On Monday, the Texas Longhorns baseball team continued to improve its roster, adding slugger Jaquae Stewart from the transfer portal. The Texas native recently helped Northwest Florida State College reach the junior college national championship game. Before starting his college career, Stewart was one of the top-ranked first basemen in the state.
During his lone season with Northwest Florida, Stewart was an on-base machine. In 211 plate appearances, he posted a .356 batting average and drove in 62 runs. He also showed off his power as 23 of his 47 hits went for extra bases. With Stewart in the mix, the Longhorns have another dangerous bat to put in the middle of the order.
Additionally, in the playoffs, Stewart thrived when the stakes got higher. At the Florida junior college regional championships, he went 3-4 at the plate and drove in six runs in the title game against Chipola College. Due to his play, Stewart won the Most Outstanding Player award.
GOD DID@drewhbishop @ncain39 @CoachSchloss pic.twitter.com/I9ymZJEIno
— Jaquae Stewart (@AliJaquae) July 22, 2024
Signing a player of Stewart’s caliber should make the Longhorns a better team. They have been busy this week in the transfer portal, adding former Indiana State left-hander Jared Spencer.
While Texas is far from done, they now have a much-needed impact bat to help an offense that recently lost a few pieces, in Peyton Powell and Jared Thomas. Replacing their production will be no easy task, but Stewart will be part of the solution.
When he does arrive on campus, Stewart will be eager to make an excellent first impression and build on his success against more advanced competition.