Anna 
Texas baseball’s 2024 season ended in disappointment after losses to Texas A&M and Louisiana in the NCAA Baseball Championship regionals. Now, as the 2025 season approaches, the Longhorns are gearing up to bounce back, aiming for their first national championship since 2005.
With Jim Schlossnagle, former Texas A&M head coach, taking charge of the No. 19 team, Texas is determined to improve on last season’s performance and return to the top of collegiate baseball.
“It’s an honor to be here and try to get Texas back to Omaha, to the final game, and finally win that national championship,” Schlossnagle said in an interview with MLB Network on January 10. “It’s a national championship or bust. If the expectation is high and the support is high, I’ll take my chances.”
While the Longhorns suffered a disappointing end to their 2024 season and lost some key players to the MLB, Schlossnagle still has a talented roster to build on for the 2025 season.
Junior Max Belyeu, last year’s Big 12 Player of the Year, returns to the outfield. Belyeu had a standout season with 18 home runs, 50 runs, and 53 RBIs from 210 at-bats, finishing with a .667 slugging percentage. He was also named to the American Baseball Coaches Association’s Central All-Region First Team, alongside infielders Jalin Flores and Jared Thomas. Thomas has since been drafted by the Colorado Rockies, while Flores returns for his junior season.
Flores provides valuable defensive experience, recording 84 putouts and 161 assists with just 12 errors, which earned him a fielding percentage of .953. At the plate, he also contributed with a .656 slugging percentage and 18 home runs.
These players will be key to Texas’s success as the team moves into the Southeastern Conference. One of the team’s final conference matchups will be against in-state rival Texas A&M, which made it to the College World Series last year under Schlossnagle. The Aggies currently top the preseason rankings.
The Longhorns will also face tough opponents such as No. 5 Arkansas and No. 8 Georgia. Texas will travel to Fayetteville for an away series against Arkansas and host Georgia in Austin. Arkansas, with three Preseason All-American pitchers and a strong class of transfers and recruits, will be a formidable opponent.
Before these key matchups, Texas will play through the preseason, starting with the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas, on February 14. The Longhorns will face Louisville, Ole Miss, and former Big 12 opponent Oklahoma State University.
Schlossnagle will coach his first game at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on February 18 when the Longhorns take on the Houston Cougars.
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