The MVPs of Texas Baseball's first regular season in the SEC

Texas baseball entered its first SEC season with a litany of holes and question marks in its roster. Just three months ago, the college baseball world was questioning all but about four offensive positions on this team.

[Sign up for Inside Texas TODAY and get the BEST Longhorns scoop!]

Sure, the team returned the spine of its roster and knew it had some potential risers returning, but the Longhorns brought back just one starting pitcher from last year’s team and were expected to start two players who didn’t play much in 2024, two transfers, and a freshman out in the field. That’s not to mention a pitching staff comprised of freshmen, Juco or G5 transfers, and a returning arm that had barely played baseball in the last few seasons.

And yet, despite all these questions revolving around the ball club, Texas became the most successful team in the conference all season. Fans will cherish memories of sweeps against teams like Auburn, Georgia, and Texas A&M, and the Longhorns enter the SEC tournament as the No. 1 seed. They’ll probably be the No. 1 overall seed heading into the postseason.

Texas has had quite a few memorable moments from individual players this season, but narrowing down a list of the five most important guys on the team is a tall task. Without Max Belyeu playing about half the season, the shoo-in answer from the start of the year is no longer an option. Still, these five have showcased value that few teams will be able to replicate in the postseason and are the X-Factors for a run at Omaha.

1. C Rylan Galvan

This should surprise no one. Galvan has become the heart and soul of the team in the absence of Belyeu, and he is easily the MVP of the season.

In 167 ABs, Galvan is batting just a touch under .300 with a team-leading 14 home runs and 43 walks. Both his season-long and conference-only OPS are the highest on the team, even outplaying Belyeu in that key stat.

On top of that, Galvan catches nearly every game for Texas. Most teams just want a catcher to be able to field well behind the plate and get on base once a game, but Texas’ main man behind the dish does far more than that. He’s the best backstop in the nation, and his ability to throw out runners finally seems to be returning after a rough month with his arm. Texas would not be the No. 1 seed without the efforts of the Sinton product.

2. LHP Dylan Volantis

Man, has this kid taken the college baseball world by storm. Volantis should’ve been playing baseball in California this year, whether it was representing the Athletics in the minors or playing for USC, a team he was once committed to.

Instead, head coach Jim Schlossnagle and pitching coach Max Weiner have revolutionized his left arm into a lethal weapon. Standing at 6’6″ and delivering from an absurdly vertical angle, Volantis’ slider-fastball combo is nearly unhittable.

Even as a freshman, he’s the best closer in baseball. He’s so good that he made the semifinal shortlist for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the best player in the sport year-to-year. He’s a freshman and a reliever. Even just being one of those and making that list is improbable.

He boasts a 1.59 ERA in conference play and has saved 11 games for the Longhorns. He’ll be a problem for any team Texas faces in the postseason.

3. 1B Kimble Schuessler

Schuessler was one of those big question marks entering the year. A catcher his whole career, Schlossnagle made the decision to play him at first base in 2025 to make way for Galvan to catch every day.

It worked out extremely well, and Schuessler has been arguably Texas’ best defensive player at the position he fields. In the batter’s box, Schuessler leads the team in hits and RBI in conference play and is only behind Galvan and Belyeu in slugging percentage. He’s most known for his two-homer explosion to help sweep Auburn and a three-run bomb he hit just two days ago to sink the dagger into Oklahoma.

Schuessler is the definition of consistency in a lineup that has lacked exactly that in the last month of the season.

4. LHP Luke Harrison

Harrison is the exact example of why WAR should be a more universal stat in college baseball. At the moment, we aren’t able to find his exact wins above replacement on the season, and it may surprise you that it’s probably around the fourth-best on the team.

Harrison isn’t flashy. He’s a Saturday starter who throws strikes and rarely racks up high K numbers. And yet, the lefty has a 3.5 ERA in just under 50 SEC innings pitched. His K/BB ratio is stellar, and he’s avoided the long ball for most of the season.

Harrison doesn’t have gaudy numbers in the way that Galvan and Volantis do, but he’s quietly been the team’s most consistent starter all year, even before Jared Spencer’s injury. He has a sub-3 ERA in his last five appearances, facing off against teams like Arkansas, Auburn, and Texas A&M. If you need someone to give you two earned runs in five innings of work to set up this elite bullpen, Harrison is THE guy.

5. UTIL Adrian Rodriguez

The last spot is saved for someone with a bit of an inverse WAR claim to Harrison’s. Rodriguez has been banged up and not started throughout the year, leading him to be eighth in at-bats in the SEC. Despite that, Rodriguez has continued to make a claim as the team’s most efficient hitter.

No player has a better walk-to-strikeout ratio, he’s just behind Schuessler in slugging and is second in OBP. All of this has come while nursing an injury that has effectively killed his chances at switch-hitting for the rest of the season and potentially the future.

Rodriguez has also been asked to play all over the field, getting significant reps at 3B, 2B, and LF. Wherever the injuries or underperformers are, Rodriguez will be positioned there. He’s been a flexible utility man who also may be the team’s fourth-best hitter on the season. Now is a great time for him to be getting healthy.

Honorable Mentions

Max Grubbs has been awesome in the bullpen and could’ve easily been No. 5 on this list.

Ethan Mendoza has strong year-long numbers but has struggled in the leadoff spot in the SEC.

Casey Borba is a similar case, but his defense has been awesome at 3B.

Both Max Belyeu and Jared Spencer have been hurt too much to be on this list.

Ruger Riojas has struggled too much recently in the Friday spot, but if this list was made a month ago, he would be on it.

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

Texas is the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament and potentially the best team in the nation heading into the postseason, with much of their success riding on the backs of these five MVPs.