The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 5 Baseball’s Gasparino, Riojas garner SEC weekly honors
03.31.2025 | Baseball
Duo led Longhorns to 4-0 week to secure best start to conference play in 15 years
AUSTIN, Texas — University of Texas standouts Will Gasparino and Ruger Riojas collected Southeastern Conference weekly honors, the league office announced Monday afternoon.
Gasparino was tabbed SEC Player of the Week, while Riojas was named SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week. This marks both players' first career weekly league distinction.
A 6-foot-6, 225-pound outfielder, Gasparino smacked five home runs and totaled 13 RBI to lead Texas to a perfect 4-0 week.
Gasparino posted a .533/.588/1.600 slash line, leaving the yard in three of the four wins.
The sophomore mounted two multi-homer performances and three multi-hit games to help the Longhorns secure their best start to conference play since 2010.
In the series opener at Missouri, Gasparino socked a pair of three-run blasts and drove in eight runs.
He became just the fourth Texas player with eight RBI in a contest since 2008, matching Brandon Belt (2008), Porter Brown (2023) and Eric Kennedy (2023).
Less than 24 hours later, Gasparino followed his jaw-dropping effort with two solo shots and plated the Longhorns' final three tallies, highlighted by the eventual game-winning jack.
The Los Angeles, Calif., native capped off the weekend by reaching safely three times to extend his on-base streak to 19 games.
A 6-foot, 192-pound right-hander, Riojas pitched a career-long seven shutout innings to guide Texas to a 7-1 sweep-securing victory over Missouri.
Riojas (6-1) recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts, allowing only two hits and zero walks.
The junior faced one batter over the minimum, retiring 16 of the first 17 Tigers he faced.
Riojas threw 63 of his 90 pitches for strikes, becoming the first Longhorn to toss seven innings or register double-digit punchouts this season.
As of March 31, the Wimberley, Texas, native leads the conference in wins.
Five Texas players have earned SEC weekly accolades in 2025, as the duo joins redshirt junior Luke Harrison (Feb. 17), freshman Adrian Rodriguez (Feb. 17) and freshman Dylan Volantis (March 24).
