Texas heads to the Coral Gables regional in the NCAA tournament
After a 38-20 regular season that saw David Pierce’s Longhorns take home a share of the Big 12 championship before going two-and-cue in the conference tournament, Texas now knows where it will play to begin the postseason.
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The Longhorns did not earn a host site despite winning its conference regular season title. Texas will head to the Coral Gables, Fla. regional hosted by No. 9 overall seed Miami. Other teams in the regional include Maine and Louisiana.
Texas (38-20, 15-9 Big 12) is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament under Pierce. This is the first time the Longhorns have had to go on the road in the regional round since Pierce’s first season in 2017 when UT traveled to the Long Beach regional in California.
The NCAA announced the 16 hosts on Sunday after the completion of various conference tournaments. In alphabetical order, they are Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Florida, Indiana State, Kentucky, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Virginia, and Wake Forest.
The SEC accounted for half of the host sites with eight.
This is Texas 62nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament and third-consecutive selection.
Texas was led at the plate this year by .300 hitters Peyton Powell, Dylan Campbell, Jared Thomas, Porter Brown, Garret Guillemette, and Eric Kennedy. Campbell has tied a Big 12 record and eclipsed a Texas program record with his ongoing 35-game hitting streak.
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On the mound, the 1-2 of Lucas Gordon on Fridays and Lebarron Johnson on Saturdays have been steady all season. The other arms have been inconsistent all season, especially bullpen arms. Preseason All-Big 12 selection Tanner Witt has helped the staff in recent weeks, slowly coming along since returning from Tommy John surgery in late April.
Texas has been consistent in the field, committing only 43 errors all season. Outfielders Brown, Kennedy, and Campbell have combined for 18 outfield assists this season.
