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Elite Class of 2026 Texas Baseball Recruit Announces Decommitment

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Connor Zimmerlee | Last updated Oct 10, 2025 7:30 PM ET

Under the watch of Jim Schlossnagle and his staff, the Texas Longhorns have been ultra aggressive in recruiting. This applies to both the transfer portal and landing recruits coming in from high school. As a result, they've been among the best recruiting classes and even secured the top group of commits in 2025.

However, recruiting is a fickle game and one that will not always go in your favor. Especially in the sport of baseball. The Longhorns were well aware of this, of course, but were still given a reminder when Class of 2026 recruit Marcus Cantu announced he would be reopening his commitment on social media on Thursday.

"After much thought and prayer, I've decided to reopen my recruitment and decommit from the University of Texas," he said on social media. "I want to thank the coaching staff for the opportunity and everything they've done for me."

What does losing Cantu mean for the Longhorns?

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Coming from Lutheran South Academy in Houston, Cantu is a 5-foot-10, 190-pound middle infielder who has also played some in the outfield as well. Defensively, he has the potential to be an electric talent up the middle at either shortstop or second base, both of which he has played.

His range is already stellar and will likely only improve as he continues to age and develop. As for his presence at the plate, he stands in from the left side and has displayed flashes of an ability to barrel up the ball and collect base hits.

No team wants to see the recruits they've worked so hard to cultivate relationships with decide to decommit. However, that is just the nature of the beast when it comes to recruiting and is unlikely to change any time soon. This tends to ring especially true in the baseball world.

With that being said, however, the Longhorns are still in a good place on the recruiting trail. First and foremost, not only did they land the best Class of 2025 but they also secured a stacked transfer portal class this offseason as well.

And even with the loss of Cantu, the Longhorns still currently boast the No. 3 class in the country behind the LSU Tigers and Vanderbilt Commodores. Plus they still have a growing and talented Class of 2027 right behind them, too. There's no denying that losing a commit of Cantu's caliber is far from ideal, but Schlossnagle and his staff have proven they have what it takes to bounce back and reload.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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