Skip to main content
texas logo

Texas Baseball kicks off SEC play with a trip to Starkville

by:EvanVieth•about 8 hours
Jared Spencer
Texas Longhorns pitcher Jared Spencer (12) throws a pitch during the game against Dartmouth at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

SEC baseball is finally here, and it couldn’t be coming at a better time for Longhorn fans.

[Order THE LONGHORN ALPHABET today and teach your little ones the A to Zs of Texas Football!]

While many Texas sports fanatics believed their basketball season was over prior to yesterday’s 2OT victory over rival Texas A&M, there is still a yearning for high-level SEC competition in a major UT sport with football completed and Texas’ SEC men’s basketball tourney run potentially coming to an end.

Now A&M fans will have to deal with another sad reality about these two teams; head coach Jim Schlossnagle will be coaching in burnt orange in this year’s SEC conference play.

It’s been a long road for Schlossnagle to get to this point, including a lost national championship and a meeting in a cemetery, but the prized coach has delivered Texas into a great spot heading into conference play.

The Longhorns are a nearly perfect 14-1 in their 15 out-of-conference games, earning wins over former Big 12 competitors Texas Tech and Oklahoma State as well as a win against Ole Miss that didn’t count towards SEC standings. The Longhorns boast the 8th-best team ERA in the nation, a testament to the work of pitching coach Max Weiner who had to utilize a hodge podge mix of newcomers and injury-riddled arms to put together a fantastic pitching staff.

The Longhorns are set to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs, currently 13-4 on the year, to kick off SEC play, traveling the 600+ miles to east Mississippi. While the Bulldogs have dropped games to the likes of Southern Miss and Oklahoma State, Chris Lemonis’ squad has had some emphatic wins, including a merciless mercy ruling of Rice and a get-back game against Southern Miss where they won by 15 runs and knocked them out of the Top 25.

First pitch of the weekend will be at 4 p.m. on Friday due to weather concerns, which will be present throughout the weekend. Saturday is expected to feature heavy thunderstorms throughout the day, making a 2 p.m. first pitch seem unlikely at the moment.

Though not yet officially announced, it’s assumed that Schlossnagle will roll out the same three weekend starters as he had against Santa Clara: Jared Spencer, Luke Harrison and Dylan Volantis. The trio have thrown nearly 54 combined innings with just eight earned runs given up, sporting just barely north of a 1.00 WHIP.

Mississippi State will be throwing out Pico Kohn tonight, a giant lefty whose pitched a 2.28 ERA and 0.72 WHIP as the team’s Friday starter. Kohn will easily be the best arm Texas has seen all year.

[Join Inside Texas TODAY for just ONE DOLLAR!]

Texas has a big task ahead of themselves, taking down one of the premier programs in the SEC at their house, but Schlossnagle’s No. 11 squad has all the right tools to get that done. With an early Friday first pitch, make sure you’re tuning in early to ESPN+ and SEC Network+ to watch the Horns make their first stop on the long, grueling road of SEC Baseball.

You may also like