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'The game rewarded him': Texas RHP Connor McCreery makes 2026 debut in NCAA regional game
With two outs in the ninth inning of a 16-2 win over Tarleton State on Saturday night, Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle made a pitching change.
The decision to insert senior right-hander Connor McCreery into the game drew cheers from the Texas dugout and bullpen and likely a few groans from the fans who had been at UFCU Disch-Falk Field for nearly four hours. McCreery, though, made everyone happy by striking out Tarleton State's Mason Kirk on four pitches to end the contest.
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With Saturday's win, the Longhorns seized control of the Austin Regional. In order to advance to a super regional for the first time since 2023, Texas (42-13) now needs just one win over UC Santa Barbara (39-19) or Tarleton State (38-20).
So, why did Schlossnagle make that late call to the Texas bullpen? Following the 14-run win, Schlossnalge gave a lengthy explanation as to why McCreery made the first appearance of his senior season. For Texas, the move had more to do with emotions than analytics.
"When we got the job here, it was obviously a tumultuous time," Schlossnagle said in reference to when Texas hired him away from Texas A&M following the 2024 season. "A lot of negative things were being said about our staff and everything that went down after the World Series in '24, and Connor was one of those guys that wanted to be here. He was a commodity on the transfer market and had options at other places and had some success at South Carolina, and he had enough trust and faith in us to come here.
"(He) had a great fall, and looked really awesome going the (2025) season, and started getting hurt, getting banged up, and went through a really, really tough surgery that not a lot of people come back from. We told him there were no guarantees. If he wanted to come back, he's welcome to be on the team, but there was no guarantee. And his quote to me was, 'I don't care if I ever pitch again. If I just get one more opportunity on the mound to help this team and help this program, that's what I'm doing.' And he came back here to do that.
"Man, he's been awesome. I think these guys will tell you what kind of teammate he is. He leads the pregame prayer down the right field line. He's been doing that for two years. One of the main reasons we still travel him is because of his impact in the dugout and with the team, and so the game rewarded him tonight. And he pitched well. When I brought him in, I said, 'This isn't a charity case.' Obviously, I wanted to give an opportunity to fulfill that dream of throwing at least one more time, but he threw really well. You never know what you have until you get it out there. Crazy things can happen in baseball, and Connor's an elite human and a great teammate."
The bench is loving the walk out song for McCreery pic.twitter.com/4VIgWtPrpH
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) May 31, 2026
A New York native, McCreery spent the first two years of his college career at South Carolina. He appeared in three games with the Longhorns last season.
On Saturday, he was among the reserves who got playing time as Texas emptied its bench at the end of its lopsided win. McCreery, Hudson Hamilton and Michael Winter pitched the final two innings as Texas saved its top arms for the regional final. Position players Blake Peterson and Andrew Ermis also made their sixth and 14th appearances of the season.
On Saturday, Texas sets pitching record and plan for regional final
McCreery wasn't the only pitcher worth talking about after Texas beat Tarleton State. Texas ace Dylan Volantis started for the Longhorns and allowed three hits and one earned run over 6 ⅔ innings. Volantis (seven), Winter (one) and McCreery (one) combined for nine strikeouts on Saturday night. That upped UT's strikeout total for the season to 620, which breaks a school record of 618 that had been set during the 1985 season.
Schlossnagle also announced after the game that Ruger Riojas, who has thrown just five pitches since May 10 while dealing with shoulder tendonitis, is set to start for Texas in a regional final that is set to start at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Texas will advance to the super regionals if it beats UC Santa Barbara or Tarleton State, who will face each other in an elimination game at noon on Sunday. If Texas loses to either UC Santa Barbara or Tarleton State on Sunday, a winner-takes-all game will take place the following day.
