The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
South Carolina
No. 2 Baseball preview: at South Carolina
04.01.2026 | Baseball
Longhorns have won seven of nine prior meetings heading into series
#2 TEXAS vs. SOUTH CAROLINA
Dates: April 2-4, 2026
Where: Founders Park
Time: Thursday at 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET; Friday at 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET; Saturday at 1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. ET
Stream/TV: SEC Network (Thursday) & SEC Network+ (Friday & Saturday)
Radio: 103.1 FM
Live stats: texas.statbroadcast.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
THURSDAY – Texas RHP Ruger Riojas (5-0, 1.59 ERA) vs. South Carolina LHP Alex Valentin (1-2, 3.91 ERA)
FRIDAY – Texas LHP Luke Harrison (3-0, 2.65 ERA) vs. South Carolina RHP Josh Gunther (2-2, 6.97 ERA)
SATURDAY – Texas LHP Dylan Volantis (3-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. South Carolina RHP Amp Phillips (2-3, 2.68 ERA)
THE MATCHUP — For the first time as Southeastern Conference foes, the Texas Longhorns and the South Carolina Gamecocks face off in a three-game set. Texas has won seven of the nine prior meetings, highlighted by national-championship clinching wins in both 1975 and 2002. The Longhorns claimed their third national title by defeating the Gamecocks, 5-1, on June 14, 1975. Twenty-seven years later, the two sides squared off in the championship game once again. Texas earned its fifth ring by beating South Carolina, 12-6, on June 22, 2002. This series marks the Longhorns' second-ever trip to Columbia. Texas played a non-conference set at Founders Park in 2022.
SCORCHING START — The 2026 Longhorns are one of three Texas teams to begin 24-4 or better over the past 21 years. Last season, the Longhorns notched a 44-14 record, earning the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. In 2005, Texas finished with a 56-16 ledger, capturing its sixth national championship. Heading into the weekend, the Longhorns have outscored their opponents, 245-93. As of April 1, Texas has posted the country's fourth-best ERA (2.93) and seventh-best WHIP (1.15). Meanwhile, the Longhorns' .952 OPS is 18th in all of Division I Baseball.
IT JUST MEANS MORE — Since Jim Schlossnagle's first campaign in the SEC in 2022, he has won more conference series than any other coach in the league. Over that four-plus year run, Schlossnagle's 32 SEC series wins stack up ahead of Dan Van Horn (28), Tony Vitello (27), Kevin O'Sullivan (26) and Jay Johnson (25). With Schlossnagle at the helm last year, Texas became the first team to win the SEC in its first season since the league's inaugural campaign in 1933. The Longhorns — who were picked eighth in the conference's preseason poll — won the league by two games. Texas' 22-8 ledger in SEC action marked its best record in conference play since 2010. The Longhorns were the lone team to win eight series in league action.
THE EYES OF TEXAS ARE UPON YOU — Texas is ranked No. 2 by all five major outlets, trailing only consensus No. 1 UCLA. Through three weekends of league action, the Longhorns are in a three-way tie for first place in the SEC, sharing the top spot with Mississippi State and Georgia. In the SEC's preseason poll voted on by the league's 16 head coaches, the Longhorns were picked second behind defending national champion LSU.
