The Texas Longhorns baseball team will travel to Knoxville to play Tennessee from May 8-10, marking their last road series of the 2026 regular season. The games are set at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and will be broadcast on SEC Network+ for Friday and Saturday, with Sunday’s game airing on ESPN2.
This matchup is significant as it marks the first time Texas will visit Tennessee’s home field. The teams have met five times previously, including a contest at the Houston College Classic in 2008 and a recent meeting in the 2025 Southeastern Conference Baseball Championship. Notably, Tennessee head coach Josh Elander played under current Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle at TCU from 2010-12 before joining his staff as a student assistant in 2016.
Probable pitching matchups feature Texas’s Dylan Volantis (7-0, 1.87 ERA), Ruger Riojas (5-2, 3.71 ERA), and Luke Harrison (5-2, 4.35 ERA) against Tennessee’s Tegan Kuhns (3-4, 3.46 ERA), Evan Blanco (5-3, 4.36 ERA), and Landon Mack (4-4, 4.67 ERA). As of May 7, Texas holds the No. 3 ranking in RPI and No.7 strength of schedule nationally with thirteen Quad One wins—second only to Florida—and an average run differential of +3.9 per game.
The Longhorns are currently ranked as high as No.3 by Baseball America and No.4 by D1Baseball, Perfect Game, NCBWA, and USA Today polls heading into the second weekend of May conference play where they sit tied for second place behind Georgia.
Since joining the Southeastern Conference in 2022 under Schlossnagle’s leadership, Texas has secured more conference series wins than any other program during that period with thirty-six victories—leading coaches Dan Van Horn (31), Kevin O’Sullivan (28), Jay Johnson (27), and Tony Vitello (27). Last year saw Texas become the first team since the league’s inaugural season in1933 to win an SEC title during its debut campaign after being picked eighth in preseason polls; they finished with a record-setting eight series wins out of ten.
In non-conference play this regular season Texas went21–2—including starting16–0 for their best opening since2005—and have maintained strong midweek performance over recent years under Schlossnagle.
