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What went wrong in Omaha and what's next for the Texas baseball program?

Jeff Howe
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Jeff Howe Lifetime Longhorn

Jeff Howe

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The simplest explanation as to why Texas’ time at the College World Series ended after three games, two of which were losses to Georgia, including a 2-0 season-ending defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs on Tuesday, is that the offense didn't do enough to back up an overall winning performance by the pitching staff. 

The Longhorns got the bulk of their production in Omaha from the middle of the order, with Ethan Mendoza, Anthony Pack Jr. and Adrian Rodriguez doing most of the damage Jim Schlossnagle’s bats inflicted. Those three, who could all potentially return to form the nucleus of the 2027 squad, went a combined 17-for-34 at the plate, scored seven of the team’s 15 runs, drove in 14 and recorded six extra-base hits (including home runs by Pack and Rodriguez in Monday’s 14-2 rout of Alabama).

The rest of the Longhorn lineup had a woeful 4-for-61 showing in Omaha, recording 26 of the offense’s 33 strikeouts. Blake Peterson’s RBI groundout late in the win over the Crimson Tide was the team’s only RBI in Omaha that didn’t come from Mendoza, Pack or Rodriguez, with Aiden Robbins’ leadoff double against Alabama accounting for the only extra-base hit that didn’t come from the aforementioned trio.

Texas wouldn’t have gotten to Omaha if not for the efforts of Robbins and Carson Tinney. Nevertheless, the All-American transfer tandem went 3-for-20 in what’s expected to be their only respective College World Series appearances in burnt orange, accounting for twice as many strikeouts (10) as runs scored (five).

In hindsight, unexpectedly losing Jack Moroknek and Kaleb Freeman to the draft and Jonah Williams to an early-season shoulder injury lowered the offense’s ceiling. Robbins and Tinney carried the Longhorns as far as they could. While Mendoza, Pack and Rodriguez did their parts to pick up the slack, Texas didn’t get enough offensively from the bottom of the order, which had to rely on projected reserves Ashton Larson and Dariyan Pendergrass to step into everyday roles, alongside utility man Temo Becerra and veteran corner infielder Casey Borba.

Considering what the final product looked like compared to what Schlossnagle and Troy Tulowitzki envisioned it would be last summer, the staff maximized the offense’s potential. There just wasn’t enough juice left to squeeze to get by Georgia and into the national semifinals.

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The draft and the transfer portal will force Schlossnagle’s staff to work feverishly to reload for the 2027 season.

Robbins and Tinney will be drafted high enough that the thought of either returning to Texas is, at best, a pipe dream.

The premium Schlossnagle puts on his catcher means replacing Tinney (Ian Armstrong of St. Mary’s and Nolan Traeger of TCU, who’s rumored to be headed to Arkansas, are the top portal candidates with Clemson’s Nate Savoie recently committing to Texas A&M) might be the staff’s highest priority in the portal. With Pack returning for his sophomore season and Williams coming off injury, expect the Longhorns to target at least two outfielders to compete for the jobs left open by Robbins and Pendergrass (out of eligibility).

Texas has already added Texas Tech's Linkin Garcia to the infield mix for next season, specifically with the idea that he’ll play third base. Rodriguez will be back for his junior season, but what happens beyond those two spots is up in the air, especially with the impending decisions facing Mendoza and Borba.

Specifically, it’s where in the draft either gets selected (if they’re taken) and what a potential signing bonus would look like compared to the financial package Texas could offer for either to return. If Borba returns, sources have told On Texas Football that it would be to play first base. He and Mendoza can also offer the Longhorns flexibility with the designated hitter role (especially with Mendoza’s shoulder preventing him from playing second base for the last month of the season).

Maddox Monsour can provide depth in the outfield or as a middle infielder. Monsour, Larson and Presley Courville are among the projected returnees who can create competition for spots in the fall and winter.

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Schlossnagle has already expressed his excitement regarding Sam Cozart joining the starting rotation as a sophomore. Cozart and Dylan Volantis will form arguably the best 1-2 punch in the country, which on its own makes Texas a contender to win the SEC and get back to Omaha in 2027.

Luke Harrison and Ruger Riojas are gone, along with Max Grubbs (who underwent season-ending elbow surgery in May). Schlossnagle has indicated that Thomas Burns is likely to leave school via the draft and Haiden Leffew is draft-eligible.

While the Longhorns will look for at least two pitchers in the portal, whether they target starters or relievers depends on how Schlossnagle and Max Weiner view the roles of the freshmen who will be back as sophomores. Brett Crossland was one of the team’s most reliable bullpen hands, Brody Walls seemed to gain confidence with each outing and Michael Winter bounced back from a midseason absence, putting up 2.2 scoreless innings in the NCAA Tournament.


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SETXAN Freshman

SETXAN

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When your two hired guns are shooting blanks, you’re gonna have a bad time..transfer portal is a necessity but the home grown talent showed up when it mattered. Here’s to hoping the transfers we take don’t get poached by the draft again this year.

Mark Futrell Junior

Mark Futrell

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Thanks Jeff for your thoughts and in recapping the week. Good Stuff! À lack of Consistency was the take away for me. The talent is there, why was it not able to produce at the next level? The one thing that stuck out to me offensively was: During the regular season there was a real theme of batters taking pitches and working the count with the intent of driving up a pitch count for the opposing pitchers. Do I have that right? If so, at this level when narrowing the field to the top teams and pitchers, does that strategy work? I mean, I don’t know and I trust in Schloss - so it’s just a question. But, it was something that really struck a cord with me. Questions I would have are, what was our success rate at the plate when: 1) a batter was ahead in the count versus 2) a batter behind in the count. It seems to me that we sat on that 1st pitch over and over (regular season strategy) - and at this level, pitchers challenged the batter on the 1st pitch; therefore, we were constantly behind in the count. Offensively, we had to constantly dig and grind at the plate. Just an observation. Not being critical or negative. I believe in Schloss. I could be dead wrong, but it seemed as if we were constantly behind on the count; therefore, not finding favorable pitches forcing us to chase. Your thoughts? Thanks Jeff. CJ, Blake you got any comments? Keep up the Terrific Work. We appreciate all you do. Hook’em!!!

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