Halfway through the college baseball season, it wouldn’t surprise many to see an SEC team sitting pretty at the top. But what people might not have predicted is the team claiming that seat.
Texas.
The Longhorns lead the pack of the 10 SEC teams highlighted in this week’s poll, boasting a 30-5 overall record and have yet to lose a conference series.
After finishing last season 36-24 and failing to reach the NCAA Tournament Super Regional, the Longhorns knew they had some rebuilding to do.
For starters, they hired head coach Jim Schlossnagle.
Schlossnagle came from the Longhorns’ in-state rivals, Texas A&M, where he spent three seasons transforming the program. He led them to the College World Series in two of those seasons, including a program-best NCAA runner-up finish in 2024.
Prior to coaching at Texas A&M, Schlossnagle spent 18 seasons with TCU where he led the Horned Frogs to their first-ever College World Series appearance, and then took them to four more, completely revamping the program while doing so.
It’s no coincidence that the first season Schlossnagle stepped foot in Austin that the Longhorns became the team to beat. Schlossnagle has a track record for creating powerhouse offensive units, and lineups who put together lengthy at-bats. Texas ranks second nationally, averaging 4.08 pitches per plate appearance.
Schlossnagle has led Texas to its best 35-game start since 2004.
It’s also no coincidence that Texas A&M, who entered the season ranked as the preseason No. 1 team, has struggled to live up to expectations. They have battled injuries and have a 21-15 overall record, a losing SEC record and are outside the top 25.
Schlossnagle will take on his former team next weekend, when the Aggies travel to Austin for an in-state rivalry matchup. This will be the first time the two teams have met within the same conference, and the first time Schlossnagle will share a field with the Aggies while wearing a Longhorns’ jersey.
Even with a coach as talented as Schlossnagle, you can’t have a good baseball team without high-performance players. There is one new face in particular that has elevated the Longhorn’s potential this season: Arizona State transfer Ethan Mendoza.
Mendoza leads the Longhorns’ offense with his .363 batting average, 49 hits, three triples and 17 multi-hit performances. The Texas native is on a four-game multi-hit streak after going 3 for 5 with a career-high 5 RBIs against Houston Christian in a mid-week matchup, followed by a two-hit game in each of Texas’ three games against Kentucky last weekend.
However, Mendoza got banged up in the series finale against the Wildcats and sat out in the Longhorns’ midweek game this week. Schlosnaggle said that Mendoza is day-to-day but expects to use him in a smaller capacity in this weekend’s series against No. 6 Auburn, whom the Longhorns face for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Like Texas, Auburn has consistently moved up in the polls each week, proving it is one of the most dominant teams in college baseball this season. The Tigers are coming off of a series sweep over then No. 3 LSU and are riding a six-game winning streak.
With Mendoza not at his full potential and other Longhorn stars such as outfielder Max Belyeu and third-baseman Adrian Rodriguez also battling injuries, this weekend will be a testament to the depth behind the Longhorns’ offense.
While the Longhorns may be the team to beat right now, there’s still plenty of baseball left and much to prove. Whether they can ultimately prevail remains to be seen.
