Texas Longhorns Receive Big Pitching Update vs. Coastal Carolina

The injury bug has not been kind to the 2025 College World Series runner-up, No. 9 Coastal Carolina, to open up the 2026 season.

The Chanticleers will be without Friday starting pitcher Cameron Flukey, one of the highest-rated pitching prospects in the 2026 MLB Draft, for a second consecutive start.

Flukey is currently dealing with a stress fracture in his rib and has been playing through it is expected to be out of the rotation for the next two months. Coastal Carolina will also be without relief pitcher Hayden Johnson, who has not made an appearance this season.

The injuries have been compounding for the Chanticleers' pitching staff. Chanticleers head coach Kevin Schnall announced last week that pitcher Dominick Carbone would be ruled out for the season after undergoing UCL reconstruction surgery.

Ahead of Coastal Carolina’s second non-conference tournament of the season, the injuries seem to be piling up at the worst possible time. The Chanticleers will face a Texas Longhorns offense coming off its season high in hits and its third run-rule game of the season on Friday.

“We are in a position where two guys that we counted on being two of our biggest inning eaters of the year won’t be pitching,” Schnall said about losing Flukey and Carbone on Feb. 19. “We don’t ever talk about stepping up, we just have other guys that need to step in.”

Who Will The Longhorns See on Friday?

Flukey was one of the biggest contributors to Coastal Carolina’s run to the College World Series final against LSU, picking up an impressive 3.19 ERA across 18 appearances while making 17 starts.

In 101.2 innings, Flukey allowed 78 hits, 40 runs, and an impressive 118 strikeouts. In his only start of the season on opening day, Fulkey picked up where he left off last season, striking out seven and allowing two runs past him in 5.2 innings in a 5-3 win against Fairfield.

Flukey was a late scratch before last Friday’s games against the VCU Rams, forcing the Chanticleers to start pitcher Luke Jones, the Sunday starter on opening weekend. In 3.1 innings, Jones allowed five hits, two earned runs, and threw five strikeouts against the Rams.

Although Jones weathered the storm against VCU, closer Case Bosch earned the victory, pitching for 4.2 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three Rams in a dominant, 13-2 victory.

Coastal Carolina pitcher Ross Norman, the Chanticleers' Saturday starter this season, could be a possible option for the Friday nod. Norman, though, struggled in his second start of the season, allowing the Illinois Fighting Illini to jump up to an early 7-0 lead, and was pulled in the first inning.

The loss of Flukey as the Chaniterclers' ace is a major loss, especially facing Texas on Friday and the UTSA Roadrunners on Saturday, two of the nation's best hitting teams through eight games.

Regardless of who Coastal Carolina will roll out on Friday night, Texas outfielder Aiden Robbins and the rest of the Longhorns batting order are confident heading into a competitive Bruce Bolt College Classic field.

“When you're feeling good, you're feeling good,” Robbins said after the 14-0 run-rule over UTRGV yesterday. “We're feeling good, and we're ready to take on whoever we got next.”