Texas Longhorns Baseball Gets Lofty 2026 Prediction

Just over a week after the LSU Tigers won the Men's College World Series, coaches, players and baseball experts are already looking to next season. Though it may be early, and the spring didn't come to an end as they were expecting, the Longhorns are already projected to make it to Omaha next season.

D1Baseball asked ten of their staffers who they believe will be the eight teams in Omaha next season, with a majority including the Longhorns in their selection.

Amongst the 25 teams selected by each of the staffers' picks, with various overlap between the predictions, the Longhorns were tied with LSU for being taken the second most. Between the ten different predictions, the Longhorns and the Tigers were selected eight times, trailing only the UCLA Bruins, who were unanimously included.

Why the Texas Longhorns Have High Expectations

These predictions come after an unexpected end to the season for the Longhorns in the Austin Regional. Entering regional play as the No. 2 national seed with expectations to make a trip to Omaha, Texas, instead found themselves taking an early exit.

Texas lost twice to UTSA in the Austin Regional, dropping game one, 9-7, and game two, 7-4. Despite an impressive season in the spring, Texas struggled to find its footing against UTSA throughout the year. Including the regional losses and a loss during the regular season, the Longhorns finished 2025 0-3 against the Roadrunners.

Despite last season's ending, there looks to be a lot of upside for 2026, due in large part to Texas' recruiting and use of the transfer portal. Some of the recent additions to Texas' roster include one of the top catchers in the portal, Carson Tinney, who transfers from Notre Dame, and Temo Beccera, a shortstop from Stanford, as a replacement for Longhorns infielder Jalin Flores.

Texas is also adding to its already impressive pitching staff headed by pitching coach Max Weiner. The Longhorns' addition of pitcher Haiden Leffew out of Wake Forest adds a dangerous lefty to the Texas rotation.

Despite losses of former role players from last season, such as Flores and star outfielder Max Beyleu, who are expected to declare for the MLB Draft, and outfielder Will Gasparino, who has entered the transfer portal, Texas is slated for an impressive season. Though they continue to revamp their roster, the Longhorns still have to compete with fellow members of the SEC.

Eleven SEC teams, including Texas, were included in D1baseball's expert predictions for next season, including Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, Arkansas, Alabama and Florida. These were the teams last season, though, that Texas played well against, with its only series losses in conference coming against the Razorbacks and the Gators.

With competition in the SEC still as difficult as ever and a pair of losses to UTSA still in the back of the team's mind, the Longhorns will look to adhere to predictions and make it to Omaha for the first time under head coach Jim Schlossnagle.