Longhorns hope to get a lift from touted groupof freshmen
Aside from a late-season hot streak that sent Texas to the College World Series two years ago, the program has been stuck in neutral for most of the past four years. UT hasn’t hosted a regional since 2011 — its longest drought since 1997-2001. Projected lineup: C Tres Barrera 1B Kacy Clemens 2B Bret Boswell 3B Kody Clemens SS Joe Baker LF Travis Jones CF Zane Gurwitz RF Patrick Mathis DH Michael Cantu
Top pitchers: RHP Kyle Johnston LHP Ty Culbreth RHP Connor Mayes RP Morgan Cooper
Coach: Augie Garrido (799-395-2 in 19 seasons at UT; 1,950-919-9 in 47 seasons overall). 2015 record: 30-27. Conference: Big 12. Preseason Ranking (Baseball America): Not
ranked.
Projected Big 12 finish:
Fifth. Last postseason appearance: 2015, Dallas
Regional.
Key additions: RHP Nolan Kingham, RHP/IF Chase Shugart.
Key losses: OF Ben Johnson, RHP Parker French, SS C.J. Hinojosa
Player to watch: C Tres Barrera, one of the Big 12’s best power hitters, should lead the team in home runs.
Newcomer to watch: Kingham might have been an early-round draft pick had he been more open to going pro, and he has a fastball clocked in the mid-90s.
Stat that matters: As a team, Texas hit .280 and scored 5.6 runs per game through the first 25 games last season, then hit .244
and averaged 3.9 runs over the last 32 games. Three story lines to keep eye on:
1. Is this Garrido’s last ride? The winningest coach in NCAA Division I history has two seasons remaining on his contract, but there are no guarantees he’ll stick around until it expires.
2. Will the Longhorns score enough runs? Partly due to their home park and partly because of Garrido’s philosophy, the Longhorns have long taken a pitching, defense and small-ball approach. But even a team with big arms needs to hit every now and then.
3. Which freshmen will become stars? Among Kingham, Shugart, the younger Clemens, Tyler Rand and more, UT signed no shortage of hyped recruits. It will need at least a couple of them to start producing right away.
Can reach Omaha if: The pitching is as good as Garrido hopes and Barrera doesn’t have to carry the offense by itself. No chance of reaching Omaha if: The hitters again slump when the weather gets warmer.