OTF Premium Austin Super Regional press conference with Jim Schlossnagle and Texas players

[Jeff Howe]

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Longhorns are two wins away from the school’s NCAA-record 39th berth in the College World Series. The Oregon Ducks are the last hurdle between Jim Schossnagle’s team and a trip to Omaha, with the two clubs slated to begin the Austin Super Regional at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN).

Ahead of the first game of the best two-out-of-three series between Texas (43-13) and Oregon (43-16), both teams will practice on the Forty Acres and meet with the media on Friday. Schlossnagle will be joined at the press conference by left-handed starting pitcher Dylan Volantis and outfielder Anthony Pack Jr.

On Texas Football is reporting live from Disch-Falk Field for the Friday practices and press conferences and will have updates throughout the afternoon.

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[Jeff Howe]

Texas was scheduled to be on the field for practice until 2:30, but the Longhorns wrapped things up about a half hour early.

Oregon is going through its press conference right now.

[Jeff Howe]

Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski recruited Anthony Pack Jr. He said Pack "is going to be a heck of a Major Leaguer... he's that good."

[Jeff Howe]

Wasikowski on Pack: "I just hope he had one off weekend."

[Jeff Howe]

Oregon pitcher Cal Scolari said that Texas having multiple 20-home-run guys in its lineup stands out. Heading into the Austin Super Regional. Aiden Robbins leads the Longhorns with 23, Carson Tinney has 21 and Casey Borba is close to the 20-home run mark with 17.

[Jeff Howe]

Wasikowski on recruiting Dylan Volantis: "I think he said no to us pretty quickly. We would've loved to have been in the mix for him."

[Jeff Howe]

Wasikowski on Volantis: "We're going to really need to be at our best to try and break him down."

[MBHORNSFAN]

See you tomorrow Disch. 🤘⚾️🍺

[Jeff Howe]

On competing in the Big Ten, Wasikowski felt UCLA, USC and Nebraska were all legit teams; the Bruins had a bad weekend last weekend and they're out, he said.

[Hornsfan76]

Jeff, who would be a good comparison in the SEC for Oregon?

[Jeff Howe]

Oregon, which didn't have a baseball program from 1982 until 2009, hasn't been to the College World Series since 1954. Texas, meanwhile, can add to its NCAA-record 38 CWS appearances if the Longhorns win the Super Regional.

[Jeff Howe]

2 minutes ago, Hornsfan76 said:

Jeff, who would be a good comparison in the SEC for Oregon?

Probably Mississippi State, of the teams I've seen.

[Jeff Howe]

We're waiting on Schloss, Dylan Volantis and Anthony Pack Jr.

[Jeff Howe]

Schloss opens his press conference by congratulating Mike White and the softball program for winning the national championship.

[Jeff Howe]

Dylan Volantis and Anthony Pack both said they know members of the softball team and they were happy to see them celebrate last night's win over Texas Tech.

[Jeff Howe]

Volantis said he went to an Oregon baseball camp and never went back. Pack went on a recruiting visit for a football game and said he liked the Oregon coaching staff but preferred Texas.

[Jeff Howe]

"In a perfect world," Schloss wants Ruger Riojas to start. However, as @Blake Munroe reported, other than Dylan Volantis starting tomorrow's game, Texas isn't announcing anything else regarding starting pitching this weekend.

[Jeff Howe]

Schloss said Texas has a lot of respect for Oregon's pitching staff, but competing in the SEC allowed the Longhorns to see a lot of high-quality pitching. Schloss made it clear that he respect Oregon, calling them an SEC-style team because of the athleticism, speed and pitching they bring to the table.

"They look like an SEC team, but they'll play whatever brand of baseball they need to to win the game," he said.

[Jeff Howe]

"Sitting around all day waiting to play is a challenge," Schloss said. Still, he loves the opportunity that Texas has to play a night game in the Super Regional.

[Jeff Howe]

Schloss hasn't lost a Super Regional since 2012, when TCU lost on the road to UCLA. Schloss said that has nothing to do with him, but with the great players he's coached because, ultimately, they have to perform and execute.

[Jeff Howe]

Volantis, as he has throughout the season, lets Max Weiner handle the scouting report (that's the case with all of the Texas pitchers). He's not focused on Oregon's lineup. Volantis said he's focused on executing his pitches and throwing strikes.

[Jeff Howe]

"It's a challenge to stay in the mix with the best players in the country and try to get them in here," Schloss said on how the staff is handling the transfer portal and the Super Regional occurring simultaneously. "At the same time, we don't want to shortchange this team."

[Jeff Howe]

Schloss said he remembers when Texas A&M was in Omaha in 2022. He coached in a game that ended shortly before midnight and then was on a two-hour Zoom call with Paul Skenes, trying to recruit him out of the transfer portal.

"I may have exaggerated a little bit," he said, regarding how long the call lasted.

[Jeff Howe]

Pitchers who didn't pitch in the regional threw in two simulated games early this week, Schloss said.

[Jeff Howe]

On the bottom of the lineup, Schloss said Ashton Larson is starting to hit lefties better and Pendergrass is seeing the ball well.

It's nice to have Borba's 17 home runs at the bottom of the lineup, he said.