From doing more with less to doing more with more.
Texas Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle and Max Weiner are beginning to build the pitching staff on the Forty Acres in their desired image, buoyed by pitcher-heavy 2025 recruiting class that ranked No. 1 nationally by Baseball America and several important additions from the NCAA transfer portal.
“All of our freshmen are disgusting. They’re big, a lot of stuff behind them. We’ve got a lot of pitches to throw. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of freshmen have
important roles this year,” Texas sophomore left-hander Dylan Volantis said last month.
One of the biggest additions, literally and figuratively, is 6’5, 255-pound Brett Crossland out of Phoenix (Ariz.) Corona Del Sol. Because Crossland was ranked as a top-100 prospect by ESPN heading into the 2025 MLB Draft, it was a major coup to get the hard-throwing right-hander to the Forty Acres.
With a fastball that typically sits at 94 miles per hour but can reach 97, Crossland also features three secondary pitches with his curveball serving as his most valuable breaking ball. The key for Weiner is to ensure that Crossland that repeat his delivery consistent to avoid breakdowns in command.
“Stuff’s nasty, confident guy. Totally see him being in one of the biggest roles,” Volantis said of Crossland.
Schlossnagle also noted Crossland’s confidence, as well as his improvement under Weiner.
Crossland isn’t even the biggest pitcher signed by the Longhorns in the 2025 class — that’s North Carolina product Sam Cozart, a 6’6, 260-pounder whose full beard belies his youth. Cozart hails from a family of talented athletes, as his parents met at UCF where his father played baseball and his mother played volleyball, and both older brothers played college baseball with his older brother Jacob now in the Cleveland Guardians organization.
Ranked as the No. 47 player nationally by Perfect Game, Cozart was formerly committed to Mississippi State as well as to Schlossnagle when he was at Texas A&M. Considered an advanced strike thrower with a fastball up to 96 mph, Cozart has three other pitches he can throw strikes, including a cutter, changeup, and curveball.
Pitching for the Alumni team two weeks ago, Cozart threw four hitless innings, striking out five and allowing just three baserunners with his fastball typically sitting between 93 and 94 mph.
“Sam Cozart is a strike thrower, super serious,” Schlossnagle said, noting Cozart’s fearlessness in another interview.
Put 6’5, 240-pound right-hander Michael Winter into the same category of power arms. A late-rising prospect out of Kansas who was committed to Dartmouth before seeing his stock explode during the spring, Winter ranked as the No. 274 player overall and the No. 77 right-handed pitcher by Perfect Game.
Winter features a fastball that reaches up to 95 miles per hour with arm-side run and has a natural ability to shape a four-pitch mix that includes the type of cutter that Weiner likes to teach his proteges. Winter uses a slider with a high spin rate to finish at bats with strikeouts.
Two other freshman pitchers have joined the three big right-handers in separating themselves from the rest of the class — right-hander Brody Walls and left-hander Jack McKernan, who combined with Crossland to pitch six innings of one-run baseball in the Alumni game.
Walls is smaller physically at 6’0, 200 pounds, but he’s on the Forty Acres because he gets plenty of juice out of that frame, working 90 to 96 mph with his fastball, which is complemented by a power slider with good spin metrics. In assessing the potential durability of Walls, it’s a positive that his delivery is not just repeatable, but also smooth and low-effort.
At 5’11, 205 pounds, McKernan has a similar build from the left side, and similar juice with a fastball from 92 to 94 mph with arm-side life. McKernan also features a sweeping slider and a changeup he can throw for strikes in any count.
Late in the preseason, right-hander Cooper Rummel came on strong before suffering a setback with a sprained ankle. The 6’2, 235-pounder from Dripping Springs is another elite prospect ranked No. 82 nationally by Perfect Game thanks to a heavy fastball with carry up to 96 mph, a sweeping slider, and a curveball with adequate depth.
Last month, right-hander Kaleb Rogers had a standout performance that drew praise from Schlossnagle. The 5’11, 200-pounder from San Antonio Reagan ranked No. 169 in the 2025 class by Perfect Game.
Through the transfer portal, Texas lost former Mississippi State left-hander Luke Dotson to the 2025 MLB Draft, but kept physical Western Kentucky transfer left-hander Cal Higgins, who profiles as a back-end bullpen piece.
In 2025, the Nebraska product was working his fastball up to 96 miles per hour, earning second-team All-Conference USA recognition for recording a 1.87 ERA with a 3-2 record and six saves. Opponents only hit .190 against Higgins as he struck out 52 batters in 43.1 innings. In addition to the power arm from the left side, Higgins dominated the zone in 2025, allowing only 11 walks and 28 hits for a WHIP of 0.90.
The other portal piece for Weiner’s staff is Wake Forest transfer Haiden Leffew, another left-handed pitcher who made a team-leading 27 appearances for the Demon Deacons in 2025, posting 4-1 mark with a 4.46 ERA and four saves while totaling 18 walks and 59 strikeouts across 34.1 innings.
The 6’1, 235-pounder fits the mold of the additions to the staff because his fastball reached 97 miles per hour as a sophomore in Winston-Salem, though it more typically sat around 93 to 94 miles per hour, earning a ranking as the No. 14 player in the portal by 64 Analytics.
“At the end of the day, strength wins,” Schlossnagle said. “You can be tall or short, but you can’t be weak and short, especially on the mound. When I think of the University of Texas, they should have big, athletic, physical pitchers.”
Now they do.
