10 years ago, the Texas baseball team was led by legendary head coach Augie Garrido until he stepped down when the 2016 season ended.
Then, at least according to the assumptions of nearly every Texas Longhorn fan in the world, the head coaching job was Skip Johnson's role to lose. He had been the relentless and flawless pitching coach under Garrido and was the heir apparent to take over the head coaching role when Garrido retired.
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However, less than a month after Garrido stepped down, Johnson hadn't received the offer and he lost patience, taking the pitching coach job for the Oklahoma Sooners instead, with David Pierce eventually named as Texas's next head coach.
One year later, Johnson was named as the Sooners' head coach. Last night, he led Oklahoma to a National Championship at the College World Series.
Texas could have had Skip Johnson, but it's OU with the National Championship
Of course, word around town was that then-Texas Athletic Director Steve Patterson hadn't wanted to hire Johnson as the Horns' head coach for some unknown reason to the rest of the world. Keep in mind, he was also the AD who hired Charlie Strong as the Texas football coach, so take that as you will.
Over the last 10 years, Texas has repeatedly fallen short of the ultimate glory, following the leadership of Pierce until he was dismissed in 2024. While the Horns secured three Big 12 titles under Pierce, they only made it to Omaha three times (2018, 2021, and 2022) and never won a National Championship.
Meanwhile, Johnson led the Sooners to two College World Series appearances, including a runner-up finish in 2022 and the National Championship run this season.
The Sooners' National Championship was the third in program history, so Oklahoma is still a far cry from the prowess of the Texas baseball program, which has claimed six College World Series titles. However, the Longhorns haven't won a National Championship since 2005, over a decade before Garrido stepped down and UT missed out on hiring Johnson when the job was seemingly his to have.
Also read: Texas baseball transfer portal tracker: Time for Horns to build a CWS-winning roster
Oklahoma took down the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2026 College World Series to secure the national title, capping off a Cinderella-esque run through the postseason.
"Skip’s a genius. I listen to Skip. Whatever Skip says, I’m gonna do. Simple as that," Oklahoma pitcher LJ Mercurius said of his head coach after winning the championship.
Oklahoma upset the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in their own Atlanta Regional, and then did the same to the Kansas Jayhawks in their at-home Super Regional in Lawrence. In Omaha, the Sooners kicked off the CWS with a four-game winning streak, taking down the Alabama Crimson Tide once and the Georgia Bulldogs twice.
Texas was responsible for eliminating the Crimson Tide, but the Longhorns were in turn eliminated by Georgia in the semifinals. Meanwhile, the Sooners advanced to the championship series and eventually won it all.
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