2018 TCU Horned Frogs baseball team

The 2018 TCU Horned Frogs baseball team represented Texas Christian University during the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Horned Frogs played their home games at Charlie & Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium as a member of the Big 12 Conference. They were led by head coach Jim Schlossnagle, the winningest coach in TCU baseball history, in his 15th year at TCU.

2018 TCU Horned Frogs baseball
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
Record	9–4 (0–0 Big 12)
Head coach	Jim Schlossnagle (15th season)
Assistant coaches	Bill Mosiello (5th season) Kirk Saarloos (6th season) Zach Etheredge (5th season)
Home stadium	Lupton Stadium
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Big 12 Conference baseball standings

v t e	Conf.									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
No. 7 Texas ‍†‍‍y	17	–	7	–	0		.708			42	–	23	–	0		.646
Oklahoma State ‍‍‍y	16	–	8	–	0		.667			31	–	26	–	1		.543
No. 6 Texas Tech ‍‍‍y	15	–	9	–	0		.625			45	–	20	–	0		.692
No. 24 Oklahoma ‍‍‍y	14	–	10	–	0		.583			38	–	25	–	0		.603
Baylor ‍‍‡‍y	13	–	11	–	0		.542			37	–	21	–	0		.638
TCU ‍‍‍	10	–	13	–	0		.435			33	–	23	–	0		.589
West Virginia ‍‍‍	9	–	15	–	0		.375			29	–	27	–	0		.518
Kansas ‍‍‍	8	–	15	–	0		.348			27	–	30	–	0		.474
Kansas State ‍‍‍	5	–	19	–	0		.208			23	–	31	–	0		.426
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from Collegiate Baseball [1]

Previous season

The Horned Frogs entered the 2018 season on the heels of four consecutive trips to the College World Series.^[2] The 2017 TCU Horned Frogs baseball team entered the season as the unanimous preseason #1 team,^[3] and the favorite to win the Big 12 regular season championship.^[4] They notched a 39–14 (16–8) regular season record, and won a Big 12 Conference championship for the fourth-straight season, sharing the regular season co-championship with Texas Tech.^[5][6] In the postseason, the Horned Frogs advanced to the Big 12 tournament semifinals, before being eliminated by Texas.^[7] TCU was selected as the #6 National Seed the NCAA tournament, the Horned Frogs' highest-ever national seed.^[8] Star-first baseman/designated hitter Luken Baker was unavailable for the Tournament after a late-regular season injury.^[9] The Frogs coasted to a 3–0 record in the Fort Worth Regional, with wins over Central Connecticut,^[10] #11 Virginia,^[11] and #20 Dallas Baptist,^[12] and a 2–0 sweep of #8 Missouri State in the Fort Worth Super Regional to advance to the College World Series for the fourth-straight year.^[13][14] In Omaha, the Frogs fell in their opener to eventual-national champion, Florida, an 0–3 loss at the hands of Gator starting pitcher Alex Faedo.^[15] TCU then eliminated #8 Texas A&M^[16] and #4 Louisville to advance to a rematch with Florida in the national semifinals.^[17] The Frogs' win over the Aggies marked the third consecutive season, and the fourth in the past six seasons, that TCU eliminated Texas A&M from the NCAA tournament.^[18] The Frogs then beat #3 Florida 9–2 in the teams' first rematch^[19] before falling to the Gators in a decisive national semifinal game, again an 0–3 loss to Alex Faedo.^[20] The loss marked the third-straight year that TCU's season ended in the national semifinals.^[21] TCU finished the season ranked #4 in every final poll, with a 50–18 record (the Frogs' third 50-win season).^[20]

Preseason

MLB draft

The following Horned Frogs on the 2016 roster were selected in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft:

List of Drafted Players
Name	2017 Class	Pos.	Team	Round	Signed/Returned
Austen Wade	Junior	OF	Cleveland Indians	5th	Signed[22]
Evan Skoug	Junior	C	Chicago White Sox	7th	Signed[22]
Brian Howard	Senior	RHP	Oakland Athletics	8th	Signed*[22]
Mitchell Traver	Senior	RHP	Los Angeles Angels	20th	Signed*[23]
Cam Warner	Senior	INF	Detroit Tigers	28th	Signed*[23]
Elliott Barzilli	Senior	INF	Miami Marlins	32nd	Signed*[23]

* indicates draftee had no more college eligibility

Departed Players

The following Horned Frogs on the 2017 roster departed the program prior to the 2018 season:

List of Departed Players
Name	2017 Class	Pos.	Reason
Elliott Barzilli	Senior	3B	Graduated, Drafted/Signed[23]
Alec Creel	Freshman	RHP	Departed
Nolan Brown	RS Senior	CF	Graduated
Trent Franson	Sophomore	INF	Transferred to Houston Baptist
Mason Hesse	Senior	SS	Graduated
Dalton Horton	Sophomore	LHP	Transferred to Louisiana
Brian Howard	Senior	RHP	Graduated[22]
Austin Ingraham	Junior	OF	Transferred to Texas A&M–Kingsville
Ryan Merrill	Senior	SS	Graduated
Evan Skoug	Junior	C	Drafted/Signed[22]
Bryan Sturges	Freshman	U	Transferred to Howard College
Mitchell Traver	RS Senior	RHP	Graduated, Drafted/Signed[23]
Austen Wade	Junior	RF	Drafted/Signed[22]
Cam Warner	Senior	2B	Graduated, Drafted/Signed[23]
Evan Williams	RS Senior	OF	Graduated

Recruiting Class

The Horned Frogs added the following players to the roster as part of their 2017 recruiting class:

List of 2017 Recruits
Name	2018 Class	Pos.	Previous School	Hometown
A.J. Balta	SR	OF	Oregon	Valencia, CA
Coby Boulware	FR	INF	Boulder Creek H.S.	Anthem, AZ
Danny Crews	JR	INF	Fort Scot C.C.	Springfield, MO
Brad Czerniejewski	FR	OF	Lake Forest H.S.	Lake Forest, IL
Tristan Hanoian	FR	INF	Orange Lutheran H.S.	Costa Mesa, CA
R.J. Lan	FR	OF	La Mirada H.S.	La Mirada, CA
Augie Mihlbauer	FR	LHP	Mukwonago H.S.	Mukwonago, WI
James Notary	FR	RHP	Broomfield H.S.	Westminster, CO
Adam Oviedo	FR	INF	Alvarado H.S.	Grandview, TX
Colton Parrish	JR	C	Blinn College	La Vernia, TX
Johnny Rizer	JR	OF	Blinn College	Cypress, TX
Conner Shepherd	RS SO	INF	Mt. San Antonio College	Upland, CA
Caleb Sloan	FR	RHP	Regis Jesuit H.S.	Centennial, CO
Dylan Smith	JR	RHP	Weatherford College	Southlake, TX
Russell Smith	FR	LHP	Midlothian H.S.	Midlothian, TX

Season Projections

Coming off four-straight College World Series appearances in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, returning anticipated starting pitchers Jared Janczak, Rex Hill and Nick Lodolo, and adding a highly ranked recruiting class, the 2018 Horned Frogs were projected as one of the "Eight for Omaha" in July 2017 by Baseball America, D1 Baseball, and Perfect Game.

The Horned Frogs were ranked in each major preseason poll and ranking. TCU was ranked #3 by Perfect Game,^[24] #4 in the USA Today Coaches Poll,^[25] #5 in the NCBWA Poll,^[26] #7 by D1 Baseball^[27] and Baseball America,^[28] and #9 by Collegiate Baseball.^[29]

Big 12 coaches predicted TCU would finish second in league play, with 4 of the 9 coaches picking TCU to finish in first place.^[30]

Personnel

Coaching staff

TCU will return its entire coaching staff from the Frogs' 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 College World Series seasons. Pitching coach Kirk Saarloos, a California native, was reportedly courted by Stanford to replace 31-season head coach Mark Marquess, but Saarloos opted to remain at TCU.

Name	Position	Season at TCU	Alma Mater
Jim Schlossnagle	Head coach	15	Elon University (1992)
Bill Mosiello	Associate head coach	5	Fresno State University (1986)
Kirk Saarloos	Assistant coach	6	California State University, Fullerton (2001)
Zach Etheredge	Volunteer Assistant Coach	5	University of Texas at San Antonio (2008)

Roster

The Horned Frogs' 2018 roster consists of 17 returners and 15 new players. Nearly half of the roster (15 of 32 players) are from outside the State of Texas. Sophomore catcher Zach Humphreys and freshman pitcher Russell Smith were high school teammates at Midlothian High School, and sophomore pitcher Cal Coughlin and freshman outfielder Brad Czerniejewski were high school teammates at Lake Forest High School in Illinois. Junior catcher Colton Parrish and junior outfielder Johnny Rizer were teammates at Blinn College before transferring to TCU prior to the 2018 season.

2018 TCU Horned Frogs baseball team
Players	Coaches
# Pos. Name B/T Height Weight Year Previous school Home town 1 INF Coby Boulware R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Boulder Creek H.S. Anthem, AZ 3 INF Tristan Hanoian L/R 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Orange Lutheran H.S. Costa Mesa, CA 4 OF Johnny Rizer L/L 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Blinn College Cypress, TX 5 INF Adam Ovideo R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Alvarado H.S. Grandview, TX 7 OF Josh Watson S/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Martin H.S. Arlington, TX 8 INF Danny Crews L/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Fort Scott C.C. Springfield, MO 9 INF Conner Shepherd L/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Mt. San Antonio College Upland, CA 10 C Zach Humphreys R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Midlothian H.S. DeSoto, TX 11 OF R.J. Lan R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr La Mirada H.S. La Mirada, CA 12 LHP Nick Lodolo L/L 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Damien H.S. LaVerne, CA 13 INF Michael Landestoy R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Saint George School Santo Domingo, D.R. 15 RHP Durbin Feltman R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Oak Ridge, H.S. Conroe, TX 16 INF Connor Wanhanen L/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Flower Mound H.S. Flower Mound, TX 17 C Colton Parrish L/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Blinn College La Vernia, TX 19 INF Luken Baker R/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Jr Oak Ridge, H.S. Spring, TX 20 INF Cal Coughlin S/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Lake Forest H.S. Lake Forest, IL 21 RHP Charles King R/R 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Coppell H.S. Coppell, TX 23 LHP Haylen Green L/L 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Lufkin H.S. Lufkin, TX 24 RHP Jake Eissler R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Thunder Ridge H.S. Littleton, CO 25 OF Brad Czerniejewski R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Lake Forest H.S. Lake Forest, IL 26 RHP Sean Wymer R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Flower Mound H.S. Flower Mound, TX 29 LHP Augie Mihlbauer L/L 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Mukwonago H.S. Mukwonago, WI 31 RHP Dalton Brown R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Jr Arlington Heights H.S. Benbrook, TX 32 RHP James Notary R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Broomfield H.S. Westminster, CO 33 LHP Russell Smith L/L 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Midlothian H.S. Midlothian, TX 34 RHP Trey Morris R/R 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) So Taylor H.S. Katy, TX 35 OF A.J. Balta L/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Oregon Valencia, CA 37 RHP Austin Boyles R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) RS So Klein Collins H.S. Spring, TX 40 RHP Dylan Smith R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Weatherford College Southlake, TX 41 RHP Jared Janczak R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Belton H.S. Belton, TX 43 LHP Dion Henderson L/L 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Oak Park H.S. Detroit, MI 44 RHP Caleb Sloan R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Regis Jesuit H.S. Centennial, CO	Head coach Jim Schlossnagle Assistant coach(es) Bill Mosiello Kirk Saarloos Zach Etheredge Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: February 8, 2018

Schedule and results

2018 TCU Horned Frogs Baseball Schedule & Results
Regular season
February Date Time (CT) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Big 12 February 16 7:00 pm ESPN3 at Grand Canyon* #9 Brazell Stadium • Phoenix, AZ W 3–2 Coughlin {1–0) Vorhof (0–1) Feltman (1) 3,479 1–0 – Stats Story February 17 3:00 pm at Grand Canyon* #9 Brazell Stadium • Phoenix, AZ W 14–6 Lodolo (1–0) Lundin (0–1) – 2,012 2–0 – Stats Story February 18 2:00 pm at Grand Canyon* #9 Brazell Stadium • Phoenix, AZ L 8–912 Smith (1–0) King (0–1) – 1,934 2–1 – Stats Story February 24 2:00 pm Long Beach State* #9 Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX L 2–3 Baayoun (2–0) Janczak (0–1) Rivera (2) 4,120 2–2 – Stats Story February 24 5:30 pm Long Beach State* #9 Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX W 8–3 Lodolo (2–0) Castro (0–1) Notary (1) 4,005 3–2 – Stats Story February 25 1:00 pm FSSW Long Beach State* #9 Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX W 5–2 Green (1–0) Andrews (0–2) Feltman (2) 4,343 4–2 – Stats Story
March Date Time (CT) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Big 12 March 1 6:30 pm Texas–Arlington* #12 Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX W 14–17 Smith (1–0) Moffat (0–2) – 4,013 5–2 – Stats Story March 2 6:30 pm UC Irvine* #12 Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX W 4–3 Eissler (1–0) Bocko (0–1) – 4,639 6–2 – Stats Story March 3 2:00 pm UC Irvine* #12 Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX W 6–2 Lodolo (3–0) Raymond (1–1) – 4,736 7–2 – Stats Story March 4 1:00 pm FSSW UC Irvine* #12 Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX L 2–15 Denholm (1–1) Smith (1–1) – 4,063 7–3 – Stats Story March 6 6:30 pm Texas–Rio Grande Valley* #14 Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX W 7–2 Eissler (2–0) Carreon (0–1) – 4,021 8–3 – Stats Story March 9 8:00 pm at USC* #14 Dedeaux Field • Los Angeles, CA W 10–1 Janczak (1–1) Clarke (1–3) – 1,105 9–3 – Stats Story March 11 12:30 pm vs #10 Vanderbilt* #14 Dodger Stadium • Los Angeles, CA L 4–7 9–4 – March 13 6:30 pm at Rice* Reckling Park • Houston, TX – March 16 6:30 pm Minnesota* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – March 17 5:00 pm Minnesota* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – March 18 12:30 pm FSSW+ Minnesota* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – March 20 6:30 pm Arkansas–Pine Bluff* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – March 23 6:30 pm Kansas State Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX March 24 2:00 pm FSSW Kansas State Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX March 25 1:00 pm FSSW+ Kansas State Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX March 27 6:30 pm Dallas Baptist* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – March 30 8:00 pm ESPNU at Oklahoma State Allie P. Reynolds Stadium • Stillwater, OK March 31 6:00 pm ESPNU at Oklahoma State Allie P. Reynolds Stadium • Stillwater, OK
April Date Time (CT) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Big 12 April 1 12:00 pm FSSW at Oklahoma State Allie P. Reynolds Stadium • Stillwater, OK April 3 6:30 pm at Dallas Baptist* Horner Ballpark • Dallas, TX – April 6 6:30 pm Oklahoma Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX April 7 7:00 pm ESPNU Oklahoma Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX April 8 1:00 pm Oklahoma Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX April 10 6:30 pm Texas–Arlington* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – April 13 6:00 pm ESPN3 at Kansas Hoglund Ballpark • Lawrence, KS April 14 2:00 pm ESPN3 at Kansas Hoglund Ballpark • Lawrence, KS April 15 1:00 pm ESPN3 at Kansas Hoglund Ballpark • Lawrence, KS April 17 6:30 pm Abilene Christian* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – April 18 6:30 pm at Texas–Arlington* Clay Gould Ballpark • Arlington, TX – April 20 6:35 pm at Baylor Baylor Ballpark • Waco, TX April 21 3:05 pm at Baylor Baylor Ballpark • Waco, TX April 22 1:05 pm FSSW+ at Baylor Baylor Ballpark • Waco, TX April 24 6:30 pm Stephen F. Austin* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – April 27 8:00 pm FS1 Texas Tech Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX April 28 7:00 pm ESPNU Texas Tech Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX April 29 1:00 pm ESPNU Texas Tech Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX
May Date Time (CT) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Big 12 May 1 6:30 pm at Abilene Christian* Crutcher Scott Field • Abilene, TX – May 4 6:30 pm Lamar* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – May 5 4:00 pm Lamar* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – May 6 1:00 pm FSSW+ Lamar* Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX – May 11 6:30 pm West Virginia Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX May 12 4:00 pm FSSW West Virginia Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX May 13 1:00 pm West Virginia Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX May 15 6:30 pm at Stephen F. Austin* Jaycees Field • Nacogdoches, TX – May 17 6:30 pm FS1 at Texas UFCU Disch-Falk Field • Austin, TX May 18 6:30 pm LHN at Texas UFCU Disch-Falk Field • Austin, TX May 19 2:30 pm LHN at Texas UFCU Disch-Falk Field • Austin, TX
Postseason
Big 12 Tournament Date Time (CT) TV Opponent Rank/Seed Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Big 12 Tourn. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark • Oklahoma City, OK Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark • Oklahoma City, OK
NCAA tournament Regional Date Time (CT) TV Opponent Rank/Seed Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Regional
Legend:        = Win        = Loss      Bold = TCU team member
"#" represents ranking. All rankings from Collegiate Baseball on the date of the contest. "()" represents postseason seeding in the Big 12 Tournament or NCAA Regional, respectively.

Rankings

See also: 2018 NCAA Division I baseball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches'[31]	4	4*	4*	12
Baseball America[32]	7	7	7	7
Collegiate Baseball^[33]	9	9	12	14
NCBWA†[34]	5	7	7	7

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

Awards and honors

See also

• 2018 Big 12 Conference baseball tournament
• 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season