Texas wields the best pitcher in college baseball — and he's already beaten Georgia once.

The #6 Longhorns arrive in Omaha unbeaten in tournament play, armed with a Golden Spikes-caliber ace and five hitters with double-digit home runs. They're in the opposite bracket — but if both teams win, the Dawgs will face everything this report covers.

Opponent Profile

The Threat

• Dylan Volantis is the most dangerous pitcher in college baseball — a 6-foot-6 left-hander who leads all active D-I starters in career ERA and has personally handled Georgia before.
  • By the numbers: 10-1, 2.03 ERA, 126 K, 88.2 IP this season. Career ERA of 2.01 — best in all of D-I (min. 75 IP).
  • The pattern: His best 2025 start was against the Georgia Bulldogs on April 6. He also shoved in Game 1 of the Super Regional, striking out Oregon despite a "rollercoaster start" that Schlossnagle said had even the packed home crowd nervous. He makes the big pitches when they count.
  • The threat: 2026 Golden Spikes Award semifinalist. SEC Pitcher of the Year. Has a 4.77 K/BB ratio — he gives away almost nothing for free.
• This lineup will run-rule you if you let them — five hitters with 10+ home runs and a .521 team slugging percentage.
  • By the numbers: Team slugging .521, OBP .419, 99 HR as a team. They score 7.9 runs/game on the season.
  • The pattern: Three of their top five HR hitters — Robbins, Tinney, and Pack Jr. — are portal additions. This roster was constructed specifically to combine the existing pitching identity with elite run production.
  • The threat: They don't need one big inning. Multiple lineup spots can inflict damage independently.
• Jim Schlossnagle is one of the three or four best coaches in the country at managing the College World Series format — this is his program's 39th Omaha trip overall, and his 7th in the last 15 seasons.
  • The pattern: He took Texas A&M to the 2024 CWS Championship Series. In his first year at Texas (2025), the Longhorns reached Omaha. He knows what works in the double-elimination format and will manage his staff accordingly.
  • Yes, but: His Texas teams have a history of fading in May. That happened in 2025. This year's roster was specifically constructed to fix that, and the tournament run so far has been clean.
• Their bullpen is deeper than it looks — freshman Sam Cozart is posting a 1.72 ERA in high-leverage situations, and closer Connor McCreery has a 0.00 ERA on the season.
  • The pattern: Cozart and Pack Jr. were both named Freshman All-Americans, signaling this staff has legitimate depth beyond the three-man weekend rotation.
  • The threat: Getting to the bullpen may not be the escape route it is against other programs.

Offensive Profile

Source: ESPN team stats via Oregon Super Regional box score, season-to-date (June 6, 2026)

Pitching to Face rotation overview

Bullpen: Sam Cozart (1.72 ERA, NCBWA National Freshman Pitcher of the Year) is the primary high-leverage option. Connor McCreery holds a 0.00 ERA on the season. This isn't a bullpen you raid late — Schlossnagle will use Cozart in the 6th–8th and McCreery to close. No known fatigue concerns entering the CWS; both arms have been managed carefully.

Where They're Beatable

• Texas is 8-8 away from Disch-Falk — one of the most stark home/away splits among national title contenders, and Omaha is a neutral site.
  • The pattern: Their home record (31-4) is elite. Their road record is .500. That's not a sample-size blip — it's a consistent split across a full SEC schedule.
  • The exploit: Georgia enters Omaha with a 51-12 record built largely in the SEC gauntlet. The Longhorns don't have the same experience winning in hostile or unfamiliar environments. Charles Schwab Field is nobody's comfort zone.
• When Riojas gets hit, Texas has no margin — the South Carolina (9-1) and Texas A&M series losses both revealed what happens when the Saturday/Sunday rotation falters.
  • The pattern: South Carolina put up 9 runs on Riojas in April and Texas never recovered. Texas A&M swept 2-of-3 in College Station in a two-game stretch (9-8, 11-4) that slid the Longhorns from a top-2 national ranking. Both beatings happened away from home.
  • The exploit: This team is not a lock to beat you when it isn't Volantis day. Riojas's 4.02 ERA and Mississippi State's early-exit game suggest he's a quality but exploitable arm — especially when a lineup doesn't chase his mistakes.
• Volantis is elite but not untouchable — Oregon "competed with him really well" in Game 1 of the Super Regional, and he navigated jams in what Schlossnagle himself called a "disappointing" home start.
  • The pattern: In his final regular-season start, opponents got traffic on base and forced Volantis to make tough pitches under pressure. He made them — but it wasn't the shutdown performance his ERA suggests every time.
  • The exploit: Patient plate appearances, working deep counts, and putting runners on base early forces him into the kind of stress situations where he's navigated rather than dominated. He'll make the pitches eventually — but the longer the at-bat, the better the odds.

CWS Context

• UGA and Texas are in opposite brackets — they meet only in the Championship Series if both win their sides of the bracket, making this a potential matchup of the two most dangerous SEC programs in Omaha.
  • The pattern: Georgia is the #3 national seed and Bracket 2 top dog. Texas is the #6 seed entering Bracket 1 unbeaten in the tournament — they swept Oregon in the Super Regional with Volantis throwing Game 1. Both teams enter Omaha with 5-game win streaks and zero tournament losses.
  • The math: The SEC has won six consecutive national titles. If this bracket holds, the 2026 crown is decided by an all-SEC final — and Texas represents the hardest possible path to it from the Bracket 1 side. Georgia swept its own conference regular season crown and its first-ever SEC Tournament title. Both programs have legitimate claims to the best résumé in Omaha.

Omaha Weather June 12–14 · Charles Schwab Field