No. 14 Texas Baseball 2025 College Top 25 Preview

Image credit: Max Belyeu (Photo courtesy of Texas Baseball)

Last season: 36-24 (20-10 Big 12; now in SEC)
Final 2024 ranking: NR
Coach (record at school): Jim Schlossnagle (First season)

You can find our complete 2025 preseason Top 25 ranking here.

The Good News

Within 36 hours of firing eighth-year head coach David Pierce, Texas made the biggest coaching splash of the offseason, hiring former Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle to take over the program. Schlossnagle brings with him a resumé like few others, having made 19 NCAA tournaments, nine super regionals and seven College World Series appearances in 23 years as a head coach, success that earned him Baseball America Coach of the Year honors in 2016. The Longhorns are hoping Schlossnagle’s winning ways will rub off on their program right out the gate with a roster that returns plenty of talent from the previous coaching regime and added in some key transfers and high schoolers.

Back for Texas are catcher Rylan Galvan, first baseman Kimble Schuessler, shortstop Jalin Flores, outfielders Will Gasparino and Max Belyeu, designated hitter Casey Borba and pitcher Luke Harrison and Cody Howard, among others. Indiana State transfer southpaw Jared Spencer joined the group and will likely headline its rotation while freshman third baseman Adrian Rodriguez, freshman pitcher Dylan Volantis, Louisiana-Monroe outfielder Easton Winfield and UTSA reliever Ruger Riojas are all expected to contribute. Schlossnagle thinks it’s the kind of roster that should be competitive in the SEC.

The Bad News

With several players who have already demonstrated success at the Division I level expected to be in their lineup, the Longhorns appear to be positioned well to hold their own at the plate, even as they move from the Big 12 to the SEC. Things look somewhat less clear on the mound, though, where they’re likely going to turn to Spencer, an Indiana State transfer, and back him up with several players who know what it’s like to pitch in burnt orange but yet to truly find their collegiate footing. Harrison and Howard combined to throw just 35 innings for Texas last year while Volantis, an uber-talented freshman, obviously has no Division I mileage. It’s a daunting area for uncertainty in a conference like the SEC.

Player To Know

Belyeu returns to Austin as one of the best position players in the nation after he hit .329/.423/.667 with 15 doubles, 18 home runs and 53 RBIs in 59 games as a sophomore in 2024, which earned Big 12 Player of the Year. Schlossnagle said one of his top priorities after his hiring was to ensure that Belyeu and shortstop Jalin Flores stuck with the program for his first campaign as both are critically important to their success.

Path To Omaha

The Longhorns will need to be the beneficiaries of some breakout performances in order to have the kind of roster that truly strikes fear into its opponents, but if there’s one coach in the nation capable of coaxing such success out of his players and team, it’s arguably Schlossnagle, who is 113-76 in his first year at the helm of a program.

Projected 2025 Lineup

Pos	Player	Year	AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	HR	RBI	Note
C	Rylan Galvan	Jr.	.287	.392	.506	174	8	37
1B	Kimble Schuessler	Sr.	.343	.420	.601	178	10	30
2B	Ethan Mendoza*	So.	.315	.367	.443	203	3	24	Arizona State
3B	Adrian Rodriguez	Fr.	Flower Mound HS – Flower Mound, Texas.
SS	Jalin Flores	Jr.	.340	.408	.656	241	18	56
OF	Easton Winfield*	So.	.332	.414	.546	205	10	40	Louisiana-Monroe
OF	Will Gasparino	So.	.252	.300	.495	210	12	47
OF	Max Belyeu	Jr.	.329	.423	.667	210	18	53
DH	Casey Borba	So.	.256	.371	.488	82	4	17
Pos	Player	Year	GS	IP	ERA	WHIP	SO	BB	Note
SP	Jared Spencer*	Sr.	9	53	4.08	1.43	72	33	Indiana State
SP	Luke Harrison	R-Jr.	1	10.2	9.28	2.63	10	13
SP	Cody Howard	R-Jr.	4	24.1	10.36	2.22	17	21
RP	Ruger Riojas*	Jr.	1	69.1	3.25	1.24	75	18	UTSA
RP	Dylan Volantis	Fr.	Westlake HS – Thousand Oaks, Calif.