TCU Baseball’s Early-Season Schedule Is Built to Test the 10th-Ranked Frogs

If you look at four of the first six opponents of this season for the No. 10 TCU baseball team of the Big
12 Conference, you’ll likely think the Frogs are launching the new season by playing in a regional, a super-regional, or even the College World Series.

Those four opponents are Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and UCLA. All four were in the NCAA Tournament last season. Arkansas and UCLA played in the College World Series.

Early Match-ups Leave Little Margin for Error

The Frogs’ first three games of the season are against Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and Oklahoma in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown, hosted by the Texas Rangers and REV Entertainment at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

The Shriners Children’s College Showdown is regarded as one of the top collegiate baseball tournaments in the nation. It annually draws scouts from every Major League Baseball (MLB) organization, all the while promoting the mission of Shriners Children’s, which benefits from a portion of every Showdown ticket sold.

TCU’s game against Vanderbilt is on Friday, February 13, at 3 pm (Central). The Frogs play Arkansas on Saturday, February 14, at 7 pm (Central). TCU and Oklahoma will end the weekend with a 6:30 pm (Central) game on Sunday, February 15. All three games are being broadcast on television by FloSPorts.TV and on the radio by KTCU 88.7FM.

In addition to TCU of the Big 12, and Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Oklahoma, from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Shriners Children’s College Showdown includes Texas Tech and Oklahoma State from the Big 12, neither of which is ranked in D1Baseball's preseason poll.

After the opening weekend against those three powerhouse teams, the Horned Frogs will play the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) at 7 pm (Central) on Tuesday, February 17, at Globe Life Field. KTCU will broadcast the game.

TCU then will travel to Los Angeles to play a weekend series against No. 1-ranked UCLA in Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Friday, February 20, game will start at 7 pm (Central) and will be broadcast nationally by FS1. First pitch on Saturday, February 21, is scheduled for 4 pm (Central). The concluding game on Sunday, February 22, will start at 3 pm (Central). The final two games will be broadcast on TV by B1G+ and on radio by KTCU 88.7.

The Frogs’ visit to Los Angeles will conclude with a game against Loyola Marymount (LMU) on Monday, February 23. The game against the West Coast Conference (WCC) Lions will be played at 3 pm (Central) at their Page Stadium in Los Angeles. The game will be broadcast by KTCU.

Lessons From a Regional Exit Still Linger

TCU went 39-20 last season and finished unranked. The Frogs played in the NCAA Corvallis, Oregon, Regional. They were eliminated with two consecutive losses to USC and host Oregon State. TCU failed to win a regional game for only the second time in program history. The previous time was in 1956.

Experience and Expectation Drive This Team

TCU is anxious in 2026 to blend its new, highly regarded players with its returning stars. The Horned Frogs return two of their weekend starting pitchers from last year, Tommy LaPour and Mason Brassfield. TCU also returns the majority of last season’s starting lineup, including fan favorites Noah Franco, Sawyer Strosnider and Chase Brunson.

The Horned Frogs have been ranked a consensus preseason No. 1 in the Big 12 by the league's coaches. In addition, Strosnider has been voted as the Preseason Player of the Year, LaPour has been selected as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year and TCU newcomer Lucas Franco has been named the Preseason Freshman of the Year.

Sawyer, LaPour, and Brunson are ranked by D1baseball as the Big 12 Conference’s top-three Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft prospects.

D1baseball has named Lucas Franco the number eight freshman in the country.

Perfect Game includes 11 Frogs in its Top 100 categories: Upperclassmen – Brunson, LaPour, and Louis Rodriguez (out for the 2026 season due to injury); Sophomores – Trevor Baumler, Noah Franco, Strosnider, Brassfield, and Nolan Traeger; and Freshmen – Brady Dallimore, Lucas Franco, and Uli Fensler.

Perfect Game named Strosnider a first-team Preseason All-American, LaPour a second-teamer, and Noah Franco a third-teamer.

Baseball America has named Noah Franco a first-team Preseason All-American, Strosnider a second-teamer, and Brunson a third-teamer. Baseball America's All-American teams are voted on by MLB scouting departments.

Noah Franco and Strosnider are among 20 players on Baseball America’s Preseason College Player of the Year Watch List. LaPour is on the Preseason College Pitcher of the Year Watch List, and Fernsler is on the Preseason College Freshman of the Year Watch List.

A Measuring Stick Early in the Season

TCU is 3-4 overall against Vanderbilt. The teams last played on February 17, 2023. The Frogs won, 11-4, during the Higginbotham College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

Vandy, ranked 23rd in the preseason, was 43-18 last year. The Commodores were the No. 1 national seed going into the 2025 NCAA playoffs, but were shockingly knocked out of their NCAA Nashville Regional by Wright State. Vanderbilt finished its season ranked 18th.

TCU is 22-28 overall against Arkansas, including a 2-1 loss to the Razorbacks in last season’s
Shriners Children’s Showdown at Globe Life Field.

In the 2023 NCAA Fayetteville Regional, TCU defeated No. 3 national seed Arkansas twice to complete a sweep of the regional. The Frogs advanced to their first NCAA Super Regional since 2017. They defeated Indiana State in Fort Worth and earned their sixth trip to the College World Series (2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2023).

Arkansas enters this season ranked seventh. Last season, Arkansas finished 50-15 and ranked third in the country. The Razorbacks won their NCAA Fayetteville Regional and defeated SEC foe Tennessee in the NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional to qualify for the World Series. Arkansas went 2-2 in Omaha. The Razorbacks were knocked out of the tournament in the semifinals by eventual national champion LSU.

TCU is 36-61 overall against Oklahoma, which enters this season unranked and a former Big 12 foe of the Frogs. TCU has lost six in a row and eight of its last 10 games against the Sooners. The two teams last played on May 22, 2024, in the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Globe Life Field. TCU lost, 4-0.

Oklahoma was unranked last season with a 38-22 record. The Sooners lost to North Carolina in the final game of the NCAA North Carolina Regional.

TCU is 116-63-1 overall against local rival UTA. The teams split two games last season. The Frogs have won 15 of their last 20 games against the Mavericks.

A Clash With the UCLA Bruins at the Top of the Rankings

UCLA is this preseason’s consensus No. 1 team. The Bruins finished last season with a 48-18 record and ranked fifth in the country. UCLA won the NCAA Los Angeles Regional and the NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional to qualify for the World Series. The Bruins went 1-2 in the World Series. They were eliminated by Arkansas.

TCU is 6-4 overall against UCLA. TCU and UCLA last played in 2024. The Frogs swept three games from the Bruins at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, February 23-25. The Frogs last played UCLA in Los Angeles on March 7, 2020. TCU prevailed, 8-4.

In TCU’s first appearance in the College World Series in 2010, TCU and UCLA played each other three times. The Bruins defeated the Horned Frogs twice to eliminate them and advance to the tournament’s finals. In 2012, UCLA defeated TCU twice and eliminated the Frogs in the NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional.

TCU’s games against UCLA will be played at Jackie Robinson Stadium, which serves as the home field of the Bruins. It is named in honor of Jackie Robinson, a UCLA alumnus and civil rights pioneer who broke MLB’s color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. A statue and mural of Robinson are located at the stadium's entrance concourse.

Robinson attended UCLA from 1939 to 1941. He was the university's first athlete to earn varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track.

Robinson played 10 seasons for the Dodgers. He stole home 19 times in his career, which is the modern Major League record.

A Series That Can't Be Overlooked

The Frogs’ game against Loyola Marymount will be the teams’ fifth meeting. TCU is 3-1 against the Lions.

TCU and the Lions last played in February of 2016. The Frogs won two of three games against LMU at Lupton Stadium. The Horned Frogs defeated Loyola Marymount 6-2 in Los Angeles in March of 2015.

Where Home-Field Advantage Can Separate TCU

TCU Baseball Field | Natural Surface Mainenance | https://unitedturfandtrack.com/project/tcu-baseball-infield/

After their Los Angeles trip, the Frogs will enjoy eight straight home games, beginning with a three-game series against New Haven, February 27-March 1. Abilene Christian visits Fort Worth for a game on Tuesday, March 3, followed by a three-game series against Tulane, March 6-8. A non-conference game against Kansas on Tuesday, March 10, will conclude the homestand. All games will be broadcast by ESPN+ and KTCU.

The Horned Frogs enjoyed “Lupton Magic” last season, going 22-7 in their home stadium.

A Challenging Way to Open Conference Action

TCU begins Big 12 Conference play against Arizona State in Tempe, Arizona, March 13-15. The games will be broadcast by ESPN+ and KTCU. TCU and the Sun Devils did not play each other last season.

The Frogs host their first home conference series against UCF, March 20-22. ESPN+ and KTCU will broadcast the games. In a three-game series in Orlando, Florida, last season, the Knights took two of three games from the Horned Frogs.

TCU went 19-11 in the Big 12 Conference last season.

The Horned Frogs’ regular season is scheduled to conclude against Big 12 foe West Virginia in Morgantown, West Virginia, May 14-16.

Postseason Positioning Comes Into Focus

The 2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament will make its debut at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona, May 20-23. Surprise is the spring training home of MLB’s Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals.

The 2026 NCAA Division 1 Baseball Championship selection show is scheduled for May 25. The 16 regional tournaments are scheduled for May 29-June 1. The eight Super Regionals are scheduled for June 5-8. The opening game of the eight-team Men’s College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, is scheduled for June 12. The championship series is scheduled for June 20-22.