Jim Schlossnagle Makes Major Announcement at the Shortstop Position

With the departure of Jalin Flores in this past year’s MLB draft, the shortstop position for the Texas Longhorns was open and up for grabs heading into the 2026 season.

In the offseason, head coach Jim Schlossnagle's staff hit the portal hard, bringing in 10 transfers to fill key roster positions. At shortstop, Texas brought in Stanford transfer Temo Beccera, the Cardinal's starter at the position in 2025.

But according to Schlossnagle in the final offseason media availability, sophomore infielder Adrian Rodriguez won the position battle over Becerra heading into opening day against UC Davis.

What Jim Schlossnagle Said About Adrian Rodriguez

“He's the day one shortstop, which happens between now and Friday,” Schlossnagle confirmed on Wednesday.

The new Longhorns shortstop won the battle while also recovering from a nagging hand injury he sustained during his freshman campaign. According to Schlossnagle, Rodriguez’s hand was still bothering him after taking some time off in the summer.

“Once he got ramped up and had a lot of volume, his swings started to bother him again,” Schlossnagle said. We got him to Dr [Steven] Shin, a famous guy in LA, and he was able to get him in really quick and get it fixed.”

Schlossnagle reiterated that there could still be some soreness in Rodrugueiz’s hand, but is confident that his new shortstop injury “has been fixed.”

Back To His Roots

Rodriguez started at shortstop during his high school career at Flower Mound High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In his productive freshman season for Texas, Rodriguez was all over the field, splitting time at third base, second base, left field, and some work as Texas desinganted hitter.

In the offseason, Rodriguez was able to lose around 20 pounds for a more competitive edge in the shortstop competition with Becerra.

“I just felt like last year, my bat's always been there. But defensively, getting those 20 pounds it made it kind of harder to move in the infield and at shortstop,” Rodriguez said. “I kind of need to be more athletic to make those crazy plays.”

Rodriguez is primed for a major role in Schlossnagle’s second year in Austin, anchoring one of the hardest defensive positions to play in baseball. He is also expected to a major producer at the plate, being a member high up on the batting order heading into opening day.

As the only freshman position player to get significant playing time on a team full of upperclassmen, Rodriguez was impressive at the plate last season. He closed out his freshman campaign with 57 hits, seven home runs, and 23 RBI while slashing .313/.516/.410.

Now working with him for two full offseasons, Schlossnagle highlighted Rodriguez’s development from his first to his second year.

“I think what Adrian is learning is that he's such a good player,” Schlossnagle said. “I'd rather have to pull a player back than have to jumpstart them. Those guys aren't any fun. But Adrian's a guy we have to say. ‘You know, that's enough,’ sometimes he listens, sometimes he doesn't.”

The Longhorns will open up the season against the UC Davis Broncos on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT at UFCU Disch-Faulk Field in Austin, Texas.