The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
#3 LSU
No. 15 Baseball preview: Astros Foundation College Classic
02.29.2024 | Baseball
The Longhorns will face LSU, Texas State and Vanderbilt at Minute Maid Park.
#15 TEXAS vs. #3 LSU | TEXAS STATE | #9 VANDERBILT
March 1-3, 2024
Where: Minute Maid Park
Time: Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 3 p.m.; Sunday at 11 a.m.
TV: Astros.com/Youtube
Radio: AM-1300 The Zone
Live stats: Texas.Statbroadcast.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY–Texas RHP Lebarron Johnson Jr. (1-0. 1.38) vs. LSU TBA
SATURDAY–Texas RHP Charlie Hurley (1-0, 0.93) vs. Texas State LHP Jack Stroud (1-1, 9.45)
SUNDAY–Texas RHP Cody Howard (2-0, 0.00) vs. Vanderbilt LHP Devin Futrell (1-0, 1.64)
THE MATCHUP—Texas returns to the Astros Foundation College Classic for the 11th time and the first since the 2022 season. In its 10 previous appearances, Texas has a 16-14 all-time record at the event. The Longhorns will play LSU, Texas State and Vanderbilt. Texas and LSU meet for the third-straight season and the 10th time since 2018. The Longhorns hold a 5-4 record in the last nine meetings but the Tigers won 3-0 last season in Austin. Texas and Texas State have met every season since 1988 (except the shortened 2020 season) and this will be the first of three games this season. Texas fell to Vanderbilt during opening weekend last season as part of the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas pitched a weekend series shutout of Cal Poly, the first series shutout since March 2002 against UT Pan American. Starting pitchers Lebarron Johnson Jr., Charlie Hurley and Cody Howard combined for 19 shutout innings and relievers Gage Boehm, Grant Fontenot, Max Grubbs, David Shaw and Easton Tumis took care of the rest. The Longhorns have gotten great production from the top of the lineup through the first eight games, with Jared Thomas batting .581 with five doubles, one homer and 14 runs scored. Peyton Powell is batting .441 with three doubles, a triple, four homers and 18 RBI. Jalin Flores has also had a nice start, with two doubles, four homers and 12 RBI.
PRESEASON PICKS—In a vote of the league's head coaches, Texas was selected to finish second in the Preseason Big 12 Baseball Coaches' Poll. The Longhorns sit behind preseason favorite TCU, who received 11 first place votes. Texas picked up the other two first place votes to finish second. Last season, Texas won the Big 12 regular season championship after being picked fourth in the preseason poll.
PRESEASON HONORS—Lebarron Johnson Jr. picked up plenty of preseason praise, being named Big 12 Preseason Pitcher of the Year as well as landing on the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. OF Porter Brown joined Johnson on the Preseason All-Big 12 team as well as picking up some Preseason All-America recognition. Freshman OF Will Gasparino was also named Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year.
DRAFT WINS AND LOSSES—Texas lost five players to the 2023 MLB Draft but also got five key players back who will lead the Longhorns in 2024. The Longhorns biggest losses in the draft were 4th round selection Dylan Campbell and sixth-rounder Lucas Gordon. OF Porter Brown and INF Peyton Powell were not selected though and will lead the offense this season, while Charlie Hurley, Lebarron Johnson Jr. and Tanner Witt are expected to play big roles on the mound. OF Will Gasparino making it to the Forty Acres was also a big win for the program.
PRESEASON RANKINGS—Texas made an appearance in all five of the major preseason polls and opened the season at No. 16 in the D1 Baseball poll. The Longhorns highest preseason rank is No. 8 in the Perfect Game poll, while Texas is also 9th in the NCBWA poll, and 13th in both the Baseball America poll and USA Today Coaches poll.
THE GRAND SLAM MAN—Dating back to the end of the last season, Jalin Flores has hit three grand slams over his last 12 games played. His first career grand slam was in the NCAA Regional Final last season against Miami to help Texas advance to the Super Regional. This season Flores has gotten off to a hot start, batting .344 with two doubles, four homers and 12 RBI. His first homer of the season was a game winning grand slam on Opening Day.
FIFTIETH SEASON AT THE DISCH—Texas embarks on its 50th season at UFCU Disch-Falk Field after the facility opened in 1975. The first game at The Disch was played on Feb. 17, 1975 with the eventual National Champions sweeping a doubleheader of St. Mary's. Texas will officially celebrate 50 years of Disch-Falk Field and the 50th anniversary of the 1975 National Championship team during the 2025 season.
OWN THE DISCH—A large part of the Longhorns success under head coach David Pierce has come down to dominating at home. Since 2017 Texas has produced a 184-49 (.789) record at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, including a 7-1 mark this season. Since the stadium opened in 1975, Texas has gone 1615-409-3 at home for a .797 winning percentage. The fan base has also done a great job of making the Disch a difficult place to play. With the exception of the 2021 season because of limited capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas has led the Big 12 in attendance for 15-consecutive seasons. This season, the Longhorns are averaging 7,524 fans per game, the fifth-highest average attendance in the country.
MIDWEEK SUCCESS—In seven seasons under head coach David Pierce, the Longhorns have taken care of business in midweek games. Since 2017, Texas has gone 74-19 (.796) in midweek games including a 12-2 record last season. The Longhorns have been even more exceptional in home midweek games, winning 87% of the time for a 58-9 record.
THE SCHEDULE—The 2024 schedule features 37 home games at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, including 19 of the first 25 games at home. The Longhorns will also play in the Astros Foundation College Classic at Minute Maid Park, March 1-3, against LSU, Texas State and Vanderbilt. The Longhorns open the season with an eight-game homestand, beginning with the Opening Weekend series against San Diego. Texas will also host rival Texas A&M at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Tuesday, March 5 before opening Big 12 play at Texas Tech March 8-10. In league play, Texas will host Baylor, BYU, TCU, Oklahoma State and Kansas and will also travel to Kansas State, Houston, Oklahoma and UCF. The 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship returns to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, May 21-25.
HEAR 'EM—In partnership with Learfield IMG College, Texas games will be broadcast on the Longhorn Radio Network, primarily on AM 1300 The Zone. Craig Way handles primary play-by-play duties alongside Roger Wallace. This season fans will also hear analysis from Longhorn greats Keith Moreland, Ty Harrington and Nathan Thornhill throughout the season.
WATCH 'EM—Nearly all of Texas' home games will be broadcast on Longhorn Network this season. The team of Keith Moreland and Greg Swindell will return to the booth to call the action for 34 home games. The first two games of the TCU series, April 19-20 will be broadcast on ESPNU.
