College Preview Capsules: No. 12 Houston

No. 12 Houston

2015 Record (Ranking): 43-20 (18). RPI: 16.

Coach (Record at school): Todd Whitting (172-127-1, 5 years).

Postseason History: 20 regionals (active streak: 2), 2 CWS trips (last in 1967), 0 national titles.

Nothing came easily for Houston in 2015—not at the start and not at the finish.

The Cougars, last year’s preseason No. 3 team, entered the season with visions of Omaha, only to see them swiftly shattered due to injuries.

2016 Lineup
Pos.	Name, Year	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI	SB
C	Connor Wong, So.	.248	.320	.382	6	37	3
1B	Joe Davis, Fr.	HS—Austin, Texas
2B	Josh Vidales, Sr.	.300	.397	.387	2	39	6
3B	Justin Montemayor, Sr.	.176	.278	.219	1	25	3
SS	Jose Reyes, Jr.	Tr.—Blinn (Texas) JC
LF	Corey Julks, So.	.302	.384	.469	5	38	3
CF	Zac Taylor, So.	.266	.365	.379	2	15	13
RF	Clay Casey, Jr.	Tr.—Northwest (Miss.) JC
DH	Jacob Campbell, Sr.	.301	.380	.440	5	41	1
Pos.	Name, Year	W-L	L	ERA	IP	SO	SV
RHP	Andrew Lantrip, Jr.	9	3	2.62	113	115	0
LHP	Seth Romero, So.	7	4	1.94	83	92	7
RHP	Marshall Kasowski, Sr.	1	0	2.12	17	18	0
RP	Bubba Maxwell, Jr.	DNP—Injured

One week in, third baseman Connor Hollis, outfielder Michael Pyeatt and closer Bubba Maxwell were all lost for the season, and top-of-the-rotation pitchers Jake Lemoine and Aaron Garza combined for just 10 starts all year.

Still, somehow, the Cougars managed to win the American Athletic Conference and host a regional—where their season ended in heartbreaking fashion. In one day, Houston lost a game to Louisiana-Lafayette in which it was four outs away from tossing a no-hitter, then lost in a 20-inning bout with crosstown rival Rice that night.

“I think everybody involved with that team last year thought it was an Omaha team,” head coach Todd Whitting said. “I can’t imagine a tougher day of baseball, getting eliminated from that regional.”

If there was a blessing to last year’s woes, it was the emergence of righthander Andrew Lantrip and southpaw Seth Romero, both of whom stepped up to lead the rotation and are expected to do the same this year. Romero, who was the starter who nearly no-hit Louisiana-Lafayette in the regional game, has power stuff from the left side and split time between the closer’s role and the rotation last year. Whitting said he expects an even more overpowering Romero in his sophomore season in a more stable, once-a-week role. Lantrip sits in the 88-92 mph range but strikes out hitters at a high clip and has shown he has Friday night chops.

“I think this year the key is definitely Lantrip and Romero being back on Friday and Saturday,” Whitting said. “That’s one of the top Friday-Saturday combos in the country, I have to think, just with what they’ve done the last couple of years.”

On the injury front, Maxwell is slated to return from Tommy John surgery and should slide back into the closer’s role; Hollis and Pyeatt are both back healthy, too. The Cougars will miss the 15 home runs Chris Iriart provided last season but should still feature a balanced offensive attack. Transfer Clay Casey has a similar power body and toolset as Iriart, Whitting said, and left fielder Corey Julks looks to carry over his hot finish from last season. Freshman first baseman Joe Davis was one of the best high school power hitters in the country, winning the Area Code Games home run derby in 2014.

The team also returns senior Josh Vidales, the best defensive second baseman Whitting has coached. Vidales will have a new double-play partner in juco transfer Jose Reyes, as sophomore Connor Wong will move from shortstop to behind the plate, where he spent most of his high school career.

“He may end up being one of the better catchers in the country,” Whitting said of Wong. “He throws better than any kid I’ve ever had back there.”

The Cougars are a more experienced and, Whitting hopes, healthier group than they were a season ago, and there’s certainly some added motivation after last year.

“It’s not a team that I feel like has any sense of entitlement or comfort at all,” Whitting said. “This team has a little bit of an edge to it, and I think it is because of the tough losses in the regional.”