Longhorns' Witt And Nixon Named 2021 Freshman All-Americans
Texas freshmen pitchers Tanner Witt and Aaron Nixon were named to the Perfect Game 2021 College Freshman All-American team after solid play throughout the regular season and into the beginning of tournament play.
According to an announcement from the organization on Monday, Witt was named to the first team while Nixon was placed on the All-American second team.
In closing and relief duties throughout the year, the two young pitchers haven't disappointed.
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Witt's team-high 26 appearances on the mound saw him earn a 4-0 record to go along with 71 strikeouts, fourth-most on the team behind the dominant trio of Ty Madden, Tristian Stevens, and Pete Hansen.
Witt was also second on the team in saves on year with five. One of his best performances on the season came in relief duty in a mid-March win over South Carolina, as Witt struck out six batters with only one walk and one earned run on the way to his first official win as a Texas pitcher.
The Houston, Texas product held opposing batters to a .199 average while only walking 22 batters. He also tossed a 3.06 ERA in 50 innings pitched on the year.
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Nixon's first year on the Forty Acres brought valuable production as a closer on the mound, as he led the team in saves at eight, also good for third in the Big 12 Conference.
The McAllen, Texas native showed great poise as a closer as he's walked only eight batters so far on the season while maintaining the third-best ERA on the team at 2.35.
One of Nixon's signature moments came in the Longhorns' Game 2 Super Regional win over South Florida. One out away from their first College World Series appearance since 2018, Nixon's high fastball for strike three gave Texas the 12-4 win for good.
The freshman pitcher was visibly pumped up as he was mobbed by his teammates on the mound in what was a resounding win for the Longhorns.
The team will be looking for more of this excitement in today's elimination game against Tennessee (50-17) at 1 p.m in the losers bracket of the College World Series.
After falling 2-1 to No. 7 Mississippi State on Sunday, the No. 2 Longhorns will now face an uphill battle on their path towards a championship, as the pitching prowess of Witt and Nixon will likely be leaned upon.
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