Jeff Howe

"Any time you host the national champion from a year ago," Sean Miller said of facing Florida, it has a special meaning.

Tankathon's latest mock draft, which was updated on Sunday, had Swain going to the Dallas Mavericks with the last pick of the first round, No. 30 overall. The most recent NBADraft.net mock for 2026, last updated on Feb. 11, had Swain going to the Sacramento Kings with the first pick of the second round, No. 31 overall.

A young man letting his disdain for @Joe Zura fuel his offseason training.

Here's the release from UT on Kavan's latest national honor: No. 3 Texas Softball (14-1) junior RHP Teagan Kavan was named D1Softball’s National Pitcher of the Week for the third time of her career, the publication announced Tuesday morning. Kavan was previously named D1Softball’s National Pitcher of the Week on April 8, 2025, and March 25, 2025. Kavan is the second Texas player to earn a national award this season, joining Reese Atwood, who was tabbed D1Softball’s National Player of the Week on Feb. 10. Kavan was instrumental in Texas’ 5- 0 weekend at the DeMarini Invitational on Feb. 20-22 at Stanford after she went 3-0 in the circle vs. ranked competition, stretching the Longhorns’ win streak to 12-consecutive games. Kavan twice beat No. 16 Arizona and defeated No. 10 Stanford on their home field. Across 16 innings against ranked foes, Kavan posted a 1.31 ERA with 19 strikeouts while checking opponents to just three earned runs on 10 hits. The West Des Moines, Iowa, product only allowed three extra-base hits with all three being doubles. Kavan held opponents to a .179 batting average. Texas cruised to its first win of the DeMarini Invitational on Feb. 20 behind Kavan’s arm, taking down No. 16 Arizona, 12-2. Kavan went the distance and tossed a three-hit, 10-strikeout gem in the win against the Wildcats, marking her second-consecutive double-digit strikeout outing. Kavan did not allow an earned run and did not give up an extra-base hit across seven innings vs. Arizona. Kavan issued four walks and had four 1-2-3 frames. Kavan caught fire when she retired 10-consecutive batters beginning in the third inning and going until the bottom of the seventh. Kavan earned her second win of the day in Texas’ 4-3 win vs. No. 10 Stanford on Feb. 20. Kavan got the rock in the third and twirled the remaining five innings. Kavan gave up one earned run on three hits, struck out four and worked around a walk. Kavan obtained her third victory of the weekend in Texas’ 12-2 (five innings) win against No. 16 Arizona on Feb. 22. Kavan got the start and limited Arizona to two runs on four hits with five strikeouts in four innings of work. Kavan stranded runners at third in back-to-back innings in the second and third. Kavan tossed three scoreless frames before Arizona broke through with two runs in the top of the fourth. Defensively, Kavan was rock solid and recorded three assists on three total chances for a perfect fielding percentage. On the season, Kavan is 6-0 and leads the team in wins (6), appearances (8), games started (6), complete games (3), shutouts (1), innings pitched (36.0) and strikeouts (48). Up Next Texas returns to the friendly confines of McCombs Field to host Southeastern Louisiana at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The game will be available to stream on SEC Network+. Texas then hosts the Longhorn Invitational on Feb. 27-March 1 at McCombs Field.

A few notes from the program ahead of the Florida game: — SUCCESS IN THE MOOD AGAINST THE BEST The Longhorns are 5-4 all-time against AP Top 10 foes (1-0 this year) and 12-6 against AP Top 25 opponents (2-0 this season) in Moody Center. Texas has won its last three games overall this year against AP-ranked opponents (at No. 13 Alabama, vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt, vs. No. 21 Georgia). — DAILYN DOING IT ALL Per ESPN Research, junior G/F Dailyn Swain is one of TWO players in Major Conferences to lead his team in FIVE major statistical categories, joining Caleb Wilson (North Carolina). Swain, who needs just 13 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career, leads the Longhorns in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals AND minutes. — MATAS IMPROVING BY THE DAY Sophomore C Matas Vokietaitis is averaging 17.1 ppg and 7.9 rpg in 28.4 mpg, while hitting 65.3 percent (62-95) from the floor and 74.4 percent (64-86) from the free-throw line over his last 11 games. He has reached double figures in scoring in all 11 contests, including three 20-point efforts.

We're scheduled to get the press conference going via Zoom at 11:30.

Coming off a 91-80 road loss to Georgia on Saturday, Texas returns to action against No. 7 Florida at Moody Center on Wednesday (6 p.m., ESPN2). Sean Miller is holding a media availability today to discuss the loss to the Bulldogs, tomorrow’s game against the Gators and the state of affairs as the Longhorns look to improve their standing for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. As of Monday, Texas (17-10, 8-6 SEC) remained on the right side of the bubble, with the Longhorns one of 11 SEC clubs projected to be in the field of 68, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. While the loss to Georgia snapped a five-game winning streak, Texas will attempt to get back on track against arguably its toughest stretch of games this season. After facing Florida (21-6, 12-2), the Longhorns travel to Texas A&M (19-8, 9-5) on Saturday (3 p.m., ESPN2), looking to avoid a season sweep at the hands of the Aggies, who won a 74-70 decision in Austin on Jan. 17. The Longhorns will then take on No. 20 Arkansas (20-7, 10-4) in Fayetteville on Wednesday, March 4, before wrapping up the regular season schedule at home against Oklahoma (13-14, 3-11) on Saturday, March 7. View full news story

In the third inning of Sunday's win, Jonah followed a double by Carson Tinney with an RBI single to right:

Jonah recorded his first RBI of the season with a bases-loaded walk in Sunday's win:

AUSTIN, Texas — Jonah Williams punctuated his first series of the 2026 baseball season by taking a chance that had Jim Schlossnagle, Steve Sarkisian and anyone else with a stake in the two-sport standout’s future on the Forty Acres holding their breath. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of Sunday’s 4-0 win over Michigan State at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Williams popped the first pitch he saw from reliever Brady Chambers into left field. When center fielder Trent Rice lost track of the ball, allowing it to fall to the turf for a base hit, Williams bolted for second base. A late-season shoulder injury while suiting up as a safety for the football team delayed the start of Williams’ second season with the third-ranked Texas baseball team. His head-first slide into second base wasn’t quite the decision Schlossnagle wanted to see late in a game the Longhorns had under control, which is why Dariyan Pendergrass entered the game as a pinch runner after the 6-foot-3-inch, 210-pound Williams was called safe. “When he starts slow out and then tries to bust the double – I felt like it was time,” Schlossnagle said. “And three straight days of playing. He didn't play the field, but I think he's getting really close. Our training staff is doing a good job with him. “No other reason other than just to protect him moving forward.” Manning the designated hitter spot for each of the team’s three wins over the Spartans, Williams went 3-for-10 after making his season debut in Friday’s 8-1 victory. Williams scored two runs, tallied two RBI, walked twice and struck out twice over the weekend, a solid start as he looks to build on a freshman season in which he hit .327 with three doubles, 10 RBI and three stolen bases in 20 games. When Williams will be ready to resume his duties as a position player remains to be seen. Presumably, when the time comes, Williams will replace Ashton Larson in left field, with Anthony Pack Jr. off to a hot start in right field and Aiden Robbins patrolling center field. Until then, Schlossnagle will continue monitoring Williams’ progress, looking for positive signs as he saw on Friday. While going 1-for-3 at the plate and scoring two runs, Schlossnagle thought Williams had “great” at-bats and made smart decisions, like when he tried to turn an infield chopper into a base hit in the third inning. “He wanted to go to a full gear, but we've told him — his 85-90 percent is still faster than most of the guys on our team,” Schlossnagle said. “I'm really proud of Jonah for pulling up just a little bit — not at the end, but in the middle — running down the line. Then, he got his base hit and made his turn around first base. You saw some maturity there from Jonah.” View full news story

Huston Street is in that discussion, for sure.

The staff will face better competition, but these Texas pitchers have what it takes to get to Omaha if everyone stays heathy.

AUSTIN, Texas — Carson Tinney transferred to Texas from Notre Dame, where he established himself as one of the top collegiate catchers in the country. A finalist for the 2025 Buster Posey Award, which honors college baseball’s top catcher, Tinney has the presence and skills behind the plate to help a pitching staff maximize its potential. Seven games into the 2026 season, Tinney and the Longhorn pitchers are propping each other up, staking their claim to be labeled the nation’s top battery. Asked how he’d rate the arms on pitching coach Max Weiner’s staff, Tinney said with a smile plastered on his face that it’s been “fun to catch” a group of hurlers that’s collectively twisted opposing hitters in knots en route to a 7-0 start. “Best stuff I've been able to catch in my life so far,” Tinney said after Sunday’s 4-0 win over Michigan State, one in which he scored a run while going 1-for-3 with a double. Southpaw Dylan Volantis recorded a second consecutive dominant start, tossing seven scoreless innings and finishing a 91-pitch outing with a career-high nine strikeouts. When Volantis, who continues to successfully develop a changeup he added to his repertoire in the offseason, was done, Weiner and Jim Schlossnagle turned the game over to the bullpen. Aided by a between-the-legs snag on a liner back to the mound, freshman Brett Crossland only needed five pitches to get through the eighth inning, paving the way for Thomas Burns to pump his 96 mph past the Spartan bats. A one-out walk issued by Volantis in the seventh inning is the only runner No. 3 Texas allowed on base after the third inning. Volantis retired 13 batters in a row at one point, while Crossland and Burns combined to mow down each of the six batters they faced over two innings. “It's a blast just because they dominate the zone,” said Tinney, who threw out two would-be base stealers in Saturday’s 3-1 win. “No complaints there.” Michigan State (2-4) came into the series “swinging the bat well with a lot of confidence,” Schlossnagle said. The Spartans slugged five home runs, pounded out 23 hits (nine for extra bases) and scored 18 runs in a series win on the road over then-No. 8 Louisville last weekend. The pitching staff ensured the Longhorns wouldn’t suffer the same fate. Nine different pitchers combined to record 32 strikeouts with only four walks and one earned run across three wins, a series sweep in which Texas posted a plus-13 run differential. “We knew the pitching staff was going to be the strong suit of our club coming into the season,” Schlossnagle said. “Veterans and the new guys throw a lot of strikes, throw multiple pitches for strikes. We're certainly going to face better teams in our league. I mean, Michigan State has got a good team and I thought Lamar had a good club. I think UC Davis will be competitive in their conference. But we all know what's ahead of us.” The Longhorns manufactured enough offense to get the job done on Sunday. Jonah Williams, who went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI single, drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first, followed by Casey Borba's RBI groundout. The last run of the game in the bottom of the fourth, when Anthony Pack Jr.’s attempt to steal second base resulted in a balk, scoring Ashton Larson from third base. Schlossnagle knows Texas will face top-notch pitching in SEC play and beyond. Still, he believes the Longhorns will “be able to pitch with most teams,” which should make them tough to beat, even when the competition heats up. “We just have to keep improving, keep the right guys healthy,” Schlossnagle said. “I was glad to see Volantis be out there for an extended period. That'll help him out moving forward. We just need to stay committed to the opening day mentality that these guys have.” View full news story

He was seen at the basketball game without it, yes.

Question for the board: What do you want to hear from Sark on Monday?

FWIW, I don't know if the press conference is live on LHN tomorrow. If it's on, the scheduled start time is 10:30 a.m. Either way, CJ and I will be there with live updates.