Ahead of season’s first pitch, UT appears in another poll
Longhorns ranked 21st in the nation by D1Baseball.com.
Texas has been ranked 21st in D1Baseball.com’s preseason poll. Last week, Texas checked in at No. 23 in the initial release of the Perfect Game/Rawlings rankings.
The D1Baseball poll, which is regarded as college baseball’s primary ranking, also featured No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 7 TCU and No. 22 West Virginia. In addition to its Big 12 foes, UT will play 11 games this year against No. 4 Arkansas, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 13 Stanford, No. 16 LSU and No. 24 Houston.
Texas, which opens its season in one month, went 39-24 in 2017.
Oklahoma hires former Texas strength coach Bennie Wylie: Bennie Wylie is crossing the Red River.
Oklahoma announced earlier this week that Wylie, who served as the strength coach at Texas from 2011-13, will be the Sooners’ new director of sports performance. He had been working as a private trainer in Abilene after leaving Austin.
The move got the blessing of former Longhorns coach Mack Brown, who tweeted a supportive message to Wylie after the move became official.
Wylie worked for Brown during his final three seasons at Texas. Prior to that Wylie led the strength programs for Tennessee (2010) and Texas Tech (2002-09). He also spent four years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Dallas Cowboys (199902), where he worked with former Oklahoma strength coach Joe Juraszek.
Texas adds two local recruits to soccer team’s roster: Two years ago, Cameron Brooks helped end Carlee Allen’s soccer season. In the future, both players will attempt to extend UT’s postseason runs.
On Wednesday, Texas announced the signings of Brooks and Allen. Brooks is a defender from Cedar Ridge High, while Allen is a Lake Travis-raised midfielder. In 2016,
Brooks and Cedar Ridge recorded a 3-0 win over Lake Travis in the Class 6A playoffs.
Allen and Brooks are joining the Longhorns as midterm enrollees.
“There is a ton of excitement around our Texas soccer program leading into this spring season,” Texas coach Angela Kelly said in a statement. “The addition of Carlee Allen and Cameron Brooks just adds to the excitement. Both young ladies come into our program with wonderful soccer foundations as products of the prestigious Lonestar Soccer Club here in Austin.
“Carlee has a tremendous engine and is a workhorse in the midfield. We love, as a staff, that she battles all over the pitch and always wants the ball. Cameron has the versatility to play any position across the back line. She reads the game well, is great in the air and loves to get forward. The eagerness they both share to be the best and win is what excites us the most.”
Brooks or Allen were both members of the Lonestar Soccer Club. Allen played for Lake Travis’ soccer team in 2015 and 2016. Brooks spent three years with Cedar Ridge’s program, and she was once a teammate of current UT midfielder Emily Strouphauer.