The 2026 season has wrapped up for Texas baseball, and some of its biggest standouts are ready to extend their playing careers beyond the Forty Acres.
The next phase of those Longhorns’ baseball careers begins at the 2026 MLB Draft, which takes place from July 11-12 in Philadelphia, Pa. during the MLB’s All-Star break.
Several Longhorns will have the opportunity to hear their name called and make their professional baseball dreams come true.
The Texas player likely to be taken the highest in the MLB Draft is junior outfielder Aiden Robbins, who ranks as the No. 21 overall prospect according to Perfect Game’s Top 500 prospect rankings.
Robbins had a breakout season in his lone year in Austin, ending with a .333 batting average, 24 home runs and 64 RBIs. The junior’s 24 homers are tied for the third-most in a single season at Texas, and Robbins doubled his career home run total in one season; in two seasons with Seton Hall, he hit just 12.
In 2026, Robbins was named a First-Team All-American by Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, while also being named the Southeastern Conference’s Newcomer of the Year.
Another Longhorn who made an impact in his only season at Texas is junior catcher Carson Tinney, who finds himself ranked as the No. 65 prospect by Perfect Game.
Tinney made his presence known behind the plate and in the batter’s box for the Longhorns, with the catcher posting a .326 batting average, 22 home runs and 58 RBIs.
The junior was named a NCBWA Third-Team All-American, a Buster Posey Award finalist — given to the nation’s top catcher — and earned an American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Gold Glove.
The only other Texas prospect to find himself in the top 100 of Perfect Game’s prospect rankings is senior pitcher Ruger Riojas, who comes in at No. 71.
A steady piece in the Longhorns’ weekend pitching rotation, Riojas started in 17 ballgames throughout the season and ended the year with a 6–2 record.
In his 81.2 innings pitched, the righty held a 3.97 ERA, with 120 strikeouts and holding opposing batters to a .235 batting average. For his efforts, Riojas earned an ABCA/Rawlings Second-Team All-Region selection.
The Longhorns have other notable juniors who are eligible to be selected by MLB franchises but could opt to return to the Forty Acres.
Junior pitcher Thomas Burns leads this section, ranked at No. 185 by Perfect Game after tossing 22.1 innings while recording a 5.64 ERA and 43 strikeouts, and junior pitcher Haiden Leffew finds himself at No. 306 after he tossed 20 innings with a 4.05 ERA.
Also in this scenario is junior infielder Ethan Mendoza, who’s listed as the No. 339 prospect and tallied a .278 batting average, 10 home runs and 50 RBIs, and junior infielder Casey Borba, who accumulated a .266 batting average, 18 home runs and 57 RBIs.
Graduate pitcher Luke Harrison, who ranks as the No. 358 prospect, is out of eligibility and will look toward the MLB Draft to continue his baseball career.
Robbins, Tinney, Riojas, Burns, Leffew and Mendoza have the chance to make their best impressions and improve their stock before the draft in front of MLB general managers and scouts at the MLB Draft Combine, which started June 23 and ends June 26.
