Texas baseball projected to host a regional by D1Baseball

No. 16 Texas baseball and head coach David Pierce open the 2024 regular season in roughly 24 hours. Texas kicks off the 2024 campaign at home on Feb. 16 against San Diego as part of a three-game weekend series at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin.

Expectations are high once again for a Longhorns squad that fell one step shy of returning to the College World Series last season. Pierce and the Longhorns not only won a share of the Big 12 regular season title last year but also pushed the No. 8 Stanford Cardinal to the brink in the Stanford Super Regional last postseason.

David Pierce and No. 16 Texas baseball projected to be a regional host in 2024

Texas was picked to finish second in the Big 12 baseball preseason media poll, behind the No. 5 TCU Horned Frogs. The Longhorns boasted two preseason All-Big 12 selections. Pierce's squad also has the preseason Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, Lebarron Johnson Jr., and Newcomer of the Year, Will Gasparino.

As is usually the case, the Longhorns have the talent necessary to contend for a conference title and to make a deep postseason run in their final year in the Big 12 in 2024. But integrating all the new players on the roster with some key returning players to navigate a tough regular season schedule will be crucial for Pierce and his staff early this year.

With the start of the Texas baseball regular season just one day away, what are the postseason expectations for the Longhorns?

D1Baseball projected Texas to be the final regional host as the No. 16 seed for this postseason. The other four teams picked for the Austin Regional by D1Baseball are the two-seed Iowa Hawkeyes, three-seed UCLA Bruins, and four-seed San Jose State Spartans.

Texas is one of two Big 12 teams that D1Baseball projects to host a regional this postseason. The Big 12 has a half-dozen representatives total picked by D1Baseball to make the NCAA Tournament.

Pierce and the Longhorns posted a record last season of 42-22 (15-9 Big 12). They open up the 2024 regular season at the Disch on Feb. 16 against San Diego, with the first pitch time set for 7 p.m. CT.

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