Outfield
Departures: Aiden Robbins (draft), Jayden Duplantier (graduation), Dariyan Pendergrass (graduation), Ashton Larson (transfer), Maddox Monsour (transfer), Will Hill (transfer)
Additions: Payton Brennan (transfer), Trevor Goldenetz (transfer), Sawyer Solitaria (transfer), Carlos Lugo (transfer), Trent Maybin (signee)
Returning: Anthony Pack Jr., Jonah Williams
SEC Freshman of the Year Anthony Pack Jr. is the returning outfield starter for Texas after a second straight season in which the Longhorns struggled
to field three quality contributors. For a second straight year, Jonah Williams also dealt with injury issues, playing in eight games before undergoing season-ending shoulder injury.
Losing Williams, combined with the 2025 MLB Draft defections of transfers Jack Moroknek and Kaleb Freeman, contributed to 94 at bats for Jayden Duplantier, 15 starts for late addition Dariyan Pendergrass, who committed to Texas in December, and 14 starts for Maddox Monsour. In 96 combined at bats, Pendergrass and Monsour totaled three extra-base hits while both hitting under .200.
While attempting to continue playing two sports remains the goal for Williams, his lack of availability over three seasons had to factor into the roster-building decisions for Schlossnagle, which ultimately included the additions of four portal prospects in addition to high school signee Trent Maybin, a top-50 outfielder nationally in the Perfect Game rankings.
The headline addition in the outfield is Solitaria, the 6’5, 225-pound Kent State transfer who brings prototypical SEC physicality and power to Texas as the No. 21 portal prospect in Baseball America’s rankings. Solitaria was named the MAC Freshman of the Year while earning first-team All-MAC honors, slashing .308/.402/.478 with eight doubles, one triple, eight home runs, and 62 RBI, adding 10 stolen bases.
As a sophomore, Solitaria was a second-team All-MAC selection after significantly improving his power, batting .296 with a .408 on-base percentage and .558 slugging percentage with 13 doubles, 16 home runs, and 47 RBI. The walk rate also improved for Solitaria as his strikeout rate dropped slightly, an impressive accomplishment considering the boost in his slugging percentage.
The easy, raw power of Solitaria is impressive and his strikeout rate of less than 25 percent last season speaks to his contact ability, a prerequisite for Schlossnagle and his staff in recruiting.
With 12 errors over the last two seasons, however, Solitaria will have to improve with his glove in order to see playing time in the outfield for the Longhorns.
UCLA transfer Payton Brennan, a left-handed hitter ranked as Baseball America’s No. 109 portal prospect, is arguably the favorite to start in right field given his significant postseason experience with the Bruins and defensive ability that allowed him to play in center before the addition of former Longhorn Will Gasparino.
Brennan posted a slash line of .290/.382/.460 as a redshirt junior in 2026 with 63 hits, 51 RBIs, 48 runs scored, 11 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs, as well as 26 walks and six stolen bases.
Texas also secured the commitments of two other left-handed hitters in the portal with high-level contact ability — Long Beach State transfer Trevor Goldenetz (No. 106) and Campbell transfer Carlos Lugo (No. 62).
Goldenetz started in center field for the Dirtbags as a true freshman and posted an impressive season at the plate by batting .369 with only 14 strikeouts in 108 at bats. Hitting from the left side, Goldenetz drew 19 walks and was hit by eight pitches, but had a slugging percentage lower than his on-base percentage because only three of his 40 hits went for extra bases — two doubles and a triple. A productive base stealer in high school, Goldenetz was successful on 10 of his 15 attempts in 2026.
Schlossnagle termed Goldenetz “a guy that plays awesome baseball” and time in the Texas program should help with his power as he gets stronger and refines his swing path.
If Lugo can make the jump from the CAA to the SEC, his hitting profile is more impressive with a slash line of .370/.457/.534 with 13 doubles, six home runs, 34 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. With 26 walks and only 16 strikeouts, Lugo is a contact hitter who flashed some power and struck out in only 8.5 percent of his at bats, presenting a unique hitting profile for his size and contact ability.
Consider him the favorite in center field unless Williams storms back into the lineup after his two injury-plagued seasons. A .321 hitter in 78 at bats for the Longhorns, Williams only has five extra-base hits despite the potential for more power in his frame, but brings a real competitiveness to the plate with an ability to work deep in counts that has slightly elevated his strikeout rate given his bat-to-ball ability.
The returning star is Pack, who led all Power Four freshmen in on-base percentage (.480), walks (47), and stolen bases (21), while ranking third in average (.355), hits (77), WRC+ (150), and wOBA (.483). A consensus Freshman All-American, Pack also finished fourth in slugging (.594), OPS (1.074). and RBI (56).
After adding significant strength last fall, Pack improved his exit velocity to hit 12 home runs as a freshman, and frequently rose to the moment, as evidenced by his three home runs in his postseason debut against Holy Cross and three hits and four RBI with a two-run home run against Alabama in the College World Series.
“When it gets hard, Anthony Pack runs to it runs to the storm, he doesn’t run away from the storm,” Schossnagle said last week.
Improvement at the plate would move Pack from a young star to a true collegiate superstar, but the primary area for growth is in his play in the outfield, which was severely lacking at times in 2026, resulting in four errors and a .955 fielding percentage. Playing for the US national team this summer, Pack flashed his range in center field, a position that he’ll need to grow into in order to maximize his draft value in 2028, but for 2027, the emphasis will likely be on playing a clean left field.
Over the first two seasons of the Schlossnagle era, the outfield play defensively and at the plate have lacked due to injuries and last year’s defections. In 2027, the Longhorns are throwing numbers at it thanks to important portal additions — four of the seven additions play in the outfield — as the return of Williams adds some upside.
For Texas to actually contend for a national title instead of getting eliminated early in the College World Series, the Horns need to improve in the outfield, and it would be shocking if that doesn’t happen, even if there is some bad injury luck again.
