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It will be as long as Dylan Volantis continues to deal as he did in Friday’s 3-1 win over No. 10 Mississippi State. On a cold, windy night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Volantis won his third series-opening start in as many tries, putting the Bulldogs in a blender with 12 strikeouts and no walks allowed while scattering three hits in a six-inning, 107-pitch gem.
The Longhorns haven’t lost any of the 11 starts Volantis has made in 2026. Volantis was good in his role as the team’s Sunday starter, but he admitted after his seventh win of the season that getting the ball on Friday night in the SEC carries more weight when he takes the mound.
“It’s just got a different vibe to it,” Volantis said, who felt his curveball, cutter and sinker were working well throughout his outing. “I’m just trying to help the team out in any way to win a ballgame.”
Jim Schlossnagle moved Volantis to the front of the weekend rotation after the canceled game at Blue Bell Park caused the sophomore southpaw to miss what would’ve been his first start since the team’s 4-1 road win over South Carolina April 4. Not wanting Volantis to go 15 days between starts, Schlossnagle gave Volantis the ball for the team’s April 17 series opener against No. 24 Alabama, a 10-2 win for Texas (34-9, 14-7 SEC) en route to series victory over the Crimson Tide.
After striking out 11 while allowing six hits and one earned run in last Friday’s 11-4 road win over Vanderbilt, Volantis befuddled a potent Mississippi State (35-11, 13-9) lineup over six shutout frames. Volantis tied his career high for single-game strikeouts, marking his third consecutive start with at least 11 batters fanned, one of which came when he retired second baseman Gehrig Frei with runners in scoring position and two outs in the fifth inning.
“I thought that Dylan was outstanding,” Schlossnagle said. “What more can you say about him? Had three pitches going — I thought he ran his fastball enough when he needed to and the times where they, I think, we're trying to sit [on his] breaking ball and compete a little bit against him, he snuck the fastball in there, especially against Frei.
“On a 3-2 count, [runners on] second and third, up 1-0 — that was the biggest pitch of the game.”
With Volantis making the transition from a record-setting reliever (an SEC-record 11 saves in conference play in 2025) to a starter, and Ruger Riojas’ tendency to work deep into games, moving Volantis up in the rotation helps Schlossnagle and Max Weiner get a better feel for how to utilize the bullpen. Haiden Leffew, who’s capable of giving the Longhorns multiple innings, hard-throwing righty Thomas Burns and freshman fireballer Sam Cozart finished what Volantis started, tying a season high and a school record for a nine-inning game with 19 strikeouts as a staff.
Texas will send Riojas to the mound on Saturday with a fresh Brett Crossland in the bullpen. Burns (eight pitches) and Cozart (12 pitches) weren’t overworked, which could come in handy if the Longhorns need a late-inning lift with a series victory within their grasp.
The buttons Schlossnagle and Weiner can push to maximize the pitching staff as the postseason draws closer are available to them because of Volantis’ dominance in setting the tone for the weekend. While it’s not a given that Texas will win every time Volantis toes the rubber, it’s clear that the Longhorns walk taller when the 6-foot-6-inch phenom has the ball.
“We definitely trust DV,” said Anthony Pack Jr., who went 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI single in Friday’s win. “I think, personally, he's the best pitcher in the nation.”
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