In 2022, Texas A&M advanced to the Final Four at the College World Series, and it was an even sweeter finish because the Aggies eliminated their in-state rival Texas Longhorns to get there.
As the teams prepare for the Southeastern and Big 12 conference tournaments this week, it’s starting to look like the teams could meet sooner than the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., this time around. The field of 64 projections by d1baseball.com has No. 20 Texas hosting an Austin Regional with A&M as a No. 3 seed and No. 17 Dallas Baptist there as the No. 2 seed.
But there will be no Texas sports betting on the games, as legislation to put a wagering referendum on the ballot is stuck in the legislature.
Down Year for Texas College Baseball
As of now, the Austin Regional is the only one predicted for the state of Texas and the only other Texas schools projected for the field of 64 are Texas Tech as a No. 3 seed in a Baton Rouge Regional with nationally ranked No. 5 LSU and TCU as a No. 3 seed in a Winston-Salem Regional with the nation’s top-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Texas A&M has climbed back into contention for a NCAA Tournament bid in the past three weeks. On April 29, the now-No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks finished off a three-game sweep of the Aggies in Fayetteville. That left A&M with an overall record of 24-19, a SEC record of 9-12 and visions of missing the tournament one year after its best finish ever at Omaha.
The Aggies ended the season with an 8-4 run, including a pair of 2-1 SEC series victories over No. 2 Florida and this past weekend over Mississippi State. That put the Aggies back on track before they open SEC Tournament play at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday against No. 13 Tennessee. The winner will play Arkansas on Wednesday and the loser will be out. The tournament becomes a double-elimination event after the first four elimination games on Tuesday on the SEC Network.
The Aggies might still need another big win in Hoover, Ala., to secure their berth in the NCAA Tournament, and that won’t come easy against a team that swept them in conference play.
There are no Texas betting apps , but national operators see A&M as one of the longest shots to win the tournament at +1500 odds.
Longhorns Favored to win Big 12
Meanwhile, the Texas Longhorns enter the Big 12 tournament at Globe Life Field in Arlington, as winners of 10 of their past 13 games, including conference series victories over TCU, Kansas and West Virginia.
The Longhorns swept the Mountaineers this past weekend, knocking them from No. 6 in the nation all the way to No. 21.
The big finish helped the Longhorns tie Oklahoma State and West Virginia for the Big 12 regular-season championship. That is the 10th Big 12 title for Texas and third since 2018 after it won seven of its final nine conference games.
The Longhorns open the Big 12 Tournament against No. 8 seed Kansas at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Texas is the tournament favorite at Caesars Sportsbook (+225). OSU has the second-best odds at +275, while West Virginia is listed at +325.
Texas-Kansas winner faces the winner of Kansas State and TCU at 4 p.m. on Thursday, while the losers of those two games will meet in an elimination game at 9 a.m. on Thursday. All of the games will be played on various ESPN channels. The championship game will be on Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN2.
