The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Arkansas
No. 5 Baseball preview: vs. No. 12 Arkansas (SEC Tournament)
05.21.2026 | Baseball
Second-seeded Longhorns begin postseason play against seventh-seeded Razorbacks in quarterfinals
#12 ARKANSAS vs. #5 TEXAS
May 22, 2026
Where: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium
Time: 3 p.m
Stream/TV: SEC Network
Radio: AM-1300 The Zone
Live stats: texas.statbroadcast.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Arkansas LHP Hunter Dietz (7-3, 3.32 ERA) vs. Texas RHP Cody Howard (0-0, 7.45 ERA)
THE MATCHUP — Coming off its second consecutive 40-win regular season, No. 2 seed Texas begins postseason play at 3 p.m. Friday. In the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals, the Longhorns will face No. 7 seed Arkansas, which defeated No. 10 seed Tennessee, 8-4. The longtime league foes have squared off 118 times, with Texas boasting a 76-42 advantage in the all-time series. In the Southwest Conference Tournament from 1977-90, the Longhorns won 16 of the 20 meetings. The two sides first played in 1902.
A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS — As of May 21, the Longhorns sport the No. 4 RPI, No. 4 DSR and No. 6 SOS in the country. Heading into the SEC Tournament, Texas was listed as a consensus top-5 team in all five major polls. Amongst teams with at least 20 games played against Quad 1 opponents, the Longhorns boast the second-best winning percentage (.636), trailing only Georgia Tech (.792). Overall, Texas has the sixth-highest winning percentage (.769) and seventh-best run differential (+3.7) in all of Division I Baseball. On the mound, Texas ranks third in FIP (3.30), fifth in WHIP (1.21) and 16th in ERA (4.15). At the plate, the Longhorns' .929 OPS is tied for 16th nationally. Meanwhile, Texas has registered a .980 fielding percentage, which sits 20th in the country.
ALL SEC HORNS — Five Longhorns collected Southeastern Conference postseason recognition, the league announced Monday afternoon. Anthony Pack Jr. and Aiden Robbins both earned major awards, as Pack Jr. was named SEC Freshman of the Year and Robbins was tabbed SEC Newcomer of the Year. With Pack Jr.'s selection, Texas became the first SEC program with back-to-back Freshman of the Year honorees since Florida in 2009-10. Robbins was joined on the All-SEC First Team by Dylan Volantis and Sam Cozart. Meanwhile, Pack Jr. and Carson Tinney landed on the All-SEC Second Team. Pack Jr. and Cozart also garnered SEC All-Freshman Team distinction.
IT JUST MEANS MORE — In Texas' two seasons in the SEC, the Longhorns are one of only two programs with at least 40 wins in league play, alongside Georgia. Texas' 41-18 (.695) SEC mark is the best conference winning percentage over that span, edging Georgia's 41-19 (.693) ledger. 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 five-year run, Schlossnagle's 37 SEC series wins stack up ahead of Dan Van Horn (33), Kevin O'Sullivan (30), Jay Johnson (27) and Tony Vitello (27). With Schlossnagle at the helm last year, the Longhorns became the first team to win the SEC in their first season since the league's inaugural campaign in 1933. Texas' 22-8 ledger in SEC action marked its best record in conference play since 2010.
BASH BROS — With Troy Tulowitzki on staff, the Longhorns have recorded the five highest home run totals in school history. In 2022, Texas smashed the program-record with 128 homers, surpassing the 2010 squad that hit 81 blasts. Since, the Longhorns tallied 91 home runs in 2023, 112 jacks in 2024 and 85 round-trippers in 2025. This year, Texas has launched 87 home runs. The Longhorns have three different players with at least 17 blasts for the first time in program history. Team-leader Carson Tinney has 20 blasts, which matches Jeff Ontiveros (2002) for the fourth-most in a single season. Outfielder Aiden Robbins has homered 19 times, tying for the sixth-most in a campaign. Meanwhile, Casey Borba has socked 17 homers to round out the Longhorns' historic power trio.
HISTORY BY WAY OF THE K — For the fourth time in the last six years, Texas' pitching staff has amassed 550 strikeouts. Heading into the tournament, the Longhorns' 585 punchouts are the fourth-most in a single season. Texas is 34 strikeouts shy of breaking a 41-year-old school-record set in 1985 (618). In 2026, the Longhorns have mounted 19 punchouts in a game on two occasions, accomplishing the feat against Alabama on April 18 and Mississippi State on May 1. Texas' 19 strikeouts matched the most in a nine-inning game in program history, tying its performance against Southwestern Louisiana on March 18, 1988. Ruger Riojas and Dylan Volantis became the first Longhorn duo with 100 strikeouts in a single season since Cole Green (104) and Taylor Jungmann (126) in 2011. Volantis sits third in strikeouts (105) in the SEC, while tying for the 18th-most in the country. Meanwhile, Riojas leads the conference with a 13.85 K/9 and is tied for sixth in punchouts (100).
SPEED KILLS — For the first time since 2005, Texas has eclipsed the century mark in stolen bases. Among all SEC teams, the Longhorns rank third (102), trailing only Kentucky (123) and Oklahoma (114). Six Texas players have swiped double-digit bags, marking the first time in program history. Eight different Longhorns have also set new career-highs. Anthony Pack Jr.'s team-leading 20 stolen bases are the most by a Texas freshman since Drew Stubbs (28) in 2004.
PARTY IN THE USA — Sam Cozart, Anthony Pack Jr. and Dylan Volantis are set to participate in the 2026 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp this summer. The prestigious camp features 56 of the premier non-draft eligible college players. With Cozart, Pack Jr. and Volantis receiving the call, the Longhorns have now had 33 players earn invitations to join the Collegiate National Team. Rick Bradley, Keith Moreland and Richard Wortham were the first invitees in 1974, with Max Belyeu being the most recent nod two years ago.
