Van Horn Can Get Ahead on Scouting Texas Against SEC Elites This Week
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – While a lot of the buzz surrounding Texas coming to the SEC is centered around football, the sport where the Longhorns will likely have the most impact on the men's side of Razorbacks athletics is baseball.
The Longhorns have won over 40 games every full season this decade and was the team Mississippi State beat to advance to the national championship series against Vanderbilt in 2021 to end a 50-win season. It's hard to gauge how Texas will adapt to the grind of an SEC baseball schedule, but Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn and his staff will soon get a rough idea as to how prepared the Longhorns' baseball program is for what' coming next year.
“It’s like [the SEC] just gets stronger and stronger," Van Horn said in 2022 after it was announced Texas and Oklahoma would be joining the conference. "Everybody says, ‘I want to coach in the SEC.’ I’m like, ‘Come on over. See what it’s all about.’”
The Longhorns apparently took Van Horn up on his challenge. While the Razorbacks take a few weeks to repair the team's batting averages over the next couple of weeks, Texas will face No. 3 LSU, No. 9 Vanderbilt, and No. 7 Texas A&M before a three-game series at No. 18 Texas Tech. Hidden in the middle of all that is a game against a typically salty Texas State.
It's notable that LSU and Vandy had their national rankings listed on the Longhorns' schedule, but the Aggies' No. 7 ranking was omitted. Just the right amount of pettiness between those two programs for the SEC.
Texas is currently No. 15, which is high enough to host a regional this spring, so it's unlikely the Razorbacks and Longhorns can meet up until at least a Super Regional. However, next year such meetings will be common.
In addition to a regular season series, odds are high they play at least once in the SEC Tournament and the chances of meeting in a Super Regional or the College World Series remains the same. A lot can be gleaned as to how that might possibly play out from the Astros Foundation College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston this weekend.
LSU and Texas will feature Friday starters to give the Hogs an idea as to how strong the top of the rotation is against SEC hitters. That also offers up the other side of the coin as Arkansas will get a feel for whether Longhorns hitters can handle elite SEC pitching.
Sunday's game against Vanderbilt will reveal whether the Texas program has legitimate depth that can hold off the Commodores' streaky hitting. Then, on Tuesday, there's a chance to see what's left of the rotation face SEC hitters when Texas A&m rolls into Austin for a mid-week game.
When that leads into a road series against the Red Raiders, the picture will be complete. Van Horn will have a solid sample size as to whether Texas is built to go through basically an SEC weekend immediately followed by a road trip to an SEC level opponent for another weekend.
Obviously, it's not the week after week grind Arkansas will face once SEC play begins, but it's a legitimate measuring stick to see whether the Longhorns can hold up and be a legitimate threat to the Razorbacks when they finally arrive next season.
Clearly, there are still logistics to be settled in regard to when and where a series between the Hogs and Longhorns takes place next season, but one thing is for certain. If he wants, Van Horn can have a solid piece of scouting information on Texas long before those dates ever become penciled in.
Texas vs. SEC teams:
Fri., March 1 vs. No. 3 LSU, 7 p.m., TV: Astros.com/youtube
Sun., March 3 vs. No. 9 Vanderbilt, 11 a.m., TV: Astros.com/youtube
Tue., March 5 vs. Texas A&M, 6:30 p.m., TV: Longhorn Network
HOGS FEED:
DEFENSIVE MISTAKES SET TABLE FOR SURPRISING LOSS TO 7-20 VANDY
TURNOVERS HALT RAZORBACKS' MOMENTUM AGAINST VANDERBILT
VAN HORN PROVIDES UPDATE OF INJURED STOVALL
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