Jim Schlossnagle reveals how NIL helped Texas retain key pitchers, fuel run to College World Series

For the first time since 2022, Texas is heading to the College World Series. The Longhorns clinched a trip to Omaha with a win over Oregon last weekend in a game that was among the most-watched during Super Regionals.

But the road back to the CWS began at the end of last season, Texas coach Jim Schlossnagle said. The program had to retain some key pitchers, and that’s where NIL became part of the equation.

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Texas got Ruger Riojas, Luke Harrison and Max Grubbs all back in the fold to bring experience to the rotation while Dylan Volantis also returned to build on an impressive freshman season. That allowed the Longhorns to build a core group and, according to Schlossnagle, fueled this year’s journey to Omaha.

“It started last year when we were able to retain three older pitchers,” Schlossnagle said on SiriusXM College Sports Radio. “There’s a lot of negative chat about NIL. But one of the great things about it is if you have, for example, in baseball, you have some guys who could potentially be late-round draft picks, you can make it feasible for them to come back to school and get their degree.

“We were able to get three older pitchers – Ruger Riojas, Luke Harrison and Max Grubbs – to come back. We knew that was going to be kind of the core of our team, from a pitching standpoint. Then, we returned a kid named Dylan Volantis, who was the freshman of the year in the country last year, and we moved him into the rotation.”

Those decisions paid off. Volantis emerged as Texas’ ace with a 10-1 record and a team-best 2.03 ERA across 16 appearances, including 15 starts. Riojas also had a big year with a 5-2 record and a 4.04 ERA, and his 113 strikeouts sit second on the roster only behind Volantis. Finally, Harrison had a 6-3 record with a 4.29 ERA and 89 strikeouts.

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That experience paid off for Texas en route to a Super Regional victory. Jim Schlossnagle said the Longhorns had the makings for a run by keeping that core in tact. The key, though, was making sure everyone stayed healthy.

“It felt like we had a chance to pitch if we could just keep those guys healthy and survive the SEC regular season and postseason with our pitching, we felt like we would have a really good shot,” Schlossnagle said. “We just needed to keep those guys tuned up and get through the SEC Tournament, get rested and have a chance to make a run in Omaha. So far, that’s what’s happened.”