2025 Fall College Baseball Reset: Texas

The 2026 MLB Draft prospect should be a hot name for teams. He’s a sparkplug who can run, put the ball in play, and get on base. Mendoza walked 36 times over 56 games and posted a .433 OBP, not an easy task in the SEC.

Mendoza is one of several bats to return this season. Sophomore outfielder Jonah Williams hit .327 in abbreviated action last year, while junior Casey Borba hit 12 home runs last year and played a key role in keeping Texas alive in the Regionals this past June against Kansas State.

As for the pitching staff, Luke Harrison and Ruger Riojas return in 2025. Harrison and Riojas led the team in starts last year, with the former (72 K over 70.2 IP) leading the charge last season in terms of innings pitched.

Jason Flores and Dylan Volantis also return for 2026. Both were high-profile recruits a year ago, and both pitched well. Volantis, in particular, excelled, as he struck out 74 over 51 frames. That strikeout number led all Longhorns last season.

The Newcomers

As expected, the Longhorns received significant changes this past summer.

First off, Texas saw five players from their 2025 roster get drafted, with the highest being Max Belyeu. Belyeu was a second-rounder by the Rockies. Jared Spencer, the Indiana State transfer who excelled last season, was an 11th-round pick by Toronto. Jalin Flores (11th, Cardinals), Rylan Galvan (13th, White Sox), and Grayson Saunier (17th, Astros).

Additionally, Will Gasparino, once a hot MLB Draft prospect and recruit, is not on Texas’ 2026 roster. He struck out a lot (139 times over 117 contests) across two seasons in Austin.

Galvan was the Longhorns’ regular catcher last season. To replace him, Texas landed a big bat in former Notre Dame catcher Carson Tinney.

Tinney, a 2025 member of the All-ACC team with the Fighting Irish, hit .348 with 17 home runs and 30 extra-base hits last year for Notre Dame. The 20-year-old only hit .165 in the wood-bat Cape Cod League this past summer, something to watch for his pro aspirations.

But for Tinney, his arrival at Austin should be very welcome.

Someone who did, however, hit very well in the Cape this past summer is Aiden Robbins. Robbins was one of Division I’s most prolific hitters last season with the Seton Hall Pirates. He finished the 2025 campaign with the sixth-best batting average (.422) among D1 players. He racked up 30 extra-base hits and 20 stolen bases last year.

The bat played outside the Big East. Robbins put a bow on an incredible 2025 by leading the Cape Cod League with a .923 OPS.

Haiden Leffew, who worked out of Wake Forest’s bullpen last season and struck out 22 over 18 innings with Brewster in Massachusetts, will head to Austin for his junior season.

The Texas roster also included 14 freshmen. Among them are outfielder and 2024 Perfect Game All-American Anthony Pack Jr., and pitcher Sam Cozart. Cozart is the brother of Guardians catching prospect Jacob Cozart, and he pitched very well in the MLB Draft League this past summer.

Cozart struck out 26 and walked just two over 19 innings for West Virginia.

Summary

Between the hotly anticipated series between Texas A&M that’ll take place in College Station this year, along with road series in Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Auburn, this will be anything but an easy year for the Longhorns.

The good news is that, at least on paper, the Longhorns have the pieces to do damage this season.

Between a pair of terrific bats who came over in the transfer portal, a deep pitching staff, and youngsters who could contribute, it should be a fun year for Texas as Austin looks for better after an unceremonious ouster at the hands of UTSA.