Texas Baseball's Anthony Pack Jr. Wins National Freshman of the Year Award

Texas Baseball sort of has a thing for developing elite freshmen.

Just one year after Dylan Volantis swept National Freshman of the Year honors from Baseball America, National Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors from the NCBWA and SEC Freshman of the Year recognition, Anthony Pack Jr. and Sam Cozart have added some more marquee awards to the program's growing collection.

Sam Cozart was recently tabbed as the NCBWA National Freshman Pitcher of the Year and a Stopper of the Year Award finalist, while Pack recently earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors.

And as if Texas needed more reminders of Pack’s outstanding season, the California native was selected as Baseball America's National Freshman of the Year on Thursday, becoming just the fifth Longhorn to earn the prestigious honor.

Pack's Future is Bright in Burnt Orange

Texas Longhorns outfielder Anthony Pack Jr. (6) rounds second base. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Pack’s impact on the program in just his first year wearing burnt orange has been undeniable.

Pack entered the season as part of Baseball America's top-ranked recruiting class but had fairly little national attention. The outfielder began hitting in the nine-hole for Texas before quickly cementing himself as one of the best hitters on the roster — and one of the most productive players in the country.

The SEC Freshman of the Year finished the regular season batting .359 with 11 home runs, 52 RBIs, 20 stolen bases and a .485 on-base percentage. Among Power Four freshmen, Pack ranked first in stolen bases, second in batting average, runs scored and on-base percentage, third in OPS and fourth in both hits and doubles.

Remarkably, he was even better against SEC competition. Pack led all qualified conference hitters (regardless of class) with a .400 batting average and .511 on-base percentage in league play. He became the first SEC freshman to hit .400 in conference games since Mississippi State's Jake Mangum in 2016.

Longhorns Continue to Rack Up National Recognition

Texas Longhorns pitcher Dylan Volantis (99) pitches during the first inning. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

It’s award season in college baseball, and surprisingly to no one, Texas has earned a lot of them.

Earlier this week, Aiden Robbins, Dylan Volantis, Sam Cozart and Carson Tinney earned NCBWA All-America recognition. Robbins, Volantis and Cozart were named first-team All-Americans, while Tinney landed on the third team.

The Longhorns tied UCLA for the most first-team selections with three and were one of five programs nationally to place four or more players across the NCBWA's All-America teams.

Additionally, Volantis and Cozart earned first-team All-American honors by Perfect Game, while Robbons landed on the third team. The Longhorns were one of four schools with multiple first-team selections and one of four programs with at least three total All-America honorees.

Now, Texas will look to make the most of those individual accolades in its chase for a national title. The Longhorns open their Men's College World Series run Saturday against Georgia in Omaha.

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