Recognition keeps pouring in for Texas RHP Sam Cozart and the Longhorns

If the Texas Longhorns made a statement in the Super Regional while sweeping the Oregon Ducks, then freshman pitcher Sam Cozart put the exclamation mark on the end of that statement.

He pitched the final two innings of the game that punched the Horns' ticket back to the College World Series. Cozart gave up no runs on hits, while racking up four strikeouts over six at-bats for the Ducks.

After his incredible closing performance, Cozart has been named as the NCBWA National Freshman Pitcher of the Year, alongside fellow Texas freshman Anthony Pack Jr., who was named as a member of the Freshman All-American First Team.

The star freshman, one of the many talented right-handed pitchers in the Longhorns' bullpen, brought the energy that Texas needed to close out the Omaha-clinching game over Oregon and delivered on everything head coach Jim Schlossnagle asked him to.

Postseason honors continue for Horns ahead of College World Series

Of course, the Longhorns claimed the Freshman Pitcher of the Year last season as well in Dylan Volantis, who announced Cozart's award in a team meeting.

Volantis earned an award of his own this season, named the NCBWA's District 7 Player of the Year for his work on the mound, as well as earning his place as a finalist for the College Baseball Foundation's Player of the Year Award, for a second year in a row.

Cozart was named as a finalist for the Stopper of the Year award, adding to the long list of Longhorns earning their place as finalists or, at the very least, semifinalists for national awards this year.

For the second straight season, Texas catcher Carson Tinney is a finalist for the Buster Posey Award, given to the nation's best catcher every year.

Meanwhile, Cozart, Pack, and Volantis were all named as finalists for Baseball America's National College Awards. Cozart and Pack both earned a spot on the final list of Freshman of the Year candidates, while Volantis was included in the group for the Pitcher of the Year award.

While the individual awards are undoubtedly appreciated and well-deserved, the Longhorns have another focus on the forefront of their minds: the College World Series.

This is Texas's first trip to the CWS in Omaha since 2022 and the first under head coach Jim Schlossnagle, who has now taken three different teams to eight different CWS appearances.

Also read: Jim Schlossnagle won't forget who built the Texas program he's taking back to the CWS

In the first game of this year's College World Series, the Horns will face the Georgia Bulldogs, one of five teams from the SEC to make it to Omaha. While Texas's bats are hot, Georgia's might be the only ones any hotter.

However, with players like Cozart and Volantis, as well as Luke Harrison, Ruger Riojas, and more elite pitchers on the staff, no pitching rotation can quite match the magnitued the the Longhorns' can.

The Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs are scheduled to play at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, June 13, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN, just like the other three first-round games.

• Game 1: Troy Trojans vs. West Virginia Mountaineers, 1 p.m. CT, ESPN
• Game 2: Ole Miss Rebels vs. North Carolina Tar Heels, 6 p.m. CT, ESPN
• Game 3: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Alabama Crimson Tide, 2 p.m. CT, ESPN
• Game 4: Texas Longhorns vs. Georgia Bulldogs, 7 p.m. CT, ESPN

Schlossnagle and the Texas pitching staff have yet to announce which Longhorn pitcher will start on the mound against the Bulldogs.

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