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AUSTIN, Texas — When Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle and pitching coach Max Weiner recruited Jared Spencer out of the NCAA transfer portal last summer, they anticipated he’d be a starting pitcher. It wasn’t a certainty considering the 6-foot-3-inch, 210-pound southpaw only made 11 starts in three seasons at Indiana State. What Spencer did in Friday’s 5-1 win over No. 3 Georgia provided further evidence that their hunch was correct. The work Spencer has done under Weiner’s tutelage helped him win the job heading up the weekend rotation in the Longhorns’ first season in the SEC, playing the role of staff ace to perfection in front of 7,246 fans at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. “Max felt like we could get him some extra pitches,” Schlossnagle said regarding Spencer's recruitment. With Weiner’s help, Spencer developed a changeup to go along with the fastball and slider he relied on heavily during his time with the Sycamores. “He can really pitch,” Schlossnagle said. “I think he’s showing professional baseball he’s capable of being a starting pitcher.” Spencer once again showed the SEC he’s worthy of being the ace of the pitching staff for No. 5 Texas (24-4, 9-1 SEC), setting the tone for a critical three-game conference series against the Bulldogs. Running his fastball up to 97 mph and mixing it with a slider he used to ring up eight of the 11 Georgia (29-3, 8-2) batters he struck out, Spencer shut the Bulldogs down to the tune of a season-low one run on two hits while throwing a career-high 111 pitches in 7.2 brilliant innings on the bump. When asked how he’d describe the win, which allowed the Longhorns to keep pace with No. 1 Tennessee (the reigning national champions no-hit Texas A&M in a 10-0 run-rule victory in Knoxville on Friday) atop the SEC standings, Schlossnagle said it was because Texas had “a great pitcher.” “To me, the game begins and ends with starting pitching, even though it’s not as prevalent these days to see guys go deep in games,” said Schlossnagle, who mentioned the two-hit, complete-game shutout with 14 strikeouts No. 7 LSU got from Kade Anderson in a 2-0 win over No. 10 Oklahoma on Thursday. Spencer, Schlossnagle said, “is right up there” with the Tigers' dominant lefty, especially after what he did to a Georgia lineup that entered the game leading Division I home runs per game (2.71) and slugging percentage (.629) while ranking second in hits (339), runs per game (10.5) and on-base percentage (.466) with a .324 team batting average that was No. 14 nationally before Spencer befuddled the Bulldog bats. “The story is Spencer,” Schlossnagle said. “You’re holding down that offense. The wind was blowing in early, but the balls we hit went out, and the one ball they hit went out. They're certainly capable of changing the game with one swing.” Georgia left fielder Nolan McCarthy’s seventh home run of the season was a 391-foot blast to left field in the top of the seventh inning. Thankfully, the Longhorns had a 5-0 lead at the time, with an RBI double by Kimble Schuessler and two-run home runs by Casey Borba and Will Gasparino (his seventh in the team’s last six games) doing the damage in the middle innings. It’s a lot to toe the rubber as the Friday starter for a program that’s won six national championships and whose tradition of starting pitching is second to none. Still, whether it’s embracing the role as the staff ace, shaking off a home run that broke up a shutout or laughing after firing a pitch over the head of Rylan Galvan to the backstop in the eighth inning, Spencer’s mental makeup is helping him climb the ranks of starting pitchers in the SEC as much or more than his electric array of pitches. “He's a big, strong guy from Michigan that doesn't get phased by things,” Schlossnagle said. “What's really awesome about Spence is he had to go through a lot of summer school stuff to get enough credits to transfer into Texas after three years of college. It's really hard to do. He could've said 'screw that' at any time and signed because he got drafted. It tells you a lot about him that he went through that because he wanted to be here. “He and Max together are a great combination.” After getting the Longhorns started on the right foot against the Bulldogs, Spencer ranks among the SEC leaders in innings pitched (tied for fourth) and strikeouts (sixth). Spencer is the face of a Texas pitching staff that came into the series ranked No. 3 nationally in ERA (3.13), sixth in hits allowed per nine innings (6.99) and ninth in walks and hits allowed per nine innings pitched (a 1.19 WHIP). Even with Spencer surrendering the home run to McCarthy, the Longhorns have allowed an SEC-low 15 long balls through 28 games. Texas has given up the third-fewest hits in the SEC (186), while a .212 batting average for the Longhorns’ opponents is tied for the third-best in the conference. With Spencer leading the charge and Weiner working his magic behind the scenes, a pitching revival is afoot on the Forty Acres. For his part, Spencer isn’t thinking too far into the future. Instead, he's living by Weiner's advice, taking a one-pitch-at-a-time approach to his final college baseball season. That's helping him embrace his role and have fun while doing his best to put Texas in the win column whenever he's given the ball. “I'm taking it day by day, enjoying it while I'm there,” Spencer said. “[I’m] grateful for the opportunity that I have. I’ll enjoy it and have fun while I can.” View full news story

Ok, you got me with that one. But I was thinking mainly of perimeter first players.

I had a strong feeling he wasn't coming to Austin. Just a guess... after being on a bad team he's looking to be a star in the Big XII and rack up stats hoping to go higher in the draft. Kinda selfish, as is taking the bigger NIL payout. I played on a bad team in high school and wasn't college football material. If I had been bigger and faster I would have done anything to play for a winning college football program. Oh well... I've always said if a recruit doesn't really want to play for Texas then I don't want him. Hook 'Em!

PAIN

DISU. 45% his final year.

Not really. James had a really good year at it. Atchley was killer as a junior, but that was 17 or 18 years ago.

We also had a power forward who shot well over 40% from out. Remember?

Tre. Wasn't much used on the lob but I think he had it in him.

I've been trying to think of anyone we have had in the last 15 years who was both a plus 3 point shooter and a guy who could sky and be a great target for a lob. Nothing comes to me.

Flores play in the 8th. 2 on, 2out

🤘

Perhaps he was not a culture fit after all. Even if he dominates in the mediocre 12, so what??? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Where in the hell is Alabama?

I’m very interested to see how Texas ends up running the backfield out in 2025. You have Wisner who put his foot in the ground and carried the RB room last year despite seeming to be a depth piece, you have Gibson who shined at points and can be a good piece. Then you have Christian Clark who had new reports coming out everyday about how he is back and better than ever, and looking “phenomenal” in practice. And then you have Baxter, former #1 overall RB, took the reins in the 2023 playoffs and was expected to be the next great Texas back. I honestly am really interested to see what they do with this room.

Somewhere in Alabama lol