High School

Early enrollee, 2-sport signee Jonah Williams makes 1st start for Texas Longhorns baseball team on April 18

The Galveston Ball star signed to play both football, baseball for Longhorns

Cody Thorn

Texas Longhorns outfielder Jonah Williams (55) runs in from the outfield in the fourth inning as the Longhorns play the Auburn Tigers in the second game of a three-game series on Friday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, April 18, 2025.
Texas Longhorns outfielder Jonah Williams (55) runs in from the outfield in the fourth inning as the Longhorns play the Auburn Tigers in the second game of a three-game series on Friday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, April 18, 2025. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As recently as December, Jonah Williams was a student at Galveston Ball High School.

Flash forward to April 18 and the teenager was starting for the No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns baseball team. 

Williams is a rare two-sport signee for Texas. He will be a defensive back for Steve Sarkisian’s football team and is an outfielder for Jim Schlossnagle’s baseball team.

He’s had a slow start to his college career after coming back from a broken collarbone suffered in a 62-60 loss to Barbers Hill on Oct. 25. That ended the season prematurely for one of the state’s best football players.

He played his first college baseball game on March 25 in a reserve role against Sam Houston State.

He got his first start in left field against No. 8 Auburn on Friday, April 18. He went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI in an 8-3 victory.

Before that, he’s played in four games and didn’t have a hit yet.

In high school, he was a standout on the diamond for the Golden Tornadoes. He was a two-time all-district MVP and was a two-year captain. 

He was a preseason underclassmen All-American by Perfect Game/Rawlings the past two years. 

His older brother, Nick Williams, was a second-round pick by the Texas Rangers in 2012. He spent parts of four seasons in MLB with the Phillies and White Sox.

As for football, Jonah Williams was the No. 1-ranked safety in the nation by 247Sports and On3 and No. 8 overall prospect in this year’s class by ESPN.

He was the MVP of District 9-5A this year — the second year in a row with that honor. Williams was a Southeast Texas high school football player of the year candidate this year by SB Live Texas.

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Cody Thorn
CODY THORN

Cody Thorn is a veteran journalist who covers high school sports across the state of Texas and Missouri. He is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has covered sports and news since 1999.

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