2026 College Baseball. Give me a rundown on your team.

now that my favorite sport is finally here. I'd like a rundown of each of the contenders. Here's what I know about Texas

Going into 2026, this isn’t some rebuild where we’re talking ourselves into upside. Texas expects to be good. Period. After what Schloss did last year, nobody’s pretending this is a “see what happens” kind of season. If they’re not in the Omaha discussion by May, something went sideways.

Pitching is still the backbone. That hasn’t changed. You don’t look at this staff and wonder who’s taking the ball on Friday. Riojas and Harrison have been through it. They’ve pitched in real spots. And if Volantis actually makes the jump to starting instead of just being the guy who slams the door late, that’s when this thing gets interesting. He’s got the kind of stuff that plays anywhere in this league. The bullpen probably won’t have a bunch of preseason All-American types, but they’ve got arms. In the SEC, if you can throw strikes and miss barrels, you survive.

Offensively, it’s not a lineup built on one superstar carrying everything. It’s more about whether they grind you down. Mendoza feels like the steady presence. Borba’s bat matters more than people realize. And Tinney behind the plate is massive. Not just because of what he does with the bat, but because when Texas has been rolling the last couple of years, it’s been with a catcher who controls the pace of a weekend. That stuff doesn’t show up in a box score, but it wins series.

The outfield is probably the one real question mark. There’s speed. There’s athleticism. But SEC Friday night isn’t midweek ball. Somebody’s got to prove they can handle 94 with life and not just feast on back-end pitching. That’s the difference between being good and being a national seed.

Depth is the quiet factor here. Thirty SEC games is a grind. You’re going to have a bad weekend. Probably two. The teams that survive are the ones that don’t spiral when it happens. Last year they handled that pretty well. If they stay healthy and a couple younger guys take a step forward, there’s enough here to absorb the punches.

Preseason rankings are nice. They are high again. But in this conference that just means everyone circles you. Two rough weekends and the message boards light up.

Ceiling? Omaha. Legitimately.

Floor? Hosting and watching it slip away if the bats go cold at the wrong time.

This feels like a mature team that understands what the league is. Now it’s about stacking wins early and not letting one bad stretch turn into three.

Gotta think LSU is still the favorite but I like our chances. What say you?