Texas Baseball Begins Quest For Omaha Against UC Davis

It has been 257 days since the end of the season for the Texas Longhorns. Unfortunately, that conclusion did not come with a dogpile in Omaha and the subsequent hosting of the team's seventh national championship in program history. No, they were ousted from the tournament in disappointing fashion.

They found themselves eliminated at the hands of the UTSA Roadrunners, seeing a season in which they won the SEC championship come to a screeching halt. Now, though, they're ready to run it back and orchestrate a different ending.

Attempting to do so will be a blend of returning players, key transfer portal additions and loaded freshman class. While there's no telling how the season will unfold over the next few months, one thing can be said for sure -- baseball season is finally back, folks.

Texas Longhorns outfielderJonah Williams — Texas outfielder Jonah Williams (55) stands on first base during the Longhorns' game against Lamar at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. | Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A preview of the Longhorns' opening series against the UC Davis Aggies

How to watch/listen:

Game 1 (Friday Feb. 13) - 6:30 p.m. CT SEC Network+/TexasSports.com/Audio

Game 2 (Saturday Feb. 14) - 2 p.m. CT SEC Network+/TexasSports.com/Audio

Game 3 (Sunday Feb. 15) - 12 p.m CT SEC Network+/TexasSports.com/Audio

UC Davis by the 2025 numbers:

Record - 27-28

Runs scored - 263

Runs allowed - 277

Team Avg. - .259

Team Avg. against - .275

Team ERA - 4.56

UC Davis wins this series if...

Predicting any given series in college baseball is a very difficult task under normal circumstances. Any given team can go hot or cold, dropping a series they should win or pulling out a huge upset. That becomes even more apparent this early in the season and especially so during the very first series of the campaign.

However, we'll still do our best to offer a glimpse at what both teams can do to win their first series. For the Aggies, that comes in the form of shutting down the Texas lineup. The strength of this Longhorns squad is undoubtedly its pitching staff, while the offense has potential to be potent but could need time to mesh.

This is where they can come in and pull off an upset to kick off their campaign. If the Aggies can keep it close and work into the bullpen, they will come into Austin and pose a threat to not only take a game from the Longhorns, but potentially even the series.

Texas wins this series if...

As stated above, predicting this series at this point is a bit of a shot in the dark. However, that is not going to stop us from attempting to do so. And in similar fashion, the Longhorns will like their chances in these games if their pitching staff comes out and proves the hype it has received throughout the offseason was warranted.

Like we said, the bats have the potential to be a potent lineup from top to bottom but will likely need some time to really get their groove going. In the meantime, pitching doing its thing and shutting down opponents will ease the pressure on the bats to put up crooked numbers. If they can do that, especially to start the season, then they have a great chance at leaving this weekend with a series win at minimum.