Meet the Texas Longhorns Freshman Who Had A Very Unique Hurdle to Success

Texas baseball freshman pitcher Sam Cozart has already made a spectacle of himself since arriving on the Forty Acres.

For one, he’s quickly making a name on the mound. In his first appearance of the season against Lamar, Cozart tossed four innings, faced 14 batters, struck out four and did not issue a walk.

And two, the 6-7, 260 pound 19-year old with a full grown beard could easily be mistaken for someone twice his age.

In fact, when Cozart arrived at Texas, they couldn’t even find baseball cleats big enough to fit him.

Sam Cozart Had to Get Custom-made Cleats

ID says freshman, game says grown man 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/GgtiUmERnJ
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 18, 2026

Cozart arrived to Texas with some serious expectations.

Growing up in a baseball family (his oldest brother played at North Carolina and UNC Greensboro, while another older brother is in the Cleveland Guardians organization), Cozart is well acquainted with what it takes to reach this level.

Ranked the No. 47 overall recruit nationally by Perfect Game, Cozart starred at Wesleyan Christian Academy, helping lead the Trojans to two state championships.

But once he got to Austin, an unusual issue arose.

All Texas athletic programs are outfitted by Nike, which does not manufacture baseball cleats in Cozart’s size. The solution? Modify a pair of oversized Texas-branded Kobe Bryant basketball shoes by adding cleat spikes.

Fun nugget from tonight. Texas freshman righty Sam Cozart, who pitched four innings of one run ball in his debut, wears a size 18 shoe.

Nike doesn’t make baseball cleats that big. So Cozart wears what is essentially a basketball shoe with holes drilled in for the studs: pic.twitter.com/w6tNYnogAK
— David Eckert (@davideckert98) February 18, 2026

“We got the basketball shoes, and we just sent them off and had cleats made,” Cozart said.

Whatever the process entailed, the shoes have held up — and so has Cozart.

His first unofficial outing came during the alumni game, when he threw four hitless innings, struck out five and allowed just three baserunners against the current Longhorns.

And on Tuesday, he impressed further. The freshman entered in relief after a shaky start from Jason Flores and steady work from Ethan Walker to complete four innings of one-run ball, striking out four Cardinals in the 14-4 victory.

“Cozart did what he’s done every day since he’s been on campus,” Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Just throw strikes and throw multiple pitches for strikes.”

Schlossnagle hinted that Cozart's role could evolve into weekend opportunities, but that’s not on Cozart's mind currently.

“We don’t have roles,” Cozart said. “We’re always just dominating the strike zone. We go out and we do our job and we sit down and we do what we’re told. If we’re told to go back out, we’ll go out, get three outs and then do it again. So I’ll never have a role. I’ll always just dominate the zone and go out there and compete my [butt] off.”

For now, Cozart appears comfortable carving out a role in relief — even if he’s doing it in some very big shoes.