Texas Longhorns Baseball Star Nearing Potential Return From Injury

As they prepare for their final home conference series of the season, the No. 1 Texas Longhorns received some great news on the injury front on Thursday afternoon.

Star right fielder Max Belyeu has not played since the Longhorns' 15-4 win over the Missouri Tigers on March 28. In the seventh inning, he dove for a ball to record an out and landed awkwardly, injuring his thumb and forcing him to miss extended time.

Initial reports stated he would miss the rest of the regular season, but it was eventually announced he would be out indefinitely with a chance to come back either during the final weekend of the regular season or during the SEC Tournament.

Belyeu won't be back in time for the series against the Florida Gators but is now in line to potentially return in the final regular season series against the Oklahoma Sooners.

However, on Thursday coach Jim Schlossnagle spoke about his recovery from thumb surgery and stated that the outfielder is officially swinging a bat again and doing some light hitting.

“If he keeps progressing in the manner that he has, maybe [he’ll play] next weekend," Schlossnagle said when discussing a potential return of Belyeu against the Sooners.

It is impossible to understate how big of a win it would be for the Longhorns to get Belyeu back into the lineup ahead of the SEC Tournament and a very likely Austin Regional come June. He's the best hitter on the team and his absence has definitely been since his injury.

Prior to hurting his thumb he was slashing .358/.465/.642 with seven doubles, six home runs, a triple and 22 RBI. Not that we need to tell you how big getting him back will be, but just in case you do need a reminder, let this home run against the LSU Tigers do all the talking.

elevate and celebrate 💣#HookEm | @BelyeuMax pic.twitter.com/MVlK9xFViR
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) March 23, 2025

There are high hopes and expectations in Austin as the postseason inches closer, and for good reason. Even without Belyeu they've been outstanding and find themselves with a 39-8 (19-5) record, and a two-game lead over the second place Razorbacks.

When they get him back, either against the Sooners or in the SEC Tournament, they will only be that much better suited to make a potential run all the way to the College World Series.