her bare feet.

BTN produces a lot of feature stories throughout the year. The “Big Ten Women’s Sport Report” recently featured Purdue’s Courtney Moses who traveled with other student-athletes to Haiti as a volunteer for Double Harvest. Watch the video profile here and check out our entire collection of Big Ten video feature stories.