Tag: ivan melendez

Where each Longhorn landed in the 2022 MLB Draft

Texas baseball has had at least one player selected in every single MLB Draft.

The 2022 Major League Baseball Draft came to a conclusion on Tuesday afternoon.

Texas baseball was well represented through the 20 rounds on the draft. Eight Longhorns were selected this year, Gold Spikes Award Winner Ivan Melendez was the first off the board in the second round.

Four members of the Texas 2022 signing class heard their named called over the past three days. Cutter Coffey, Henry Bolte, Brenner Cox and Wyatt Cheney will likely turn pro over suiting up in the Burnt Orange.

Texas’ eight draft picks ranked fourth among college programs behind a few Big 12 and SEC schools.

David Pierce’s roster is going to have a much different look next season. Pitcher Lucas Gordon and outfielder Dylan Campbell return as key contributors from the 2022 team. Texas has already landed a few transfers to replace the slew of players headed out the door.

Here is where all eight Longhorns landed in the 2022 MLB Draft.

Texas’ Ivan Melendez wins the 2022 Golden Spikes Award

Ivan Melendez becomes the first Longhorn to win the Golden Spikes Award.

Texas first baseman Ivan Melendez has been named the 2022 Golden Spikes Award winner. An honor given to the top amateur baseball player in America. Melendez becomes the first Longhorns to take home the award.

The “Hispanic Titanic” chose to return to Texas after getting drafted by the Marlins in the 2021 MLB Draft with hopes of rising his draft stock. Melendez did exactly that and more with a historic 2022 season.

Melendez hit .387 with the nation’s best 32 home runs and 94 RBI. He passed Kris Bryant’s nine-year-old record of 31 bombs during the BBCOR era.

Defense is easy to forget about behind his video game offensive numbers but Melendez’s glove was a huge weapon for Texas’ top-ranked defense in the nation.

Melendez finishes his Texas career as one of the best to ever put on the uniform. Expect to see the No. 17 retired here in the near future.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

Texas’ Ivan Melendez wins the 35th Dick Howser Trophy

Melendez becomes the fourth Longhorn to win the prestigious award presented to the best player in college baseball.

Texas first baseman Ivan Melendez is going to need more space in his trophy room before the season comes to an end. After already taking home Big 12 Player of the Year and plenty of All-American honors, the Texas slugger continues to be recognized for his monster season.

Melendez has been named winner of the 35th annual Dick Howser Trophy, presented to the best player in college baseball.

The “Hispanic Titanic” is hitting .396 with the nation’s best 32 home runs and 94 RBI. He provided excellent defense at first base after strictly playing the designated hitter role in 2021.

Melendez becomes the fourth Longhorn to win the prestigious award along with Taylor Jumngman (2011), Brooks Kieschnick (1992-93) and Scott Bryant (1989). No other program has more than three all-time winners.

Texas is off to the 2022 College World Series for the second straight season with the help of Melendez’s play. The Horns open their trip to Omaha with a matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Friday night.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

Tale of the Tape: Individual Leaders – Notre Dame vs. Texas

Which players do you trust more?

Although Texas has an overall offensive advantage against Notre Dame, some individual leaders on the Irish can boast better numbers. Sure, [autotag]Jack Findlay[/autotag] having the best starter ERA between the two schools is fine, but what do the offensive leaders tell us about how these teams match up? Well, it still isn’t the best news for the Irish, even if [autotag]Ryan Cole[/autotag] has stolen the most bases of anyone in this matchup. Still, they’ve shown so far in this tournament that timeliness matters as much as stats.

The Longhorns have five players on MLB.com’s top draft prospects list. None is ranked higher than first baseman and unquestioned offensive leader Ivan Melendez. After that is left-hander Pete Hansen, arguably their best pitcher. But again, the Irish didn’t make the College World Series without dispatching some of the best potential future major leaguers, which always will show up on the road to Omaha. What’s not to say they can’t do it again?

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Texas vs. Notre Dame preview for the 2022 College World Series

What to expect in Texas’ College World Series opener vs. Notre Dame.

The No. 9 Texas Longhorns will square off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the College World Series on Friday night. Both teams took down a higher-ranked team on the road in the super regionals to punch their tickets to Omaha.

Texas’ season looked all but dead in the seventh inning of game two vs. East Carolina. The Longhorns trailed 7-2 before mounting a historic comeback victory prior to dismantling the Pirates in game three.

Notre Dame was snubbed of a top 16 national seeded and proved the tournament committee wrong in a big way. The Irish swept through the regional round before pulling the upset of the year over No. 1 Tennessee in Knoxville.

Both teams enter with tons of experience and postseason familiarity. Texas appeared in the College World Series last season while Notre Dame was one game away.

Here is a look at the probable pitching matchups along with a few players to watch on both sides.

Texas is heading to the CWS after an 11-1 win over ECU

A masterful performance from Tristian Stevns and the Longhorns’ offense has Texas heading back to Omaha.

Texas has punched its ticket to the 2022 College World Series after an 11-1 dismantling of East Carolina.

The Longhorns offense opened the game with some of the late momentum they built in game two. Douglas Hodo and Eric Kennedy reached base before Ivan Melendez smoked home run No. 32 of the season to give Texas an early 3-0 lead.

Skyler Messinger would bring home Murphy Stehly with his first of three hits on the day to push the Texas lead to 4-0 before a five-hour weather delay approached.

Mother nature was not able to slow the Texas bats. Five more Longhorns came across to score in the second inning as Texas strung together some big hits. Trey Faltine and Silas Ardoin would add solo home runs later in the ballgame.

Texas held down the Pirates’ high-powered offense to just one run on five hits behind a legendary performance from senior righty Tristan Stevens. In his first start since April 30 against Oklahoma State, Stevens delivered on the biggest stage with six innings of one-run ball.

Travis Stehle and Jared Southard slammed the door shut on the Pirates season and have Texas fans packing for Omaha.

Texas will square off against Notre Dame in the College World Series opener after the Irish upset No. 1 Tennesse earlier in the day. The Horns are looking for national championship No. 7 in program history.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

Texas vs. ECU: Super Regional preview, prediction

A look at the schedule, pitching matchups, players to watch and prediction for the Greenville Super Regional. 

No. 9 Texas baseball (45-19) is playing again for a trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Longhorns swept through the Austin Regional, capped off with a dominant 10-1 victory over Air Force in the regional final. This season Texas will hit the road for the Super Regionals for the first time since 2005. Their opponent is No. 8 East Carolina (45-19).

The Pirates enter as one of the hottest teams in the country, winners of 20 of their last 21 ballgames. ECU took home both the American Conference regular-season and tournament titles. They escaped a difficult regional draw with an emphatic 13-4 game seven win over Coastal Carolina.

ECU is no stranger to the big stage. The Pirates are appearing in their fourth Super Regional in the last five years, but are still looking to the program’s first trip to Omaha. ECU holds the record for most NCAA tournament appearances without a College World Series appearance.

On the flip side, Texas has its eyes set on returning to Omaha for the nation’s best 38th time.

The rowdy ECU crowd dawned “The Jungle” will undoubtedly be ready to make an impact in favor of the Pirates.

An intriguing matchup will be Texas’ starting pitching vs. East Carolina’s bats. Pete Hansen and Lucas Gordon have been an excellent one-two punch for Texas this season. Facing a left-handed heavy ECU lineup should play to Texas’ advantage.

Here is a look at the schedule, pitching matchups, players to watch and prediction for the Greenville Super Regional.

No. 9 Texas dominates Air Force 10-1, advance to the Super Regionals

Texas is on to the Super Regionals!

No. 9 Texas baseball is moving on to the Super Regionals for the second straight season after a dominant 10-1 performance over Air Force in the Austin Regional final.

The Longhorns’ offense wasted no time in this one, striking for five runs in the first inning behind an Ivan Melendez home run and a Trey Faltine two-RBI double.

Melendez’s home run marked No. 30 on the season, marking the first player in college baseball to hit 30 bombs since Kris Bryant in 2013.

The relentless Texas offense would keep applying pressure all game. The Horns finished with 10 runs on 13 hits, six of which being extra-base hits.

Dylan Campbell continues to prove his bat needs to stay in the lineup as the outfield launched two home runs over the left-field wall in the game. Campbell was locked in at the plate for the entirety of the regional.

The effort of Texas’ pitching staff should not go unnoticed. Texas pieced together a bullpen game to hold the powerful Falcons’ offense to just one run on six hits. Jared Southard picked up the victory giving Texas three shutout frames in relief.

Texas now awaits the winner of the Greenville Regional. If Eastern Carolina wins, Texas will travel for the Super Regional. If Coastal Carolina can pull off the upset, Texas will stay at home next week.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

No. 9 Texas opens the NCAA tournament with an 11-3 win over Air Force

Texas is off to a fantastic start to the NCAA Tournament.

No. 9 Texas baseball could not ask for a better start to the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns took down Paul Skenes and Air Force 11-3, saving relief pitcher Tristan Stevens in the process.

Texas was able to force the Falcons to the bullpen in the fifth inning by taking excellent at-bats and working deep into many counts. Skyler Messinger had a huge day at the plate, going 4-5 with three RBI. The third baseman broke the game open with a bases loaded RBI single in the fifth.

Texas’ offense would keep the foot on the gas all game, finishing with 11 runs on 12 hits.

Pete Hansen brought his prototypal ace stuff on Friday. The lefty held down Air Force’s powerful offense to just three runs in 6.2 innings pitched. Marcus Olivarez and Coy Cobb provided strong innings of relief to close the door.

Texas is on to the winner’s bracket and will face the winner of Louisiana Tech and Dallas Baptist on Saturday night.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

Texas’ Ivan Melendez named Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year

Texas first baseman Ivan Melendez has enjoyed one of the greatest seasons in program history.

Texas first baseman Ivan Melendez has enjoyed one of the greatest seasons in program history. Melendez is already starting to take home some hardware for his efforts this year.

Collegiate Baseball has named the “Hispanic Titanic” National Player of the Year following his monster season for the Longhorns. Melendez was named Big 12 Player of the Year and a first team All-American selection.

Melendez becomes the fourth Longhorn to win Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year. Brooks Kieschnick (1993), Scott Bryant (1989) and Greg Swindell (1986) all have their number retired at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Melendez looks to be on his way to receiving the same honor.

The powerful slugger is hitting a whopping .406 with the nation’s best 29 home runs along with 87 RBI on the season. He has Texas ranked No. 9 in the country heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.