The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas A&M
No. 2 Baseball preview: at No. 18 Texas A&M (Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown)
04.09.2026 | Baseball
Two rivals meet for three-game series in College Station for first time since 1992
#2 TEXAS vs. #18 TEXAS A&M (COTTON HOLDINGS LONE STAR SHOWDOWN)
Dates: April 10-12, 2026
Where: Blue Bell Park
Time: Friday at 7 p.m. CT; Saturday at 2 p.m. CT; Sunday at 1 p.m. CT
TV/Stream: SEC Network (Friday); ESPN2 (Saturday); SEC Network+ (Sunday)
Radio: 103.1 FM/1300-AM The Zone
Live stats: texas.statbroadcast.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY – Texas RHP Ruger Riojas (5-1, 2.74 ERA) vs. Texas A&M LHP Shane Sdao (3-2, 5.48 ERA)
SATURDAY – Texas LHP Luke Harrison (4-0, 2.72 ERA) vs. Texas A&M RHP Aiden Sims (6-0, 3.32 ERA)
SUNDAY – Texas LHP Dylan Volantis (4-0, 2.01 ERA) vs. TBA
THE MATCHUP — For the first time since 1992, Texas and Texas A&M will square off in a three-game set in College Station. The Longhorns have played the Aggies more than any other team in their rich 132-year history, facing Texas A&M 379 times since 1903. Located 104 miles apart, the two rivals have gone head-to-head in 117 of the last 123 seasons on the diamond, excluding the 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Texas boasts a 244-130-5 lead in the all-time series. Aggies' head coach Michael Earley worked under Longhorns' skipper Jim Schlossnagle during the 2022-2024 seasons at Texas A&M. Across those three years, the Aggies went a combined 135-62 (.685), reaching the College World Series twice.
SCORCHING START — The 2026 Longhorns are one of three Texas teams to begin 27-5 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 series, the Longhorns have outscored their opponents, 271-110. As of April 9, Texas has posted the country's best WHIP (1.13) and second-best ERA (3.07). At the plate, the Longhorns' .942 OPS ranks 19th nationally. Meanwhile, Texas' .981 fielding percentage is 17th-best 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 33 SEC series wins stack up ahead of Dan Van Horn (28), Tony Vitello (27), Jay Johnson (26) nd Kevin O'Sullivan (26). 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.
COTTON HOLDINGS LONE STAR SHOWDOWN — Cotton Holdings is the title sponsor of all contests between Texas and Texas A&M in every head-to-head sport between the two schools. In addition, Cotton Holdings is the title sponsor for the year-long scoring system comprised of the results of up to 19 sports to determine which university wins the annual Lone Star Showdown rivalry series trophy. In those sports in which there is no head-to-head competition, rivalry series points will be awarded based on which team finishes higher in the final standings of the respective NCAA Championships. Texas holds a 7-2 advantage in the showdown's history, which began in the fall of 2004.
