For the third time in the last four seasons, TCU Baseball is the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 Baseball title.

In a vote of the league’s head coaches, the Horned Frogs were unanimously picked to finish atop the conference standings in 2026, receiving all 13 possible first-place votes. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams. It marks the sixth time in program history TCU has earned the top spot in the preseason poll.

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The Horned Frogs are coming off their 18th NCAA tournament appearance in the last 21 seasons and return a roster filled with experience and star power. Arizona, the 2025 Big 12 Tournament champion, was picked second and received the only other first-place vote. Reigning regular-season champion West Virginia came in third, followed by Arizona State, Kansas and Oklahoma State, which tied for fifth.

Kansas State, Cincinnati, Texas Tech and UCF round out the top 10, while Baylor, Houston, BYU and Utah occupy the final four positions in the 14-team poll.

TCU Baseball Dominates Big 12 Preseason Awards

TCU also dominated the league’s preseason individual honors, taking three of the four major awards. Sophomore outfielder Sawyer Strosnider was named the Preseason Player of the Year, junior right-hander Tommy LaPour earned Preseason Pitcher of the Year honors, and freshman utility man Lucas Franco was selected as the Preseason Freshman of the Year. Arizona State’s Dean Toigo was named the Preseason Newcomer of the Year.

Strosnider earned multiple national freshman awards in 2025, including Perfect Game National Freshman Player of the Year and NCBWA National Freshman Hitter of the Year, after leading the country in triples and becoming the first freshman since 2001 with double-digit totals in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases. He has been named a 2026 Preseason First Team All-American by Perfect Game.

LaPour recorded a 3.09 ERA last season, the second-lowest in the Big 12. He led the Horned Frogs in wins (eight), innings (90.1) and strikeouts (88), and went 6-0 in conference play. Franco, the No. 5 overall prospect in Texas, enters his first season after a standout prep career at Cinco Ranch High School.

Toigo, a transfer from UNLV, was the Mountain West Co-Player of the Year in 2025 after hitting .377 with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs. His RBI total ranked 19th nationally last season.

LaPour and Strosnider were joined by Kansas infielder Brady Ballinger as the three unanimous selections to the 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 Team.

All 14 Big 12 programs are scheduled to open the 2026 season on Friday, Feb. 13.

2026 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll

• 1. TCU (13)    169
• 2. Arizona (1)    157
• 3. West Virginia    137
• 4. Arizona State    128
• T5. Kansas    112
• T5. Oklahoma State    112
• 7. Kansas State    87
• 8. Cincinnati    85
• 9. Texas Tech    78
• 10. UCF    66
• 11. Baylor    54
• 12. Houston    42
• 13. BYU    29
• 14. Utah    18

2026 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Team

• C    Jack Natili    Cincinnati
• IF    Landon Hairston    Arizona State
• IF    Austen Roellig    Arizona State
• IF    Travis Sanders    Baylor
• IF    Brady Ballinger*    Kansas
• IF    Robin Villeneuve    Texas Tech
• OF    Andrew Williamson    UCF
• OF    Chase Brunson    TCU
• OF    Sawyer Strosnider*    TCU
• OF    Logan Hughes    Texas Tech
• DH    Dariel Osoria    Kansas
• UTL    Noah Franco    TCU
• SP    Owen Kramkowski    Arizona
• SP    Nathan Taylor    Cincinnati
• SP    Dominic Voegele    Kansas
• SP    Tommy LaPour*    TCU
• RP    Tony Pluta    Arizona
• RP    Cole Carlon    Arizona State
• RP    Chase Meyer    West  Virginia

*- unanimous selection

 2026 Big 12 Preseason Yearly Awards

•  Player of the Year: Sawyer Strosnider, TCU
•  Pitcher of the Year: Tommy LaPour, TCU
•  Newcomer of the Year: Dean Toigo, Arizona State
•  Freshman of the Year: Lucas Franco, TCU

How To Watch College Baseball At The Shriners Children's College Showdown 2026

Every game of the three-week College Baseball Series, which includes the Shriner College Baseball Showdown to start the season on Feb. 13, is streaming on FloCollege, FloBaseball and the FloSports app. 

College Baseball Series At Globe Life Field Schedule 2026

Shriners Children's College Showdown Weekend 1 

Feb. 13, 2026

• 12:00 p.m. ET: Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech
• 4:00 p.m. ET: TCU vs. Vanderbilt
• 8:00 p.m. ET: Oklahoma St vs. Arkansas

Feb. 14, 2026

• 12:00 p.m. ET: Texas Tech vs. Vanderbilt
• 4:00 p.m. ET: Oklahoma St vs. Oklahoma
• 8:00 p.m. ET: Arkansas vs. TCU

Feb. 15, 2026

• 11:30 a.m. ET: Vanderbilt vs. Oklahoma St
• 3:30 p.m. ET: Texas Tech vs. Arkansas
• 7:30 p.m. ET: TCU vs. Oklahoma

College Baseball Series In Surprise, Arizona

Feb. 13, 2026

• 4:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Oregon St
• 8:00 PM ET: Stanford vs. Arizona

Feb. 14, 2026

• 4:00 PM ET: Arizona vs. Oregon St
• 8:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Stanford

Feb. 15, 2026

• 2:00 PM ET: Stanford vs. Oregon St
• 6:00 PM ET: Arizona vs. Michigan

Feb. 16, 2026

• 2:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Oregon St

Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Weekend 2

Feb. 20, 2026

• 12:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Florida St
• 4:00 PM ET: Nebraska vs. Louisville
• 8:00 PM ET: Auburn vs. Kansas St

Feb. 21, 2026

• 12:00 PM ET: Louisville vs. Michigan
• 4:00 PM ET: Florida St vs. Auburn
• 8:00 PM ET: Kansas St vs. Nebraska

Feb. 22, 2026

• 11:30 AM ET: Auburn vs. Louisville
• 3:30 PM ET: Nebraska vs. Florida St
• 7:30 PM ET: Michigan vs. Kansas St

Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Weekend 3

Feb. 27, 2026

• 12:00 PM ET: Arizona St vs. Mississippi St
• 4:00 PM ET: UCLA vs. Tennessee
• 8:00 PM ET: Virginia Tech vs. Texas A&M

Feb. 28, 2026

• 12:00 PM ET: Tennessee vs. Arizona St
• 4:00 PM ET: Mississippi St vs. Virginia Tech
• 8:00 PM ET: Texas A&M vs. UCLA

Mar. 1, 2026

• 11:30 AM ET: Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
• 3:30 PM ET: UCLA vs. Mississippi St
• 7:30 PM ET: Arizona St vs. Texas A&M

2026 D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 Rankings

1. UCLA (48-18)
2. LSU (53-15)
3. Texas (44-14)
4. Mississippi State (36-23)
5. Georgia Tech (41-19)
6. Coastal Carolina (56-13)
7. Arkansas (50-15)
8. Louisville (42-24)
9. Auburn (41-20)
10. TCU (39-20)
11. North Carolina (46-15)
12. Oregon State (48-16-1)
13. Florida (39-22)
14. Tennessee (46-19)
15. Georgia (43-17)
16. Florida State (42-16)
17. NC State (35-21)
18. Kentucky (31-26)
19. Clemson (45-18)
20. Southern Miss (47-16)
21. Wake Forest (39-22)
22. Miami (35-27)
23. Vanderbilt (43-18)
24. Arizona (44-21)
25. Texas A&M (30-26)

Teams At Globe Life Field College Baseball Series

• Oklahoma
• Texas Tech
• TCU
• Vanderbilt
• Oklahoma State
• Arkansas
• Michigan
• Florida State
• Nebraska
• Louisville
• Auburn
• Kansas State
• Arizona State
• Mississippi State
• UCLA
• Tennessee
• Virginia Tech
• Texas A&M

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