Texas Vs. Oregon Predictions & Preview: 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament Super Regional

Image credit: Dylan Volantis (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)

The 2026 NCAA baseball tournament super regional round is set to get underway on Friday, June 5.

To get ready, Baseball America presents our team-by-team previews, including winner predictions for all eight matchups. You can find all of our super regional previews here.

Texas Longhorns

Key Player To Know

Baseball America College Pitcher of the Year finalist Dylan Volantis enters super regional play with a 1.94 ERA and 116 strikeouts against just 23 walks in 83.1 innings. The sophomore has established himself as one of the premier arms in the country and possesses the kind of front-line ability that can reshape an entire series. Alongside pitchers such as USC’s Mason Edwards, Volantis belongs in the conversation among the most impactful starters remaining in the tournament. A dominant outing could immediately tilt the weekend in his team’s favor.

Standout Stat

Texas can overwhelm opponents with pitching depth in a way few teams remaining can match. The staff combines elite stuff with elite results, ranking third nationally in Stuff+, third in strikeout-to-walk ratio, fourth in FIP, sixth in WHIP and 18th in ERA entering the tournament. In a super regional format where quality innings are often the deciding factor, Texas has as many answers on the mound as any team in the country.

Why They Could Win

Texas matches an explosive top half of the lineup with one of the deepest pitching staffs remaining in the field. The Longhorns can create offense quickly and have enough quality arms to control games from the first inning through the final out. This matchup is also favorable on paper. Oregon is a lighter offensive team than many of the clubs still playing, which should allow Texas’ pitching depth to play to its strengths. If the Longhorns perform to their standard on the mound, they have a clear path to controlling the series.

Why They Could Lose

Texas does an excellent job creating traffic, ranking among the nation’s best teams at drawing walks. The Longhorns also strike out more than most of the teams remaining in the field, which becomes especially relevant in this matchup. Oregon’s pitching staff is built around swing-and-miss stuff and has the ability to turn those strikeouts into empty innings. If Texas isn’t consistently capitalizing on its opportunities and spends too much of the weekend hitting from behind in counts, run production could become more difficult to find.

Pos	Player	AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	HR	RBI
C	Carson Tinney	.333	.487	.711	201	21	56
1B	Ashton Larson	.286	.453	.375	112	1	16
2B	Temo Becerra	.316	.433	.461	206	6	42
3B	Casey Borba	.275	.377	.574	204	17	56
SS	Adrian Rodriguez	.298	.404	.457	188	4	33
OF	Anthony Pack Jr.	.358	.476	.602	201	11	52
OF	Dariyan Pendergrass	.258	.400	.290	31	0	5
OF	Aiden Robbins	.347	.435	.721	219	23	62
DH	Ethan Mendoza	.270	.385	.469	211	9	46
Pos	Player	W	L	IP	ERA	WHIP	BB/9	SO/9
SP	Luke Harrison	6	3	76.1	4.36	1.27	3.4	10.3
SP	Dylan Volantis	9	1	83.1	1.94	0.94	2.5	12.5
SP	Ruger Riojas	5	2	70.0	3.86	1.09	1.9	13.6
RP	Sam Cozart	6	0	47.0	1.72	0.72	2.3	12.8

Oregon Ducks

Key Player To Know

Will Sanford’s development has been one of the biggest reasons for Oregon’s success this season. An extremely walk-prone freshman with loud stuff last year, Sanford has emerged as a dominant starter, posting a 3.46 ERA with 119 strikeouts and 41 walks across 80.2 innings. His fastball is among the best in the super regional field. Sanford enters the weekend on a high note after striking out 14 and walking just two over 6.1 innings of one-hit ball against Washington State in the regional round.

Standout Stat

Oregon’s pitching success extends well beyond Sanford. Of the nine Ducks pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings this season, six own ERAs below 3.85. Three of Oregon’s four most-used arms—Sanford, lefty Miles Gosztola and righty Cal Scolari—have posted ERAs between 2.70 and 3.61. The result is a staff with quality throughout the pitching roster, allowing the Ducks to attack opponents with fresh, effective arms for an entire weekend.

Why They Could Win

Oregon’s offense has clear flaws, but its pitching staff gives it a chance against anyone. The Ducks rank among the nation’s premier run-prevention teams thanks to a staff that misses bats at a high rate while doing a reasonable job limiting free passes. This is a group built around getting hitters to chase and generating uncomfortable at-bats. In a super regional format, that kind of pitching can be an equalizer. If Oregon’s arms are executing, they have the ability to shut down an entire weekend against an offense with even modest vulnerabilities.

Why They Could Lose

This could be a difficult matchup for Oregon. The Ducks are facing a Texas team that is similarly talented on the mound but considerably more reliable offensively. Oregon’s path to victory often runs through low-scoring games, but Texas is comfortable playing those games, too. If the series opens up offensively, the advantage likely shifts even further toward the Longhorns, whose lineup is better equipped to create separation. Oregon has the pitching to keep things close, but the matchup leaves relatively little room for error.

Pos	Player	AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	HR	RBI
C	Burke-Lee Mabeus	.295	.394	.530	166	8	30
1B	Brayden Jaksa	.320	.398	.544	169	10	33
2B	Ryan Cooney	.335	.424	.531	239	8	43
3B	Drew Smith	.332	.411	.595	220	15	61
SS	Maddox Molony	.231	.340	.448	212	12	39
OF	Jax Gimenez	.281	.464	.444	153	3	24
OF	Jack Brooks	.244	.374	.405	168	6	27
OF	Angel Laya	.307	.410	.561	212	14	47
DH	Naulivou Lauaki Jr.	.320	.372	.704	125	14	36
Pos	Player	W	L	IP	ERA	WHIP	BB/9	SO/9
SP	Will Sanford	9	2	80.2	3.46	1.14	4.6	13.3
SP	Cal Scolari	5	0	53.1	2.70	1.33	4.9	13.7
SP	Miles Gosztola	3	3	62.1	3.61	1.24	3.6	10.0
RP	Devin Bell	2	6	36.0	3.75	1.08	2.3	10.0

Predicted Winner: Texas