The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
#23 Kansas State
Baseball preview: at No. 23 Kansas State
03.27.2024 | Baseball
The Longhorns head back on the road for a Big 12 Conference series against the Wildcats.
TEXAS vs. #23 KANSAS STATE
March 28-30, 2024
Where: Tointon Family Stadium
Time: Thursday at 6 p.m.; Friday at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m.
TV: Longhorn Network
Radio: AM-1300 The Zone
Live stats: Texas.Statbroadcast.com
All-time series: Texas leads, 63-24-1
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
THURSDAY–Texas RHP Lebarron Johnson Jr. (1-1. 3.24) vs. K-State RHP Josh Wintroub (1-1, 7.15)
FRIDAY–Texas LHP Ace Whitehead (2-0, 2.05) vs. K-State LHP Jacob Frost (2-0, 5.67)
SATURDAY–Texas RHP Max Grubbs (3-0, 2.28) vs. K-State LHP Owen Boerma (2-1, 6.12)
THE MATCHUP—The Longhorns head back on the road after closing out a 10-game homestand for a Big 12 series at Kansas State. Texas owns a 63-24-1 record all-time against the Wildcats and holds a 24-11 advantage in Manhattan. Last season, the Longhorns won the series in Austin but dropped an elimination game in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS—Texas bounced back to win the series over Baylor with an offensive outburst in the final two games. With the series win, the Longhorns have won five of their last seven games. The Longhorns are batting .299 with 63 doubles and 46 home runs, while the pitching staff has a 4.06 ERA with 202 strikeouts in 226 innings pitched. Jared Thomas is the leading hitter with a .416 batting average and a Big 12-best 42 hits, while Max Belyeu leads the team and Big 12 Conference with 10 homers. The Longhorns' ace, Lebarron Johnson Jr., ranks in the top 10 in the Big 12 with 33.1 innings pitched, a 3.24 ERA and 37 strikeouts.
ONE-TWO PUNCH—Jared Thomas and Peyton Powell have been mainstays at the top of the Texas batting order this season, starting almost every game in the top two spots in the lineup. Thomas has a hit in 22 of the 25 games and has scored at least one run in 20 of the 25 contests, while leading the team with 28 runs scored. His on-base percentage of .516 from the leadoff spot is the best on the team. Powell has a hit in 22 of the 25 games and leads the team with 27 RBI. Powell also leads the team with 11 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI games.
BOMB SQUAD—With 46 home runs this season, Texas has hit 265 bombs combined over the last three seasons. The Longhorns hit a program record 128 homers in 2022 and followed that up with the second-most ever at 91 in 2023. The next-most homers by Texas in a three-year stretch was 196 from 1986-88. The Longhorns have also hit more homers in the last three seasons than in the previous six seasons combined, with 256 from 2016-21.
MAX POWER—Outfielder Max Belyeu is having a breakout start to his sophomore season, leading the Longhorns and the Big 12 with 10 home runs. In the March 24 win over Baylor, Belyeu tied a program record by hitting three homers. The eighth Longhorn to go deep three times in a game, Belyeu hit two solo shots before launching a grand slam. The Aledo, Texas product has now been named the Big 12 Player of the Week twice this 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 190-54 (.779) record at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, including an 13-6 mark this season. Since the stadium opened in 1975, Texas has gone 1621-414-3 at home for a .796 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 7,489 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 77-21 (.786) in midweek games including a 5-2 record this season. The Longhorns have been even more exceptional in home midweek games, winning 85% of the time for a 61-11 record.
THE GRAND SLAM MAN—Dating back to the end of the last season, Jalin Flores hit three grand slams over a 12-game span. 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 hit a game-winning grand slam on Opening Day and then launched his second against St. John's on Feb. 27. Flores is not the only Longhorn to go deep with the bases loaded this season, as Rylan Galvan, Will Gasparino and Max Belyeu all have hit grand slams this season.
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.
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.
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.
DRAFT WINS AND LOSSES—Texas lost five players to the 2023 MLB Draft but also got five key players back for the 2024 season. 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.
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.
traDISCHion—Texas Baseball will honor its history throughout the 2024 season as part of the Saturday TraDISCHion series at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. For the third-consecutive season the Longhorns are celebrating past greats every Saturday (and a few Fridays) throughout the year. The 2024 TraDISCHion schedule:
Feb. 18 vs. San Diego: LHP Richard Wortham (1973-76)
Feb. 24 vs. Cal Poly: LHP Justin Simmons (2001-04)
March 16 vs. Washington: RHP Beau Hale (1998-2000)
March 23 vs. Baylor: LHP Austin Wood (2006-09)
April 6 vs. BYU: 1B Danny Peoples (1994-96)
April 20 vs. TCU: OF/LHP Dennis Cook (1984-85)
May 4 vs. OSU: RHP Cole Green (2008-11)
May 17 vs. Kansas: INF Spike Owen (1980-82)
