No. 5 Texas Falls In SEC Tournament Quarterfinals to No. 12 Arkansas

There was not much on the line for the No. 5 Texas Longhorns heading into the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The Longhorns already secured a coveted top-8 bid to host an NCAA Regional later this month with an RPI in the top-5. Still, Texas had to travel to Hoover, Alabama, for the conference tournament regardless of its standing nationally.

For the second season, the Longhorns fell in the conference quarterfinals to the No. 12 Arkansas Razorbacks, 8-1, at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on Friday.

The Longhorns will learn their postseason fate on Monday when the NCAA releases regional hosts and matchups.

Early Dominance Allows Hogs To Cruise

Texas Baseball — Sophomore pitcher Dylan Volantis and junior catcher Carson Tinney walk to the Texas dugout against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on May 1, 2026, at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas. | Noah McCord, The Reflector

As a projected No. 2 seed in the national tournament, the Razorbacks had a lot more to play for than the Longhorns. The pitching matchup of Arkansas’ Hunter Dietz and Texas’ Cody Howard was a clear indicator of the importance each team placed on this game.

Howard, making his first start on the mound in two seasons, was quickly welcomed back on the second batter he faced, two-hole hitter Camden Kozeal.

Kozeal rocketed a two-run home run in the first inning for the early, 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Arkansas shortstop was not done with Howard, though, cashing in on a 0-2 count for his second home run of the afternoon, bringing in 3 RBI with him.

With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Arkansas designated hitter Cater Rutenbar drove in an RBI single, and nine-hole hitter Reese Robinett drove in the final run on a one-out ground out to cap the run total at eight.

The Longhorns were stricken with some luck, as Dietz, the second-best strikeout thrower in the SEC, was taken out after just 20 pitches when third basemen Casey Borba fired a hit that made contact with his lower body. Texas struggled at the plate, limping to just three hits on the day.

The only run that was driven in for the Longhorns came in the first inning with a loaded bases walk on Arkansas relief pitcher Steele Eaves’ first batter he faced.

Eaves and Gabe Gaeckle were purely dominant against the Texas batting order, tossing for 12 strikeouts on one of the better hitting teams in the conference. Borba was the only Longhorn to have some success, going 2-for-3 at the plate.

As expected, Texas used the opportunity to unload arms to get warm for the impending postseason.

Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle got looks from Kaleb Rogers, Ethan Walker, Brett Crossland, Michael Winter, and Cal Higgins, who combined for two strikeouts and allowed five hits.

Starting arms, Luke Harrison and Dylan Volantis, were able to get warm before the start of the postseason, each tossing for two innings against Arkansas.

Harrison picked up two strikeouts as Volantis was impressive as ever, tossing for four strikeouts in his first relief appearance of the season.

The road to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, kicks off next Friday for the Longhorns in the NCAA Regional.

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