The Texas Longhorns are just hours away from the first pitch of their rematch series against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Women's College World Series, and they just received a little extra motivation from none other than the Texas baseball team.
As the NCAA baseball transfer portal heats up, Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle and the Horns just received their first commitment.
Where did the transfer come from? Well, none other than the Red Raiders.
Former Texas Tech infielder Linkin Garcia announced he had entered the transfer portal as soon as it opened on Monday, June 1, and now, he has committed to Texas.
While the Red Raiders and the Longhorns don't have quite the rivalry in baseball that they do in softball, what incredible timing for Garcia to make his commitment, less than 12 hours before his former team faces his new team in the WCWS.
Linkin Garcia stays in state and commits to Jim Schlossnagle
Garcia just wrapped up his freshman season for Texas Tech, starting in 47 of the Red Raiders' 55 games this year.
Obviously, Tech's season pales in comparison to Texas's, with the Red Raiders losing in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament to end their postseason "run." However, Texas Tech's struggles shouldn't take away from how well Garcia played.
BREAKING: Texas Tech transfer INF Linkin Garcia has signed with Texas, @PeteNakos reports🤘https://t.co/8hxBep34nA pic.twitter.com/A55tBI01Er
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) June 3, 2026
Throughout his freshman season, Garcia hit .342, smacking out 66 hits for a whopping 51 RBIs, and even rounded the bases for 49 runs of his own. While on defense, Garcia made a few mistakes, amassing six errors throughout the year, but he still fielded at nearly 96 percent on 83 fielding attempts.
With his elite hitting numbers, Garcia will most likely slide into an early spot in Texas's lineup, the Horns batting just under .300 on the year.
Current Texas infielders Jayden Duplantier, Temo Becerra, Josh Livingston, and Casey Borba could all be staring down the end of their tenures with the Longhorns, giving Garcia an even better opportunity to earn a starting role next season.
However, as a younger player and one new to Schlossnagle's program next year, it isn't likely that the Horns' head coach would push a current starter out of the lineup in favor of Garcia starting.
Garcia isn't the only transfer prospect that Schlossnagle and his staff are going after, as the Longhorns prepare for their own Super Regional matchup against the Oregon Ducks.
Texas is also targeting two big-hitting outfielders in the portal, looking to maintain the Horns' offensive momentum that has been on full display through their first three games of the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
The Longhorns softball team is scheduled to face Texas Tech at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, June 3, and after this morning's news, Texas has an extra fan cheering for the Horns to win instead of for the Red Raiders.
Add us as a preferred source on Google