Difference Maker Players Emerge in Texas Baseball’s Fall Scrimmage
The Texas Longhorns almost had an ideal season in 2025. Over 40 wins on the season and a postseason appearance in the Austin Regional, the Longhorns played textbook SEC baseball. The Longhorns even managed to climb to the top of the rankings the week of April 15th, dethroning the Arkansas Razorbacks, who saw the top spot of the D1 Baseball Top 25 quite often during the regular season. However, the Longhorns saw a decline in performance as the season came to an end. Two losses to the American Athletic Conference’s UTSA in the first round of the postseason were the demise of the Longhorns. Texas knew they had to make adjustments in the offseason, making moves in the transfer portal to compensate for any holes made by the MLB Draft and portal. The new, and possibly improved, team of Longhorns took to the diamond for the first time since June in a fall ball scrimmage against Texas Tech. Their 9-3 victory showed that there have been some changes made to the 2026 Longhorn baseball team.
Junior transfer Aiden Robbins, who played his first few seasons of NCAA baseball at Seton Hall, was an asset to the Longhorns’ offense during the scrimmage. He hit five RBIs, his first taking place at his very first at-bat in a Longhorns jersey. Connecting the bat to the ball is something the Longhorns needed to work on to make it more consistent. In 2025, they were a team that could score 15 runs in one game and none two days later. Athletes like Robbins are going to help the Longhorns on offense, driving in runs when necessary.
In addition to driving in runs at the plate, the Longhorns also needed to find ways to get the upper hand. If their pitching staff couldn’t keep up with the batters in front of them, they needed to be able to make sure they were doing everything they could to score early and often. While consistency at the plate is essential, guys who can run and continue to play offense after they’ve made it on base are just as important. Freshman Maddox Monsour may just be that guy for Texas. Assisting his team in their 9-3 victory, he stole not one but four bases. The transfers and rookies may just be the key to push Texas back into the top of the D1 rankings once the regular season begins in the Spring.
