Head coach Jim Schlossnagle and the No. 6 Texas Longhorns are balancing preparation for this weekend’s Austin Super Regional with the NCAA transfer portal window, making the first big addition for next year’s team by signing former Texas Tech Red Raiders shortstop Linkin Garcia on Wednesday.
Garcia’s decision ends a brief portal recruitment that started when the window opened on Monday and is ranked No. 23 overall by 64Analytics.
The 6’5, 218-pounder has three seasons of eligibility remaining, but
will be eligible for the 2027 MLB Draft after his sophomore season and is considered a potential first-round pick.
Garcia started his high school career at Huntington Beach in California before finishing it at A3 Academy in Florida, signing with the Red Raiders as the No. 34 shortstop and the No. 90 player overall, according to Perfect Game, after hitting .513 with six home runs and 48 RBI for A3.
Here’s PG’s evaluation of Garcia:
Big and strong athletic build, very projectable physically. Right handed hitter, hits from a spread stance, strides a bit closed and gets rotational, has present strength and very good bat speed, barreled up everything in BP and the games with hard pull side contact. 7.51 runner in the sixty. Has advanced footwork in the infield defensively and very good body control, fields the ball cleanly out front, very good carry on his throws and makes accurate throws, most likely a third baseman in the future but will be a very good one. Good student, verbal commitment to Vanderbilt.
In Garcia’s single season in Lubbock, he started all 55 games for Texas Tech, including 30 games at shortstop and 25 games at third base, batting .338 with four home runs and 59 RBI while tying for the Big 12 lead with 21 doubles, earning a spot on the All-Big 12 Freshman team. A contact hitter in his first collegiate season, Garcia had low strikeout and walk rates.
With Adrian Rodriguez now a proven commodity at shortstop, Garcia profiles as a third baseman for the Horns in 2026 as assistant coach Troy Tulowitzki works to unlock his power from the right side — expect longer at bats, more strikeouts, more walks, and some of those doubles to turn into home runs as he gets stronger and Tulowitzki refines his swing path to capitalize on his feel for the barrel and high exit velocities.
