Texas Baseball Regional Central: Starting Pitchers, Lineups, Everything You Need to Know

For the second straight season, the Texas Longhorns will be playing postseason baseball at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

After racking up 40 wins during the regular season, they were announced as the No. 6 overall national seed and the host of the Austin Regional on Selection Monday. As such, they are welcoming the No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, No. 3 seed Tarleton State Texans and No. 4 seed Holy Cross Crusaders.

This is the Longhorns' 65th postseason appearance and their 39th home hosting a regional. In their storied postseason history they have compiled a 153-60-1 record in regional play, with a 110-33-1 record as hosts.

Breaking down the Austin Regional

Texas Longhorns infielder Temo Becerr — Texas Longhorns' infielder Temo Becerra catches a fly ball against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the SEC Baseball Tournament. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Austin Regional participants

No. 1 seed Texas Longhorns (40-13)

Consistently one of the best teams in the nation all season long, the Longhorns won 40 games for the second consecutive year. They'll look to avoid the fate of 2025, though, and win the Austin Regional to get back to their first Super Regional since 2023.

your No. 6 national seed 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/kbzE9rzwP0
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) May 25, 2026

No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (38-18)

If pitching does indeed win championships, then the Gauchos are undoubtedly a strong contender to take the Austin Regional. Headlining their elite staff is Jackson Flora, arguably the best pitcher in all of college baseball. He and the rest of UCSB's arms will look to get the job done in Austin.

Our boots are still workin’ 😮‍💨#GoChos pic.twitter.com/dNwSvdu8Ki
— UC Santa Barbara Baseball (@UCSB_Baseball) May 25, 2026

No. 3 seed Tarleton State Texans (37-19)

Remember the Texans? If you don't, well, then you weren't paying super close attention earlier season when they came into Austin on March 17 and beat the Longhorns 6-1. Having already tasted success at UFCU Disch-Falk Field once this season, Tarleton State will look to keep it going this weekend.

NEXT STOP ➡️ AUSTIN, TX 🤠 pic.twitter.com/pwGrblankf
— Tarleton State Baseball (@TarletonBase) May 25, 2026

No. 4 seed Holy Cross Crusaders (25-28)

The Crusaders come into postseason play having clinched an automatic bid after winning the Patriot League Tournament. They sport a 25-28 record on the season and averaged 6.3 runs per game. While they may be a No. 4 seed, the Longhorns cannot afford to take them lightly in the opener.

Alright, alright, alright ✝️#GoCrossGo | #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/iu2hnpGdV6
— Holy Cross Baseball (@HCrossBaseball) May 25, 2026

Schedule

Friday May 29

Game 1 - 12 p.m. CT - No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Holy Cross

Game 2 - 5 p.m. CT - No. 2 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 3 Tarleton State

Saturday May 30

Game 3 - 1 p.m. CT - No. 4 Holy Cross vs. No. 2 UCSB (loser eliminated)

Game 4 - 6 p.m. CT - No. 1 Texas vs. No. 3 Tarleton State

Sunday May 31

Game 5 - 12 p.m. CT - No. 2 UCSB vs. Loser Game 4 (loser eliminated)

Game 6 - 5 p.m. CT - No. 1 Texas vs. Winner Game 5

Monday June 1 (if necessary)

Game 7 - Time TBD - Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6

Bracket

the 2026 Austin Regional 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/aJYWtLA8mH
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) May 25, 2026

Longhorns' path to an Austin Super Regional

First and foremost, the simplest way to get to a super regional is to win your games. However, the games aren't played on paper so despite Texas being the No. 6 national seed, it cannot take any of these three opponents lightly.

Starting off with Holy Cross, the Longhorns undoubtedly want to win this game. Not only does it put them in the winner's bracket, it does so with Dylan Volantis waiting to go on Saturday evening with a chance to reach the Austin Regional final.

Once there, it would have some wiggle room in terms of pitching matchups and available arms — as one loss would not end their season. Of course, they would prefer the simple path of winning three games and calling it a weekend.

Pitching matchups and lineups

Check back here for updated pitching matchups and lineups as soon as they're announced for each game.

Game 1 Texas vs. Holy Cross

Luke Harrison (6-3, 4.63 ERA) vs. Jaden Wywoda (6-4, 3.76 ERA)

Kicking off the Austin Regional, this matchup between Harrison and Wywoda has the potential to be an exciting one. For the Longhorns, Harrison consistently provided a steady presence on the mound this season and will look to deliver a strong outing on Friday.

In the other dugout, Wywoda tossed five complete games during the campaign — including a 122-pitch outing in an 11-2 win over Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament.

game one guys 📝#HookEm pic.twitter.com/62ZiiiiHWI
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) May 29, 2026

Game 2 UCSB vs. Tarleton State

Calvin Proskey (0-0, 2.25 ERA) vs. Curt Lowry (2-3, 3.24 ERA)

UCSB comes into the Austin Regional sporting one of the best pitching staffs in the country, as well as arguably the nation's best pitcher in Jackson Flora. However, they are pitching off and will opt to save Flora for a potential winner's bracket game on Saturday evening.

As for the Texans, Lowry's 50.0 innings were the second-most by any pitcher on their staff this season. They'll look to get a strong start out of him against a Gauchos offense averaging 6.1 runs per game and avoid finding themselves in the loser's bracket.

Game 3 No. 2 UCSB vs. No. 4 Holy Cross

Jackson Flora (11-0, 1.05 ERA) vs. Jake Lenahan (3-6, 4.25 ERA)

Arguably the best arm in the country, Flora did not pitch for the Gauchos on Friday as they opted to pitch off in favor of a potential matchup with Texas. They dropped their regional opener, however, and he will be tasked with delivering a strong outing against Holy Cross to stave off elimination.

For the Crusaders, they are handing the ball to Lenahan against UCSB in this one. He entered the regional one of their more dependable arms, having made a team-high 18 appearances during the campaign.

Game 4 No. 1 Texas vs. No. 3 Tarleton State

Dylan Volantis (8-1, 2.00 ERA) vs. Ethan Wendel (6-3, 5.64 ERA)

Opting to pitch off is always a risky proposition, but one that worked out for the Longhorns following Harrison's outing. Now, they send one of the nation's best pitchers to bump in Dylan Volantis, as he'll look to stifle the Texans offense and power Texas to the regional final on Sunday.

Matching up against him will be Ethan Wendel. He sports an impressive 6-3 record and 41 strikeouts. However, he's also issued 38 free passes (27 walks, 11 hit by pitch), which means the Longhorns will need to be patient and do their best to get to him early.

Game 5 No. 2 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 3 Tarleton State

Nathan Aceves (3-3, 4.30 ERA) vs. Brendon Carter (0-1, 8.16 ERA)

The Gauchos staved off elimination on Saturday, with a dominant outing from Flora. Now, they need a similar outing from Aceves in their second game of the weekend against the Texans to save as many arms as possible for a potential regional final showdown against Texas in the evening.

Meanwhile, the Texans come into this one having used seven arms in their loss to the Longhorns on Saturday evening. If Carter can give them a strong outing, the bats have enough juice to give the bullpen some breathing room if needed to force a potential rematch against Texas.

Game 6 No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 UC Santa Barbara

Ruger Riojas (5-2, 4.02 ERA) vs. Kellan Montgomery (8-4, 4.06 ERA)

After strong outings from both Volantis and Harrison in their respective starts, Riojas takes the mound for his turn in the Austin Regional Final. He'll look to get back to his early season form and deliver a solid showing to silence a dangerous Gauchos lineup.

For the Gauchos, Montgomery has been their Sunday starter this season and has not yet taken the mound in the regional. Needing a win to force the "if necessary" game on Monday, he'll need to shut down a red-hot Texas offense and give his bullpen some rest.

Scores

Check back here for score updates as games finish during the Austin Regional.

Game 1 - No. 1 Texas 19 - No. 4 Holy Cross 1

Game 2 - No. 2 UC Santa Barbara 5 - No. 3 Tarleton State 11

Game 3 - No. 2 UC Santa Barbara 15 - No. 4 Holy Cross 1

Game 4 - No. 1 Texas 16 - No. 3 Tarleton State 2

Game 5 - No. 2 UC Santa Barbara 9 - No. 3 Tarleton State 5

Game 6 - No. 1 Texas 6 - No. 2 UC Santa Barbara 4

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