When Texas baseball takes the field on Saturday against the Georgia Bulldogs for the opening game of the College World Series, the Longhorns will have a pair of decorated freshmen players.
Pitcher Sam Cozart and outfielder Anthony Pack Jr. have accumulated several distinctions for their performances throughout their first season on the Forty Acres.
The national awards for Longhorns started on the mound. On Tuesday, Cozart was named National Freshman Pitcher of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Cozart becomes the third-ever Longhorn to receive the award, following the footsteps of former Longhorns pitcher Corey Knebel, who earned the honor in 2011, and Cozart’s current teammate, sophomore pitcher Dylan Volantis, who earned the award in 2025 following his standout freshman season.
The award makes Texas the first program ever with back-to-back NCBWA Freshman Pitcher of the Year honorees. Cozart was also named Co-Freshman Pitcher of the Year by Perfect Game, sharing the honor with North Carolina Tar Heels pitcher Caden Glauber.
Cozart has garnered several more distinctions, also being named First-Team All-SEC and Freshman All-SEC; an NCBWA First Team All-American and Freshman All-American; and a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, given to college baseball’s top relief pitcher.
Cozart holds a 6-0 mark and nine saves, and leads all Division I pitchers with a minimum of 45 innings pitched with a .69 WHIP and an opposing team batting average of .132. He ranks second in the country with a 1.65 ERA in 22 appearances to go along with 71 strikeouts.
Cozart has quickly made a name for himself, shining in his role out of the Texas bullpen in crucial late-game situations, and his teammates have full trust in him when the freshman pitcher steps on the hill.
“I have full trust in Cozy (Cozart) when he comes into the game,” sophomore infielder Adrian Rodriguez said. “I knew it was another game, another day in the park for him. It’s amazing to watch him have fun out there, and I’m behind his back the whole time, yelling and screaming.”
The awards for the Longhorns’ freshmen did not end with Cozart, as Pack was named Baseball America’s National Freshman of the Year on Thursday.
Pack becomes the fifth Longhorn to earn the prestigious recognition in program history, alongside Greg Swindell, Kirk Dressendorfer and Brooks Kieschnick, all three of whom have their numbers retired and hanging around UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Volantis also won the award one season ago.
With Volantis and now Pack, the Longhorns are the third program to earn back-to-back Baseball America Freshman of the Year honorees, joining two other Southeastern Conference ballclubs — the LSU Tigers and the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Among Power Four freshmen in 2026, Pack ranks first with 20 stolen bases; second with a .359 batting average, 58 runs and a .485 on-base percentage; third with a 1.082 OPS; and fourth with 74 hits, 16 doubles and a .597 slugging percentage.
Pack’s .359 batting average paces the Texas squad. Additionally, his 11 home runs and 52 RBIs are fourth-most on the team.
This award is added to Pack Jr.’s other honors from his first season with the Longhorns, including his being named the SEC’s Freshman of the Year, All-SEC Second Team, Freshman All-SEC and an NCBWA Freshman All-American.
The Longhorns now head to Omaha in hopes of capturing their first national championship since 2005. Head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s team is only strengthened by the two decorated freshmen making an impact on the field.
