Baseball: St. Mary’s catcher Ian Armstrong commits to Texas

Jim Schlossnagle and the Texas baseball program secured a transfer portal commitment from St. Mary’s catcher Ian Armstrong on Saturday.

Armstrong’s commitment, which he announced on Instagram, fills one of the Longhorns' most significant roster needs with one of the top prospects available in the portal. After Carson Tinney’s All-American season at (.326/.483/.688 with 22 home runs and 58 RBI) and behind the plate (ABCA Division I Rawlings Gold Glove winner) in 2026, and Rylan Galvan’s an All-American campaign during Schlossnagle’s debut, Texas couldn’t afford to take a significant step back at a position upon which Schlossnagle puts a high value when building his roster.

Tinney is expected to be an early-round selection in the 2026 MLB Draft, paving the way for Armstrong, who visited campus late in the week ahead of the current dead period (runs through Monday), to bring his two-way talent to the Forty Acres.

As a sophomore for the Gaels, the 6-foot-1-inch Armstrong hit .351 with 16 home runs, 51 RBI and a 1.070 OPS en route to first-team All-West Coast Conference honors. According to D1Baseball and Synergy, Armstrong is fifth in Division I in defensive runs saved and seventh in defensive wins above replacement (1.33, which currently ranks fourth among SEC catchers).

Armstrong is the second transfer portal commitment the Longhorns have landed in the current cycle, joining Texas Tech infielder Linkin Garcia. With the futures of Casey Borba and Ethan Mendoza uncertain as the two starters from a team that won 46 games and reached the College World Series await the upcoming draft, Armstrong and Garcia give Schlossnagle two key pieces of the 2027 infield, along with returning postseason standout Adrian Rodriguez.

On Texas Football expects up to two more infielders, two outfielders and three pitchers to be what Texas tries to add in the portal. The baseball transfer portal window will close on June 30.

As of Saturday, the Longhorns have lost five players to the transfer portal: right-handed pitchers Jadyn Ferguson and Cooper Rummel, catchers Presley Courville and Andrew Ermis (the only catchers other than Tinney on the 2026 roster) and outfielder Will Hill.