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

[Texansarebetter]

40 minutes ago, Caden Kuykendall said:

Is Texas going after Travis Sanders?

I sure hope so. Wonder if he’d be ok with playing 2B ? (Assuming Mendoza goes pro)

[HalfmileHorn]

I'll be relieved (no pun intended) if Cozart does come back for next season. I would not be surprised to see him drafted.

[Glass Joe]

15 minutes ago, HalfmileHorn said:

I'll be relieved (no pun intended) if Cozart does come back for next season. I would not be surprised to see him drafted.

He’s not draft eligible 

[Bevohorns]

2 hours ago, texcoyote15 said:

I was thinking 

2 OF

2 IF

1 C

3-5 P

 

We need to be significantly better at 1B, 2B, 3B, and CF next year 

This is my thought too but doubt Mendoza gets upgraded but Borba,Larson, and timo need to be upgraded and one two of the OF positions 

[Jeff Howe]

59 minutes ago, HalfmileHorn said:

I'll be relieved (no pun intended) if Cozart does come back for next season. I would not be surprised to see him drafted.

He's just a freshman. Not eligible for the draft.

[texcoyote15]

44 minutes ago, Bevohorns said:

This is my thought too but doubt Mendoza gets upgraded but Borba,Larson, and timo need to be upgraded and one two of the OF positions 

I meant Beccera.  Good defender but can’t hit. I like Mendoza

[Blaise Allen]

It’ll be interesting to see what we do with the arms this offseason

[Game of the Century]

3 hours ago, THookem said:

 

Sounds like Cozart is management material. 

[Califashorn75]

Our outfield needs major improvements defensively.  

[Eric24]

Any interest in Lauaki from Oregon?

[Glass Joe]

14 minutes ago, Eric24 said:

Any interest in Lauaki from Oregon?

He’s my crush DH.  But if I could only have one Oregon portal player, give me Laya.

[Cozer]

It seems that with some development in the fall (weight room and on the field), Walls could become the Sunday starter. Effortless delivery, live arm, quality pitches, Sophomore that could be a Friday or Saturday guy come 2028. 

[marathon]

1 hour ago, Cozer said:

It seems that with some development in the fall (weight room and on the field), Walls could become the Sunday starter. Effortless delivery, live arm, quality pitches, Sophomore that could be a Friday or Saturday guy come 2028. 

Walls could be a starter or reliever. He might be able to close. 

Two starters should be Volantis and Cozart.

Other starter candidates beside Walls include:

• Winter, RHP 
• Crossland, RHP
• Kaleb Rogers, RHP
• Jack McKernan, LHP
• Jason Flores, RHP (portal candidate but would love to see him harness that 98 MPH fastball)

Maybe another current freshman or 2 might be ready.

And that doesn’t include the incoming freshman pitchers that could start or relieve. There could be 7 freshman pitchers or more make it to campus once the MLB draft is done.

 

[horns96]

We wouldn't have made it to Omaha without Robbins and Tinney, but they both wilted when the lights were brightest.

They were at the top of the order for a reason and it wasn't to strike out on three pitches in any AB.

...or committing 3 errors in three games.

[HookedOnTF]

Painful to see an OU team that we swept via run rule and two extra inning wins manhandle UGA. What could have been.

[PaulieD]

@Jeff Howe, re Robbins and Tinney - could they possibly have been too wound up, getting to Omaha on a squad that is respected?  Sad that they couldn't close out a career better.

Are the dimensions and turf of DF really an issue?

Oh and thanks for the great reporting all during the season.🤘

[TheNightKing]

think a big problem was that our team couldnt play to our identity. schloss doesnt play augie ball. most teams in our league dont. could have benefitted us in omaha but, we hadnt played that style of ball all year really. difficult to start then. but in my career, (juco and D1 ball) when a guy is shoving a baseball down your throat, getting him moving and making plays off the mound gets him out of things. just not how we operate. 

[BornOrange]

9 hours ago, HookedOnTF said:

Painful to see an OU team that we swept via run rule and two extra inning wins manhandle UGA. What could have been.

Are they still playing games in Omaha after we lost?

I wouldn’t know.

[texcoyote15]

Let’s Go Tarheels.  Who’s with me? 
 

I know I know Skip’s a great guy. He coached with Augie etc etc………

 

But I just am not rooting for OU.  Not one OU fan in the world would be root for Texas if the situation was reversed.  You can’t be soft. Sports are ruthless. 

[Jeff Howe]

15 hours ago, Califashorn75 said:

Our outfield needs major improvements defensively.  

Agreed. I know the coaches didn't count on Pendergrass becoming an everyday player, but he was far and away a better defensive option than Monsour or Gumbo.

[Jeff Howe]

3 hours ago, PaulieD said:

@Jeff Howe, re Robbins and Tinney - could they possibly have been too wound up, getting to Omaha on a squad that is respected?  Sad that they couldn't close out a career better.

Are the dimensions and turf of DF really an issue?

Oh and thanks for the great reporting all during the season.🤘

I think teams had no interest in giving Tinney anything decent to hit. He at least found ways to get on base via walks, but they were very careful with him.

After Volchko got Robbins to chase that slider diving away from him, I don't think he saw anything but sliders the rest of the time he was in Omaha. Very few fastballs, IIRC.

The big thing about Charles Schwab Field is the configuration. Unlike Rosenblatt, where the wind coming from the south caused a lot of balls to leave the yard, the wind tends to blow in or you get a cross breeze. That can hurt teams that rely on the long ball, even though bat and ball technology have come a long way since the start of the BBCOR era.

@TheNightKing had a good post with some good takes. One of the reasons why Skip's OU teams have been good when they've made it to Omaha is that they really can play small when needed. OU typically steals a lot of bases and while they've got some guys who can thump, you'll always see Skip field a team with guys who can play small ball when the conditions aren't ripe for extra-base hits. OU is very versatile offensively.

[Jeff Howe]

Also, @PaulieD and others, thanks for the kind words on our baseball coverage. @Blake Munroe and @CJ Vogel deserve their props more so than me because they know the game and see it through a different lens than I do, which really enhances our coverage, IMO.

I love Longhorn baseball. I'm looking forward to our coverage growing in 2027.

[TheNightKing]

5 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

 

@TheNightKing had a good post with some good takes. One of the reasons why Skip's OU teams have been good when they've made it to Omaha is that they really can play small when needed. OU typically steals a lot of bases and while they've got some guys who can thump, you'll always see Skip field a team with guys who can play small ball when the conditions aren't ripe for extra-base hits. OU is very versatile offensively.

@Jeff Howe you honor me

[Jeff Howe]

1 minute ago, TheNightKing said:

@Jeff Howe you honor me

Your take is why I thought it was huge whenever Pendergrass reached base. He's got the kind of speed that can really mess with pitchers in tight spots. The speed element is also why Jonah going down was a huge blow to what the offense could've been this season.

[NoDakHornsFan]

@Jeff Howe If I recall, Cozart and Crossland are draft eligible as sophomore next year, is that accurate?