Texas Baseball earns #2 Seed, Texas Softball reaches WCWS, and SEC Spring Meetings

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the program here on sports
Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone. This is called eponymously
the Craigway Show. That would make me Craigway. So I'm
glad to be able to match the two together and
be with you here on this Tuesday afternoon coming off
of the Memorial Day holiday. The producer of this program

(00:21):
who glues it all together and congeals it properly is
none other than Cameron D.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Park Or. The deal on the birth certificate stands for.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Dallas, as in now the Dallas Stars, who have a
really important Game four of the NHL Western Conference Stanley
Cup Playoffs tonight.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Am I right about that?

Speaker 3 (00:44):
You are huge game?

Speaker 4 (00:45):
Good after you and Craig And yeah, I mean you
lose this game and all of a sudden.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
You're in this the same place as my team, the
Carolina Hurricanes, down three to one, and it took them
winning last night just to get it to three to one,
as they dropped the first three.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Not looking good from my group.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
But if your team wins tonight, if the Stars win tonight,
it's a brand new series. It becomes the best of
three and back to home ice advantage. For the Stars,
hence the importance.

Speaker 4 (01:10):
The tough part is Edmonton's been the better team for
pretty much every period except for maybe the third period
in Game one, which was aided by Edmonton committing about
fifteen different infractions, leading to Dallas getting a couple of
power plays and taking advantage of those said power plays.
But just need of the bigger guys to step up.

(01:30):
Branston has not had the series he had in the
first round. Robertson, of course, he's still coming off injury,
as is Hayskin. In You just need a little bit
more from those guys and from your front line scores
and have not gotten Edmonton has so but if Dallas
can find a way to win tonight, then we have
a series. But if not, then got a feeling we're

(01:50):
getting Florida Edmonton again.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
A rematch from last year. Okay, so that's in HL.
Then he got NBA, where Cameron's team is doing really well.
The Oklahoma City with Thunder looking the part of the
one seed. Impressive in what they did down the stretch
to keep the Timberwolves at arms length at Target Center

(02:13):
last night, to win that game and to go up
three games to one in that Best of seven series
and leave it to Shay gilg As Alexander, the MVP
of the league, who was really kept under wraps in
in Game number three by the Timberwolves, was held to

(02:34):
what fifteen points? I think something like that, and then
boy did he step up and got his teammates involved,
chet holmbrun big plays down the stretch and now the
thunder stand one Game one went away from going back
to the NBA Finals for the first time since what
twenty fifteen? Was it twenty fourteen, twenty twelve? Gosh, it's

(02:54):
been that long, okay, twenty twelve and there, and they
get a chance to go back home and do it
at pay Com Center in Oklahoma City.

Speaker 4 (03:03):
Huge gut check win for Okay. See especially after losing
by forty two points in Game three. A little bit worried,
how's the team responding after a beat down like that?
But they responded. They came out and played super well.
They were super aggressive, and Shay was you know, he
played like an MVP. Forty points, tennis cists, nine rebounds,
the fifth player to ever do that in conference finals history.

(03:27):
Made some clutch buckets, but I think it was the
j dub and Chet hombering game because Jalen Williams was
incredible in the first happened in the fourth quarter, knocked
down some huge buckets and Chet had some huge three
pointers as well, had a huge block towards the end,
a gut Chet victory. And every time that you know,

(03:47):
whether it was Memphis or Denver or Minnesota, where they've
thrown a punch. Okay, see this young group of guys,
the youngest team in the NBA has found a way
to punch back, and now a game away from making
it to the finals.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
I will say this.

Speaker 4 (04:02):
There's been a lot of discourse on social media about
Anthony Edwards and a lot of yelling on the yelling shows.
This morning, I thought, yell, in the fourth quarter, what
OKAC is doing defensively against ant I mean, they're throwing
all five dudes in Anthony Edwards forcing him to get
rid of the ball, and I thought he was great

(04:23):
in the fourth quarter, had a massive three pointer when
it looked like OKC was going to run away with it,
and he had a couple of huge reads where he
drove in and he had four bodies there, so he
kicked out instead of forcing a bad contest, or rather
a bad shot, a bad miss. He he found this
guy's whether it's de Vincenzo or other players, to knock
down big shots.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
It was a fun game.

Speaker 4 (04:44):
That was probably the best game I think we've had
uh in the Conference finals so far, because it was
it was back and forth. A lot of these games
so far have been comebacks, you know, and those are
are good. But one side of this this game was
a heavyweight bout. I mean, okay see instead of going
back and forth, back and forth, and then it became
a free throw shooting contest at the end. But a

(05:05):
huge win fro kse And you know, now we turn
the game four in Indiana and New York, like Dallas
has has a must win Game four in the road,
here's New York must win Game four in Indiana.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
So yeah, how are you feeling about the East?

Speaker 5 (05:20):
Now?

Speaker 1 (05:20):
The Knicks down twenty, do it again like they did
in Boston, come from down twenty to win game three.
They will win away from recapturing home court advantage after
dropping the first two at home to the Pacers.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
So here's that.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
What is it they like to say the critical Game
four or the crucial Game four in a best of
seven series? And it really does seem to be that way,
because if the Pacers win and go up three to one,
even with the series going back to New York for
Game five, Indiana has already proven they can win at
the Garden.

Speaker 2 (05:54):
New York's really on the ropes, you know.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
But if the Knicks win, I think it completely flipped
the series now gets everything all square. Going back to
New York for a game I much like the Stars
against the Joys.

Speaker 4 (06:07):
Yeah, I think Indiana wins tonight. You know, they were
the better team the first half of the New York
had that great comeback. Anthony Towns was incredible in the
fourth quarter. But I just feel like Indiana's just the
better team. New York had to win that. So I
think tonight, Game four at home, I think Indiana gets
it done.

Speaker 1 (06:25):
Okay, all right, So there's NBA and NHL Major League Baseball.
The Rangers are getting good pitching performances, they're just not
hitting the ball. I mean the grim pitch well. Former
long horn Hoby Milner did well out of the pen
last night, but yeah, they've been struggling to swing the
bats like they've been awful.

Speaker 4 (06:46):
It's been an awful season that Jock Peterson signing has
looked awful. Now he's out for an extended period of
time with that fractured risk whatever, but he wasn't hitting
the ball healthy anyway. So it's been a tough year.
Simeon's been terrible. There's been no production at all in
the lineup, and it's really overshadowed the fact that, as
you mentioned, the Rangers pitching has been phenomenal this season,

(07:09):
that the bullpen, the starters, everyone has pitched so well.
At a certain point, when you're only scoring one or
two runs a game, you know the arms are going
to try and do too much. They're going to over
extend themselves and it's going to lead to probably more
injuries as well. But the production has been awful. So
I don't even know what the move is here if
you're you're Chris Young and the Rangers' front office, because

(07:32):
you're hoping that maybe last year was an anomaly in
terms of production at the play, but now it's looking
like the World Series year was that anomaly because guys
like a Doles, Garcia and Simeon have not hit as
well as they did that season.

Speaker 1 (07:44):
Since then, astros looking okay, they went back to back games,
and they're just a game and a half back of
the Mariners. The Rangers wore drop back a little further
along with the Angels, but four and a half back,
and of course they's bringing up the rear at seven.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (07:59):
So wanted to present those things first because what we're
going to get into today is a lot of collegiate
discussion baseball, football, basketball, the college football Playoff. Lots of
things to get to first and foremost obviously the Long

(08:21):
Corn baseball team number two overall national seed, and they
will open play at UFCU dish Fogg Field in the
Austin Regional Friday afternoon at one o'clock against the Huskies HCU.
They like to go by it's Houston Christian, and they'll
play Houston Christian Friday afternoon at one o'clock. You can
hear that game live right here. I'm thirteen under the zone.

(08:43):
By the way, Thursday, what is at eleven am, ten
forty five air time on this camp Texas saftbaull to
Women's College World Series. So Texas Florida Game one. You'll
hear that live here on the Zone. So you know
that's ten forty five airtime and eleven am first pitch
on that, but again Longward Baseball, the number two national

(09:07):
seed had several p b You're surprised by them, No, No,
not surprised by that. Not surprised by the fact that
Vanderbilt got the number one overall seed. I think it
was accommodation of things. Vanderbilt finished the regular season very strong,
with a push right toward the and looked outstanding in
the SEC tournament. The Logorns, of course, won their final

(09:29):
series of the regular season in normally against Oklahoma, but
they dropped those other two series. They've had the injuries
and then dropped their one game there in Hoover. It
was an outstanding game. It went twelve innings, but they lost.
They lost to Tennessee. So so, but the value of

(09:51):
the body of work of the regular season and winning
the SEC regular season title by two full games that
carried its own weight the RPI, which is four.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
They had more quad.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
One wins than anybody else, therefore being the number two
overall national see nothing wrong with that. The field that
is coming to Austin interesting. Houston Christian and the team the
long Ones played and defeated in seven innings. They run
rolled them back on April eighth. But you know, I

(10:24):
put that in the same category as the loss to UTSA,
which was a twelve inning loss.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
Came.

Speaker 1 (10:29):
You and I were in Dayton, Ohio that night. We'd
gone It was the night before the Long Horn basketball
team played its final game of the season when they
lost to Xavier, and we had gone over to the
Dayton Arena to watch North Carolina played, watched those other games,
and then came back and that baseball game was still
going on and went twelve innings and UTSA.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
Won that game.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
But again, I think you put Tuesday games in their
own category wins and losses an RPI.

Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah, I get all that and gets factored in, but we're.

Speaker 1 (11:00):
Also realistic enough to recognize what the pitching matchups are
in the midweight games and who's out there playing and
who was out injured and so on and so forth.

Speaker 2 (11:09):
So they have those two.

Speaker 1 (11:12):
The main point of all this is that there is
a thread, a large threat of familiarity for Jim Schloasnagle
on his staff in compiling.

Speaker 2 (11:20):
Their game plan.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
And then there's Kansas State, who's coming in case State
looked good for a lot of the season, they kind
of stumbled down the stretch. So they're the three seed,
and they were by the tournament selection committees the evaluation
one of the last four teams in along with Arizona State,
who happens to be in the adjoining regional, the one
in Los Angeles hosted by UCLA, Meaning if Texas, if

(11:43):
the Seeds hold the form and Texas wins the Austin
Regional and UCLA wins the Los Angeles Regional, then UCLA
would come to Austin for the super Regional. But Arizona
State is in that regional over there. They were a
last four in, just as Kansas State was the last foehead.
So we're gonna hear from Jim Schlasnigle coming up a
couple of different ways.

Speaker 2 (12:04):
Hey, coming up in a few minutes.

Speaker 1 (12:05):
You're gonna hear him from the media availability following the
selection show yesterday. We were down on campus for that,
and uh, you'll hear from schlass on on that we
do have inconceivable this hour. Some wildlife involved in today's inconceivable.

Speaker 2 (12:25):
That's always fun.

Speaker 1 (12:26):
So we have some of that in the three o'clock hour,
and just to let you know, in the four o'clock hour,
I had a one on one to sit down with
Schlass and we'll get his thoughts on this upcoming regional
and his ball club and all that, so we've got that. Also,
in the three o'clock hour, we'll hear from Ryland Galvon
and also from Kimball Schusler. We'll hear from those two

(12:48):
long horn baseball players. So that's the baseball side of it.
The SEC spring meetings are going on. Sean Miller, the
brand new Texas basketball head coach, we'll hear from him,
and then that'll be in the three o'clock hour. In
the four o'clock hour, Sark, we'll hear from him. Also,
we'll hear from Greg Sank some thoughts on him about

(13:10):
the college football playoff and what formatting and whether they
go to nine games in conference schedule or stick with eight,
those kinds of things. We'll hear that coming up as well,
so we get a lot on the table. Wanted to
get some of those national topics out there for you.
If you'd like to text the program, feel free to
do so. All you have to do is text the
word Texas follow by your question or comment either one

(13:33):
to eight, one five three zero, So you text the
word Texas and then your question or comment to eight
one five three zero. Standard messaging and data rates may apply,
So we'll get to that and a lot.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
Of things coming up.

Speaker 1 (13:46):
We'll hear from Jim Slasnago up next here on this
Tuesday afternoon on thirteen under the Zone. Here on a
Tuesday here on thirteen under the Zone, and we are
three days away from baseball being played at UFCU Dishfalk
Longhorns in action against the Huskies of HCU Houston Christian
Also on the other side of that, it'll be one

(14:09):
o'clock Friday afternoon. You'll hear it here on the Zone
twelve forty five pregames start time one o'clock. The six
o'clock game Friday night will be the two ced UTSA
the three seed Kansas State Winners bracking game. Should the
Longhorns defeat HCU, they would advance to win eight o'clock
Saturday night contest and of course Sunday and Monday VTBA
depending on how it all goes. But let's hear from

(14:30):
Long Horns head ka Chim Slasnigel. This is right after
the selection show yesterday revealing Texas as the number two
overall seed and the tournament field.

Speaker 6 (14:40):
Congratulations to our team and program and fans, the staff.
I don't ever take this day lightly to host a
regional to be even interregional. Can't get Tomah unless you
are interregional. So this is like Christmas Day to me
when you get to see that you're in play it
at home. I feel like we got a super competitive draw.

(15:02):
Three teams that two of the teams we've played this
year on our field, and certainly Kansas State who's been
a conference member until this past year. So three teams
that are going to be super familiar with this fulk
and that'll make it and they're good, that'll make it
a really competitive series.

Speaker 2 (15:17):
So looking forward, hopefully have good weather.

Speaker 6 (15:19):
And our fans that come out provide a great atmosphere
like they have all year long.

Speaker 7 (15:25):
If you think about that opening night against Luligo, I mean,
in your mind, can you pick us up back and
think of what you kind of thought this team could
be compared to what they've become.

Speaker 6 (15:35):
Yeah, I mean I think if somebody would have said
before the season, you're gonna win the SEC regular season
by two games and and be a national seed, certainly
we all would have signed up for that, and the
journey has been kind of winding to get here. But
to say that I could have predicted that, I think
that'd have been tough, given we had a lot of

(15:55):
new players, coaching staff, new guys coming off injury. If
you had told me before the season that you're also
going to lose your number one pitcher and and you're
best player for a month and a half or so, so, well,
how's that going to happen?

Speaker 2 (16:08):
You know?

Speaker 3 (16:08):
So?

Speaker 2 (16:09):
Uh, But yeah, I don't doubt these kids.

Speaker 6 (16:11):
I don't doubt that core group of older players that
were super thankful for that has really led this bunch.

Speaker 2 (16:17):
So they're the ones to be credited the most.

Speaker 8 (16:19):
But you talk about the journey, Day's Memorial today, were
celebrating your days. We're we're hearing about it in the hole, Fame.
What do you hope your players take away provis now
with today but this whole list the season?

Speaker 6 (16:34):
Uh, you know, I mean, I hope they take away
a national title, but uh, on the field, but you know,
away from the field, just enjoying the experience of getting
to play some more baseball in a Texas uniform. And
uh As Memorial Day obviously he tells us you no
one's no one's promised an hour from now, much much
less Friday.

Speaker 2 (16:53):
You know, anything could happen.

Speaker 6 (16:54):
So I just stay in the moment and enjoy being
with each other because it's you know, it's not always
going to be like this.

Speaker 2 (17:02):
It's just not whether you're in Pro ball or next
year's team.

Speaker 6 (17:05):
You assume that things are going to happen to you
in life and they're going to continue to be good.
But you know everybody is either coming off of a
rough time period or there's one about to come. So
I just want to continue to enjoy each other and
and and win and understand that that we can beat
anybody we play, we can lose anybody we play, so
we have to be ready to play sound baseball this weekend.

Speaker 9 (17:27):
It's a lush when you think back to kind of
why Rogers asked thought about the game first game against
Louisville and then to now, or you reflect to all
losing Max and they're Jared, how much do you reflect
on how much is a great coaches Daddy have just
the decision making that you've been able to make, op
of course, and seek.

Speaker 6 (17:43):
Well correct the players most I mean they're they're the
ones guys who have come off you know, off the
bench and done really well. A guy like Shustler who's
learned a new position becomes the best defensive first basement
in the SEC. And Doz has played through injury, a
Rod still continues to play through injurymultiple positions. The progress
Casey Borb has made Tommy Farmer Jonah, I mean not

(18:06):
even in the program in the fall, and all of
a sudden, you know, he's he's a huge part of
what we're doing, especially when he's healthy. So so the
players have done amazing. I love our coaching staff set
that from day one. Two those done awesome. Max has
obviously done amazing, all of them, Nolan Gerrig, everybody on
the staff.

Speaker 2 (18:26):
It's just done a really good job.

Speaker 6 (18:28):
And to win an SEC title, that's what it takes
and takes a little bit of luck. So yeah, super proud, uh,
but but it's all pretense to to this. You know,
you do, all all the stuff we do all year
long is built for n C DOUAA tournament play. And
so now it's hate to hate to say the real
season begins, because that season could only last two games.

(18:49):
But we have to be ready to go on Friday,
and that's where our focus is for your.

Speaker 3 (18:53):
Foults on the other three teams coming in. Now you
have experience this year. He's one of them.

Speaker 6 (18:58):
Two of them, Yeah yeah, you TSA and Houston Christian
we both played this year. UTSA Coach Hallmark's done. He's
done such an awesome job of not just building a
great program, but they have a great persona they have.
They have an identity like Tennessee like Kentucky teams that

(19:19):
they hang their hat on something in toughness and base
running and put a lot of pressure on you offensively
and have a lot of really good arms, which is
why they've won forty two to forty three games this year.

Speaker 2 (19:29):
So they're really good. Case State.

Speaker 6 (19:31):
I don't know as much about they're yet, they're a
particular team, but I you know, having been in the
Big twelve at TCU, I know coach Hughes and the
kind of awesome job he's done with that program.

Speaker 2 (19:42):
They've been in super regionals there.

Speaker 6 (19:45):
I mean one of my last games at TCU, we
lost a regular season championship on the last day of
the season. It came back in like seven runs in
the last inning, So I still tasted that a little bit.
And then Houston Christian. The job that Clayton done, the coach,
the Clayton vangerline. The coach there is it's incredible, not
a lot of resources, but has worked his tail off

(20:07):
and they they really played their game the right way.

Speaker 2 (20:09):
It was very impressed.

Speaker 6 (20:10):
And I don't think they through strikes the night that
we played them, maybe if I remember right that particular game.
But they play sound baseball, and so it's going to
be I mean, we've got our work cutout for It's
just like anybody does the time of year.

Speaker 10 (20:25):
Mentioning Kimball earlier, but Kimball, Brylan, I think Ethan All
and the All Defense team. Did you expect to seem
to be as good defensively as it's been? Ah, some
aspects I did. And then we didn't start off the
season so right. You know, we weren't catching the ball grade.

Speaker 6 (20:40):
Some of that was the playing services we were on
were so unique relative to our field in Arlington and
in Vegas. But I think once we get into the
course of the season, guys made improvements.

Speaker 2 (20:53):
Shooter has really been a big part of that.

Speaker 6 (20:55):
You know, I judge a first Basem's defense by the
lack of throwing airs of the other infielders. I've always
said that, and that's true with Kimball, but he's actually
also played a really good first base. I mean the
three six three or the three six one double plays
that we've gotten, or the you know, those are things
that you know, those are rare to find a first
baseman that is that athletic that can throw. You don't

(21:17):
think it comes up in a game as much, but
when it does, it sure is huge. Like it ended
the game against A and M so new Jalen, you know,
it was a sound shortstop. Casey's gotten a lot better
as a third baseman. A Rod has been so valuable
in multiple roles, So yeah, I could see that happen.

Speaker 11 (21:35):
Is Jimal, what's your philosophy of holding your top guy
in a one four games?

Speaker 6 (21:40):
It just depends on who you have and what your
pitching staff looks like and who you're facing. So we've played,
we've been a part of playing four seeds that have
a second round pick. You know, I think it was
Ciena one year at TCU we played. It was the
year twenty fourteen, Marie. We actually played the second game
against coach Pierce's San Houston team, and we played twenty
two innings in that game, which everybody talks about that game.

(22:02):
Everybody forgets we played eleven innings the night before, so
we played thirty three innings in two days, and that
they had a second round lefty.

Speaker 2 (22:10):
Uh, it was tough. So you just have to look.

Speaker 6 (22:12):
At that first and then look at our own pitching
staff and what gives us the best chance to win
the regional And so Ruger and and uh Luke currently
are the only two remaining consistent weekend starters for us.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
Uh So we got to figure out what the best
matchup is.

Speaker 6 (22:29):
And part of the why I like playing the first
game is you get to watch who you're about to play,
whether you've won or lost the game.

Speaker 2 (22:36):
So you get a little bit more prep time to
be going to.

Speaker 12 (22:38):
Get ready to go go show all those two days
like after floss of returns recovery for your playoffs cigarette, right.

Speaker 6 (22:46):
We just well we we just flew out the next morning,
so yeah, uh yeah, there was no there's plenty of
relationship built on this club, there they they they are
a tight bunch. But yeah, we we flew back, got
in around one o'clock on Friday afternoon, got a lift
in some guys hitting the cages, and then we gave
them off all day Saturday, and we practice Sunday evening.

Speaker 2 (23:06):
So that's how we do it in the fall.

Speaker 6 (23:08):
Kind of gives them a full forty eight hour window
of being away from baseball and rest, and so we
had a great practice last night. We'll have a super
light one today and then get into a normal schedule Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

Speaker 3 (23:20):
You mentioned this feeling like Christmas morning.

Speaker 13 (23:21):
I think I'm reaction certainly didn't look like in our
kids counting out to a tree Christmas Morning. Do you
like that that they kind of you know, they knew
some of it was gonna happen, but it just seems
like they feel like they're just prepared.

Speaker 6 (23:34):
Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about that, because
I never want us to take anything for granted.

Speaker 2 (23:39):
I know how I feel. I mean, I feel like
the kid running down the stairs. For sure.

Speaker 6 (23:42):
Every time I wake up on this morning and know
that we're in is a great feeling, because all you
have to do is one time have to sit and
watch a TV show and have your name not come up.
Once that happens once or you get a phone call
the night before and you're told you're not in. That
feeling is horrible and that's definitely not Christmas. It's like
someone coming down Christmas morning and the Grinch has taken

(24:03):
all the presents. So so, yeah, so I have been
on the other side, the confidence and the fact.

Speaker 2 (24:09):
You know, I understand it's Texas. I just don't want to.

Speaker 6 (24:12):
I don't ever want to as long as I'm coaching here,
I don't ever want to assume anything.

Speaker 2 (24:16):
I don't want to feel like we're entitled to something.
I want to. I understand what the standard is.

Speaker 6 (24:21):
That's that's fine, But at the same time, you better
celebrate those small wins because they're not.

Speaker 3 (24:27):
Easy, you know.

Speaker 14 (24:28):
Talking to Show Leary and Galband, you mentioned one of
the biggest improvements mentioned in their game with working with
Ryan Kane. Why was that so important for you to
incorporate that program this season to improve that as figure?

Speaker 6 (24:39):
Yeah, I mean the mental game of baseball has been
super important to me my whole career. The programs that
I've worked with, We've been working with Brian Kaine since
two thousand and six.

Speaker 2 (24:47):
Uh, it's just just not it's a non negotiable. Uh.
If I was going to pick.

Speaker 6 (24:53):
One thing that we had to have in the program,
I would actually carry that over. Strength conditioning in strength
conditioning is super important, and the baseball stuff is super important.
But you can't be in control of your performance unless
you're in control of yourself. And there are mental skills
that you can practice every single day to give yourself
the best chance to be at your best when you
needed the most. And that's what Brian helps us do.

(25:17):
The bigger thing is you have buy in from your coaches,
which we do, and then you have buy in from
the team. So that is there's no question, that's a separator.

Speaker 7 (25:25):
When you talk about this in some respects being the
start of this run, yet you want your guys to
be loose and not tight think about the end.

Speaker 3 (25:35):
Is that kind of a balancing act.

Speaker 6 (25:37):
Yeah, I mean that's why you talk all season about
if you're playing whoever on a Tuesday night, if you
don't play to the standard, you're gonna lose, and which
has happened to us. If you if you do, you
can then you can go sweep Georgia, or you can
win an SEC series on the road, or sweep an
SEC series on the road. So I think our guys

(25:57):
they have confidence, but they respect the game enough to
know that that anything can happen, So I don't.

Speaker 2 (26:04):
I'll be sure to make sure their eyes are.

Speaker 6 (26:06):
On Friday night, and that's asked my job to make
sure that they're locked in on that.

Speaker 2 (26:11):
I'm similar to that.

Speaker 15 (26:11):
How much of it is you and your spaps chop
to prepare these young guys for the postseason played versus
your veterans kind of taking over to their way and.

Speaker 3 (26:18):
Tell them what it's like.

Speaker 16 (26:20):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, I think it could be
part of it. But the beauty of our.

Speaker 6 (26:24):
Conferences, I mean, we've been here. I asked Garret Moziello
on our staff, and this is his first year in
the SEC. I asked him the other day, what is
it now that you've been through ten weeks in the SEC?
What stood out to you? And he said, we played
the weekend, we played Auburn. We're playing another top five team,
and we just all looked around each other like, yeah,

(26:45):
it's just another another top five matchup in the SEC.
You know, we had played Georgia maybe in LSU and
whomever else. So again, not trust science, sound elitist, but
when you've been through that, then there's nothing there there,
there's nothing else to do.

Speaker 2 (27:02):
You've been challenged every level. Now just go to go play.

Speaker 13 (27:04):
Well.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah, and that's reflected if you looked at the national seeds.
Number one seed is Vanderbilt at the SEC. Number two
seed is Texas at the SEC. Number three seed is Arkansas,
the SEC. Number four seed is Auburn of the SEC.
So the top four were there. North Carolina was five.
Then you had who am I forgetting here? Georgia is

(27:27):
the number seven, the LSU is the six, Georgia is
the seven. So you've got six of the top eight
national seeds coming back because Oregon State was number eight.
Six of the top eight, we're from the SEC, and
that's what Schloss was referring to there, the grinder of
going through that SEC. We'll hear more from Jim Schlasnegle
coming up the four o'clock hour. Also in the four

(27:49):
o'clock hour, joining us live from Oklahoma City will be
Texas softball head coach Mike White. He'll join us live
as his team is getting ready to take part in
the Women's College World Series up next Inconceivable on a
Tuesday afternoon on thirteen under the Zone. Busy day to day,
coming off of the press conferences yesterday and getting ready

(28:12):
for the NCAA Baseball Regional. In fact, it was just
on the phone with some folks about that stuff during
the during the break here at the top of the hour.
So the preparations continue for the matchups, which will be
Friday at one o'clock Texas against Houston Christian. We'll have

(28:32):
it for you twelve forty five air time, one o'clock
first pitch here on thirteen under the Zone. The night
game on Friday, we'll be UTSA the two seed against
Kansas State the three seat, So that will be the
night game on Friday night, and then we'll see where
it goes from there. If Texas handles its business on Friday,

(28:54):
then we played eight o'clock on Saturday night Parish to
thump with If Surprised happens, they would play at two
o'clock in an elimination game on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
So we'll see where all of that leads us.

Speaker 1 (29:05):
Texas softball at the Women's College World Series gets underway
on Thursday morning at eleven o'clock Texas against Florida.

Speaker 2 (29:13):
You hear that game here on the zone we're going
to visit.

Speaker 1 (29:16):
Next hour in Mike White, Texas softball head coach Neil
join us from Oklahoma City.

Speaker 2 (29:21):
We'll do that.

Speaker 1 (29:22):
Also in the four o'clock hour, we're here from Long
Wrns head coach Steve Sarkisian from the SEC spring meetings.
Prior to that, my conversation with Long Horton's head coach
Jim Slowsninkle to talk about this baseball regional that's.

Speaker 2 (29:36):
In the four o'clock hour.

Speaker 1 (29:37):
Here in the three o'clock hour, we're going to hear
from a couple of Long Horn players, and also we'll
hear from SEC Commissioner Greg Sank and from men's basketball
coach Sean Miller at the SEC meeting. So let's just
jump right in right now and start off with Kimball Schusler,
the Longhorn's first baseman, the graduate, one of these veterans
on this Longhorn baseball team. From the media availability following

(30:00):
the selection show yesterday.

Speaker 7 (30:02):
Initial reaction just the emotion of seeing that's number two.
See considering what this team, you know, new coaching staff
on new players, and to reach.

Speaker 16 (30:11):
This point, Yeah, it's definitely cool just to see all
the guys we've got coming back and all the work
we put in with the new with the new coaching staff,
and just to see that's pretty cool. I mean, I
know we didn't have a crazy reaction, but I think
that's the standard round here.

Speaker 2 (30:24):
That's expected and we're ready to get to work.

Speaker 10 (30:29):
What does this team have to do to be successful
up the next few weeks.

Speaker 16 (30:34):
Yeah, I think we talked about a lot about just
when we lost the Tennessee just recommitting through our process, uh,
finding ways to get better up to from that game
to our game against Easton Christian and just really just
finding some the little things in our game, whether that's nutrition, hydration, uh,
stuff on the field and stuff like that, and just
get those little things locked in and get us ready

(30:55):
for the postseason baseball.

Speaker 3 (30:56):
Good.

Speaker 8 (30:57):
But do you think it's a pro or comment. You've
had a little bit of time before your next team
usually episodes time off between games.

Speaker 16 (31:04):
So yeah, I mean, I think you can both go
both ways. I think we've definitely spun it into a positive.
You know, Coach loss has talked about, just like I said,
just the little things getting hurt, hydration, Right, maybe some
guys are a little beat up, just getting healthy.

Speaker 2 (31:20):
And a little rest doesn't hurt when we're getting.

Speaker 3 (31:22):
Ready to place postseason baseball.

Speaker 10 (31:24):
It's been an advantage that you guys have seen Houston
Christian before. If you play UTSA, you've both seen them before.
I guess half familiar to Kansas State, is there and
advantage to that.

Speaker 2 (31:34):
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 16 (31:35):
I mean in twenty two we went up and played
at k State and last year we went to Kansas State,
so we're definitely familiar. It's kind of cool we get
to play them again coming from the Big Twelve, and
I know we played UTSA and Houston Christians, So yeah,
just being familiar with those teams seeing them before, I.

Speaker 3 (31:51):
Think it will definitely helps out.

Speaker 14 (31:52):
Speaking of twenty two, that was the last time ut
hosted Regions.

Speaker 2 (31:56):
Yeah, so I would sire if you ever do that. Yeah,
it's definitely cool.

Speaker 16 (31:59):
I was on the team in twenty two with a
couple of guys didn't have that big of a role,
but now some the younger guys that are on that
team now have a bigger role on the team.

Speaker 3 (32:08):
So it's it's kind of cool to see that.

Speaker 15 (32:11):
We've asked different versions of this question Dregie here, but
ultimately What is the allowedest team to be so special
and be able to find ways to win throughout the season.

Speaker 3 (32:21):
Yeah, I think it's just our opening day mentality.

Speaker 16 (32:24):
We treat every day like it's opening Day, and you know,
you never know when it's going to be your last
game to play, so you might as well go out
there every day like it's opening Day, like you're playing
football in the backyard and just and just let it fly.
And I think that's what's helped to be successful throughout
the season.

Speaker 7 (32:39):
Kable, does this show how important those midweek games are
considering two of the three teams here, you guys face
during the mid weeks.

Speaker 16 (32:45):
Yeah, we don't whether it's a Friday night in Arkansas
or Tuesday night at the dish, Like, we really don't
view it any other way, and I think that's definitely helped.

Speaker 10 (32:54):
It's kind of unrelated to regional play. But you defensively
have been really successful this year at starting double So
is there any secret to your success there? What kind
of goes into that that defense?

Speaker 16 (33:05):
Yeah, I think it just goes back to the work
that we put them in the offseason, working with working
with the coaches, just taking a million ground balls that
that I could get there in the game, and I
think it's definitely helped me. I mean, all we really
have to fall back on is the work we put in,
and I think it's definitely sure.

Speaker 3 (33:21):
How comfortable are you at first base now? You kind
of got pretty much up for the season in it.

Speaker 2 (33:25):
Yeah, I'm really comfortable over there.

Speaker 3 (33:27):
I don't think or whatever is going to happen to
the game. I feel like I'm prepared for.

Speaker 16 (33:31):
I feel like I prepared myself with the work, So
I'm very comfortable here.

Speaker 3 (33:34):
Kevi.

Speaker 17 (33:35):
But what do you what do you all to take
you from the SEC tournament that you can use to
help you out in the RIGI.

Speaker 16 (33:41):
Yeah, I think there was there was some positives that
came from that, like Ethan Walker emerging giving us four
plus innings, things like that, us having some really good
at bats off the SEC pitcher of the year. You know,
we're just we're just looking to take the positives from
that and roll it into the regional.

Speaker 14 (33:56):
You talked about everyone eating Kilo is now now she
good all respect to face, Well, how does that play
a factor come into maok, real close either play having
that type of mentality every c being all day last
series yeah.

Speaker 16 (34:10):
I mean the reality is, I guess we could be
two games away from it in our season, and it's
really not a good way to look at at that
when you're playing baseball. So just as free as we
can play and just being loose and having that opening
their mentality helps us, you know, when we get in
those big, those big moments where the game could go
either way, I think that's that's where we take the
next step.

Speaker 3 (34:30):
Of our opponent. How prefer everything this team is. I
think we're very prepared.

Speaker 16 (34:34):
You know, we've we spend a lot of time on
the mental game, and we we know what we're We
work the hardest in the country, so I mean we're
prepared for you.

Speaker 11 (34:43):
Kimber do you how do you feel I havn't seen
guys in the fall and watched them dritan season. How
do you feel about the state of the pitching depth
on this roster going in regional pleas?

Speaker 16 (34:51):
Yeah, we have no question the pitching depth of the pitchers.

Speaker 3 (34:55):
Every one of them work their tail off every single day.

Speaker 16 (34:58):
They come to work with Max Win and we think
he's the best pitching coach in the country, and I
think that show throughout the season.

Speaker 14 (35:04):
So I know that they're going to be prepared anything
else for Kimball. I got one last time. Sorry, you
talked about mentally Dubben working.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
On that in what way? How do you do that?

Speaker 16 (35:14):
We started working with a mental performance coach in the
fall named Brian kan We meet it every We meet
every week with him, and he's just taking our game
to the next level. You know that this game is,
I mean offensive. If you failed seven out of ten times,
you're a Hall of Famer. So it's all about dealing
with failure. And I think he's done a great job
of helping us deal a fair.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
Yeah, that's a unique way of looking at it.

Speaker 1 (35:37):
But I used to hear Augie Garita talk about that
the best hitters in the game fail seven out of
ten times.

Speaker 2 (35:44):
He served three hundred hitters.

Speaker 1 (35:45):
So it's how you deal with a failure, how you
build it back into your own formula for success, your concentration,
your relaxation, but being focused on what you have to
do at the plate and have given it bat It's
one of the great mysteries and science of baseball. All Right,

(36:06):
we jumped from baseball to basketball. Next, we're gonna hear
from long Warton's head coach Sean Miller. That's next when
we continue on thirteen under the Zone in baseball Texas
to take on Houston Christian UTSA against Kansas State, and
those are the four teams will be at UFCU dishfalk Field.
Texas basketball obviously is in its off season, but that

(36:29):
doesn't mean things aren't percolating, what with the portal having
been opened for a while and Long Wartons head coach
Sean Miller's been very busy with that. But the football
and basketball head coaches at the SEC Spring meetings, so
there was media availability with these coaches. So let's hear
from Texas head coach Sean Miller with everything else is

(36:49):
going on, the up and down nature of the house settlement,
changes perhaps in the portal coming with even within the
framework of his own construction for his first edition of
Long Worn Basketball. All of these things part and parcel
of what Sean Miller is dealing with us as he
visited with the medium here today.

Speaker 18 (37:11):
I'm thrilled to be here the SEC Spring Meetings from Afar.
I think captivates college sports, you know all. I seem
to be pointed here in Destin, Florida, and to be
a part of it, especially a great place like the
University of Texas. I'm both honored and thrilled to be
here and excited to talk about Texas basketball.

Speaker 3 (37:31):
For Lecina and for Daily.

Speaker 19 (37:34):
How important was it just for them to be able
to come in because you mentioned that you're not coaching
a team, so for you to have a style and
a way of doing things.

Speaker 3 (37:42):
How important is it to have those.

Speaker 19 (37:43):
Guys and maybe help the other guys who've been here
or coming here to know how you operate well.

Speaker 18 (37:49):
You know, if it goes to the word that everybody
talks about in today's college sports model, and that's retention,
We're all looking for ways to keep our best players,
to have key contributors and winning players go from one
season to the next. It's how things always have been
field count pro sports. You know the value of keeping

(38:11):
your best players with you for a long period of
time because it's not only their consistency and their own performance,
but it's their ability to impact others, to teach them,
to coach them, to kind of.

Speaker 20 (38:22):
Show the way to those that are new.

Speaker 18 (38:24):
And Lesina and Dalen have a unique opportunity because they've
been with us in Dalan's case for multiple years, in
Locina's case this past year. But they know how we travel,
how we practice, they know terminology, they know people in
our strength gives, they know who I am, and I
do think that they'll be very helpful in bridging that

(38:46):
gap that just is there when you're a new coach
at a new place with the other players. Equally important
are the five or six Texas returners.

Speaker 20 (38:57):
You know, guys that have been in the SEC that a.

Speaker 18 (39:00):
Stand what it's like to play in Nashville and be
part of the SEC tournament, that live in Austin, that
go to school every day, So you know they're going
to be able to from that retention perspective be very
helpful in building.

Speaker 20 (39:13):
So if you look at it, we have.

Speaker 18 (39:15):
Retention in this coming year, in my first year two
different ways, from the two guys coming from Xavier and
from those returning from Texas. But that's a force that
I don't think that we underestimate. You know, you obviously
collect talent. You have to have a talent at roster,
especially in this league, but the familiarity and the retention

(39:35):
part of.

Speaker 20 (39:36):
It is something we hope to build as well.

Speaker 21 (39:38):
Coach, what are the hot button issues in college basketball
Right now, in college football, we're talking about college football
playoff in nine game versus eight game schedule. What are
the hot button issues for college basketball coaches?

Speaker 20 (39:51):
I think the hot button model is just singular.

Speaker 18 (39:54):
It's you know, the name, image and likeness and how
that's going to work moving forward. And look as a coach,
I don't think any of us can be presumptuous or
act as if we know the answer.

Speaker 20 (40:07):
Part of it is just we're in this period.

Speaker 18 (40:10):
Of time of the unknown, and you know, I think
the analogy that I've heard is you're flying the plane
and building it at the same time, and to some
degree in terms of sports, that's true. Right where you're
you're trying to make the best decisions for your program,
most importantly for the players that you're coaching in real time,

(40:30):
knowing certain things may not be the same in the future,
and by the way, certain things aren't the same today.

Speaker 20 (40:36):
As they were even a year ago. So I think
it's that unknown.

Speaker 18 (40:40):
There's never been more of it when it comes to
that which affects recruiting, you know, the lifeblood of what
we all do.

Speaker 11 (40:48):
When you look at on that topic, I don't know
if there's truth to the idea that like a power
for SEC team that has less money to spend on
basketball will be put at a disadvantage. Again, say the
place you left where they don't have to worry about football,
does that come up?

Speaker 18 (41:10):
Yeah, you're talking about the revenue share where you're.

Speaker 11 (41:16):
A villanova, you don't have to worry about a football team.
Is that an issue for you?

Speaker 18 (41:20):
You know, you hear that, But I think that that
me coming from there. You know, I think that if
we're here speculating on that towards them, they would equally
be speculating on what we're doing down here. And then
that comes back to this awkward unknown part. You just
truly don't know. It is truly speculation, and I know

(41:42):
what you're talking about. But one of the other things
that I feel as part of the SEC and certainly
at the University of Texas, is you know that you're
moving towards the future. You're certainly going to be at
the table, And I think that's a very comforting feeling,
Whereas there are times when other conferences, as much as

(42:03):
they want to feel that way, they can't because of
the model that we are in in the Power.

Speaker 17 (42:09):
Of football, both and M s both A and M
and Texas new head coaches.

Speaker 20 (42:16):
What do you know about that rivalry.

Speaker 22 (42:18):
And what do you know about by McMillan and who.

Speaker 18 (42:20):
Is his coacherversus so an amazing fact, Bucky was Kobe
Jones's high school coach in Birmingham, Alabama. I was Kobe
Jones's college coach at Xavier and Kobe Jones. If you
don't know him, you get drafted in the early second round.
He's currently an NBA player, most recently with the Washington Wizards.
An amazing kid and connected to somehow the University of

(42:43):
Texas and Texas A and m's basketball coaches. You know,
I think if you bet on that about four years ago,
there'd be a lot of people who would take the.

Speaker 20 (42:51):
Bet and that that wouldn't be the case.

Speaker 18 (42:53):
So that's really my familiarity. And also I know he
had great success at Samberg.

Speaker 20 (43:00):
How it was four years ago.

Speaker 23 (43:01):
The SEC basketball was not where it is today.

Speaker 21 (43:05):
What made this so attractive to you.

Speaker 20 (43:09):
Coming to Texas and the SEC, Well, it's two parts.

Speaker 18 (43:12):
I think the first part that it's attractive is in
I think for any coaches.

Speaker 20 (43:17):
To be a part of the University of Texas.

Speaker 18 (43:19):
I mean, there aren't many places that combine the forces
that we have on our side. The city of Austin,
you know, I think that it gets known around the
country is like this really cool, great college town I
had never heard of bad words, A great place to live,
great food, seeing live music, great college town. You get

(43:40):
to Austin, You're like, oh, my goodness, Like it's one
of the top ten largest cities in our country. I
can you know, it's way more than college town. It's
a thriving city. It's the fastest growing city in America.
And then you know, you look at our campus. Start
with the university itself. I think the statistic that is
in play right now is ninety thousand applicants a year.

(44:02):
They accept less than nine thousand. There are many universities
that can say that. And yet the backdrop of Austin
with University of Texas. Now you put the SEC in play,
which you know it just means more is a great slogan.

Speaker 20 (44:19):
We've all seen it from the outside if you're not
a part.

Speaker 18 (44:21):
Of the SEC, but it does you feel that when
you turn the TV on, when you watch a college
football and this year at college basketball game, you since
the college sports is just incredibly important in this footprint.
So that and then the other part of Texas is
the Moody Center in our practice facility.

Speaker 20 (44:39):
You know, it's two and a half three years old.

Speaker 18 (44:42):
There are very few places that have that type of
new facility and that's a great combination that I just
named right there in a row.

Speaker 20 (44:50):
So it's a decision.

Speaker 18 (44:52):
That although for me Xavier it's not like I wanted
to leave there. It's a great place in its own right.
It's just if you really they want to be the
best or try to win at the highest level.

Speaker 20 (45:04):
I think the future of college sports is right here.

Speaker 23 (45:06):
It's definitely on that sean.

Speaker 20 (45:09):
I'm putting fourteen teams in this is teams think.

Speaker 23 (45:11):
Is probably going to be an anomaly. That's not I
don't think as a normal.

Speaker 24 (45:14):
But how sustainable is double digit bids plus for the
SEC as you look at the landscape and where college
basketball's going.

Speaker 20 (45:21):
Yeah, that's a great question.

Speaker 18 (45:23):
You know, it hits home with me because remember at Xavier,
we played in the first four against Texas, right, so
I guess they would have been towards the end of
that fourteen and you know, playing that game and how
that game felt as a team that had a lot
of pride in being in the Big East and playing
in the national schedule. You really sensed through that game

(45:45):
the incredible depth of the SEC. One thing that's definitely
going to change, and I don't think it's talked a
lot about in basketball, is the no COVID year. You know,
in our case, we had a number of players in
three years at Xavier that were exercising their fifth year.
It's a year that doesn't exist right now. So even

(46:07):
this spring, as wild as you know, everybody looked at
the portal as being there is about twenty five percent
of the pie missing. You know, Zach Fremano, who became
our best player, if he were in this present day,
he would not be eligible to be on the team
next year. His year didn't exist. So I think just
that alone, you know, taking that one layer of talent

(46:30):
where you can convince in all SEC player to return
for a fifth year, and now that that's not in play,
I don't think it our league will remain as old.
So I think just with that alone, I don't know
if fourteen of sixteen I hope, but I could I
could certainly see the effect of that moving forward, even

(46:51):
in the final four, and you looked hard closely at
Auburn and Florida, two remarkable rosters. Part of their greatness
was that they had this this gift of a blend
of talent. But their older players, you know, they were
they were a big part of their success.

Speaker 24 (47:07):
Who do you think that impacts It's a really interesting point.
Do you think that hurts the power leads you could
afford the veteran players.

Speaker 20 (47:12):
Yes, that would be my point there.

Speaker 5 (47:16):
Can you talk about maybe re recruiting some of the
guys that you know you're recruiting the guy zavior now
and then of course now it's establishing new relationships with
guys that.

Speaker 23 (47:26):
You know you're trying to hit the ground running with
and go and see.

Speaker 18 (47:30):
Yeah, the re recruiting for me, or just the recruiting,
as how I would put it, is just you show
up and.

Speaker 20 (47:35):
This is your first team meeting and you're looking.

Speaker 18 (47:37):
At, you know, the players that can come back and
be a part of our our our Texas roster.

Speaker 20 (47:42):
You know this coming year. You know, you really don't
know them, they know you.

Speaker 18 (47:46):
I do think one thing that was very helpful for
me is they just finished competing against the team that
I coached our team, So you know, part of a
young person's questioning at the beginning is a style of play.
They had a good sense whether they liked it or not,
they had to feel through scouting and through playing that
game of what how we play, the pace we play,

(48:09):
and how it felt. So I was able to describe
our style really through that and it just happened as well.
So ask the uniqueness of you know, Xavier and Texas playing.

Speaker 20 (48:21):
So late in the season, so that was that was
part of it. That was helpful.

Speaker 18 (48:25):
But I thought, you know, the number one thing that
we tried to establish is that we would love to
have the returning players back that we're going to put
together a program that they would want to be a
part of, in a winning program where we could grow
and build what's already in place.

Speaker 20 (48:41):
So I'm thrilled.

Speaker 18 (48:43):
About a lot of things moving forward and excited, but
the returning Texas players is at the top of that list.

Speaker 20 (48:49):
I'm excited to coach them forever.

Speaker 23 (48:53):
Can you talk about your decision to retain Chris Agen. Yeah,
Algie is.

Speaker 18 (48:59):
An easy decision for me because you know, he's so
well rounded with his background you know former mister basketball
as a player, player who had choices and chose the
University of Texas, A winning player, very popular and with
his teammates during his time. And then he became a
coach for coach Barnes and and and had a.

Speaker 20 (49:20):
Long period of time both Texas Tennessee.

Speaker 18 (49:23):
Uh, you know, went with Chris Biere, who I respect
the great deal as coach, so he knows the game.

Speaker 20 (49:28):
Became the head coach.

Speaker 18 (49:29):
Think about that power right there, just ran his own
program for a period of time, and he.

Speaker 20 (49:35):
Did it in the state of Texas.

Speaker 18 (49:36):
So to have him in today's world as as a
general manager talking to the people, knowing the community in Austin,
it became an easy decision. And he's been so instrumental
and also very helpful to our entire staff and program
moving forward here of these I guess first two months plus, is.

Speaker 23 (49:56):
He a good reprinter of these days?

Speaker 2 (49:59):
Chris?

Speaker 23 (50:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 18 (50:00):
You know, he's limited because of his role as as
a non economy Yeah, but he knows, he knows what
to do and how to do it.

Speaker 20 (50:09):
He's very experienced in season. I can't I don't think
I can even comment.

Speaker 5 (50:16):
Set from a high school recruiting perspective as well. You know,
how has that been for you guys as far as
just like I said, even recruiting seven the kids such
as before and then even some of.

Speaker 23 (50:29):
The stop top kids in Texas such trying to get we.

Speaker 18 (50:32):
Want we want to recruit the high school players moving forward,
you know, to the earlier question, I think that you know,
it's a blend of transfers, retention and incoming.

Speaker 20 (50:42):
High school players.

Speaker 18 (50:43):
You can develop them, you can retain them, and we
have such an amazing state that I don't think it
would be in our best interest to not make the
state of Texas and the best high school players.

Speaker 20 (50:54):
In the state a huge priority to not do that.

Speaker 18 (50:58):
I don't know if you can maximize who we are
as a basketball program in university, So recruiting high school
players you're going to see us active. I also don't
think our entire team classes of five or.

Speaker 20 (51:10):
Six are going to be a part of our future.

Speaker 18 (51:12):
But getting the right two or three, three, sometimes maybe
even four in the class and then in trying to
then add players to the spring, that's our philosophy.

Speaker 1 (51:22):
That's long Warren's head basketball coach Sean Miller. It's interesting
he was talking about Chris Hogden being retained as the
general manager of the program and his ties to coaches
and coaching and basketball in the state of Texas, and
somebody asked him about Chris's son, Bo, who is a

(51:43):
really good high school basketball player playing at the private
school level.

Speaker 2 (51:47):
He said, I didn't think I comment on it, which
you can't.

Speaker 1 (51:49):
Now that will never stop the media from asking the
question there. But Sean Miller, like some of the other
head coaches, smart enough not to engage in that. All right,
I'm next. We'll hear on some more long horn baseball.
We will hear from Ryland Galvin, and also we're going

(52:10):
to hear from Greg sankeie the commissioner of the SEC
when we continue on thirteen under the zone. How about
some sound from the commission Greg Sankee, of course, is
looked at as being one of the big power brokers
in college athletics these days. He is, after all, the
commissioner of the most most accomplished and of late successful

(52:31):
conference in collegiate athletics.

Speaker 2 (52:33):
When you look at the.

Speaker 1 (52:34):
Totality of the athletic programs, because I know, folks, go
look at the last two national champions in football and
quite like that. But you look at the placement of
those teams in there, and you've got a current national
champion in college basketball, and the last four national champions
in college baseball, and the last four national champions albeit

(52:57):
from one school Oklahoma and softball.

Speaker 2 (52:59):
All those were when they were in the Big twelve.

Speaker 1 (53:01):
But all of these accomplishments in all of these varied sports.

Speaker 2 (53:06):
So his opinion is always going to be solicited.

Speaker 1 (53:10):
And at the spring meetings there, the SEC meetings in Destin, Florida,
he was asked about these two real hot button topics.
You might have heard one reporter asking Sean Miller about
the hot button topics being for college football being the
playoff and in specific to the SEC eight game or

(53:32):
nine game schedule that's going to be determined down the road.
He spoke on that during the telecast of the SEC
Baseball championship game on Sunday. But with regard to the
college football playoff, there seems to be this coalescing of
different commissioners, in specific two of the other Power five

(53:57):
or Power four commissioners in college football, with Tony Pettiti
the Big Ten and UH and then also from the ACC,
Jim Phillips and talking about, you know, for the greater
good of college football.

Speaker 2 (54:15):
So that continued to come up, those.

Speaker 1 (54:17):
Words about the greater good and if you're giving more
to get more and all this kind of stuff, and
he was asked about this and the specifics of this
whole greater good of college football and college athletics.

Speaker 15 (54:31):
So to get back to the playoff, but it also I
think gets to governance to a certain degree, talking about
your ads have said we've given up too much. You're
sort of again in a position of thinking about the
greater good of college football. That was talked about a
lot from other commissioners last week when there was some
decisue seting how do you balance what is well best

(54:53):
for the SEC with what is best or maybe it
could be giving up a little bit for the SEC
would be better for the whole.

Speaker 12 (55:01):
Look at a track record. We didn't need twelve? Did
we say that four? We would have had half the
four last year. I don't need lectures from others about
good at the game. I don't lecture others about good
at the game. And coordinating press release is about good

(55:24):
at the game? No, Yeah, okay, you can issue your
press statement, but I'm actually looking for ideas to move
us forward.

Speaker 2 (55:38):
To help out.

Speaker 12 (55:38):
I'll go back and say I thought the twelve team
designed was really well considered.

Speaker 2 (55:44):
At the time I came. We never had a unanimous.

Speaker 3 (55:48):
About to support the twelve team playoff.

Speaker 12 (55:51):
But even though I was involved in that work, that
didn't mean everybody in this league and we were at fourteen,
thought it was the best idea. But you gauge in
that type of problem solved our eight or nine game schedule.
That goes back to really twenty eighteen. We've been talking

(56:11):
about eliminating divisions from twenty eighteen forward and we expanded,
so it became a different conversation, and the shape of
that conversation has changed over time. We have to make
a decision. The CFP and my colleagues have to understand
there's something different here. We all play college football. And

(56:34):
so while you ask that of me, I'll go back
and say we didn't need a twelve team college football playoff.
I thought it was good for the game I was
involved in that others held it up. I thought it
was important to get after that work and a time
efficient manner get we held up and then we went fast.

(56:55):
We didn't go slow so we could go fast. We
didn't do anything went fast without solving some of the
other elements. I think I have a responsibility to push
as well, and I think my membership has a responsibility
and the desire to push me. And that is a
hard issue if you want to go inside what it's

(57:16):
like to sit in this role. I think about the
responsibility I have here. I think about the responsibility more
broadly all the time. Yesterday I said that we don't
apologize here. I'm proud we have thirteen games. I wish
it was fourteen in baseball. I'm proud of what we

(57:36):
did of men's basketball. I'm proud that we have I
think it's five of eight, five of eight in softball.
I actually think that can make other people better. Tip
and when I go back to college football playoff, I'm
open to ideas. There's just a lot of incoming. My
phone's not ringing off the hook, but hey, here's another

(57:58):
way to look at it.

Speaker 3 (58:01):
And so we'll continue to be thoughtful.

Speaker 12 (58:04):
We'll continue to try to provide perspective and information to
our members and help them guide the decision. And ultimately,
I recognize I'm the one who ends up typically in
front of the podium, explaining not just myself but ourselves.

Speaker 1 (58:20):
So good luck to me, good luck to me. But
it makes a good point. There's lots of and by
the way, the two commissioners, it's not Patiti, the one
from the Big ten. The two commissioners who are doing
the squawking about this are Jim Phillips with the ACC
and Brett Yormark of the Big twelve. They're the ones

(58:41):
who are talking about for the good of the game,
for the good of the game. But he said, it's
not like anybody's beating down his door with suggestions for
the good of the game. With regard to the playoff,
Let's sit down, let's have discussions, Let's talk this thing
out instead of just talking about, Hey, they're the ones
on the mountaintop. They need to give back for the
good of the game, and that I think is born.
He said, we're not going to apologize for having thirteen

(59:03):
teams in NCAA Baseball Regionals, six of the top eight,
by the way, as top eight national seeds, five of
the eight in the Women's College World Series as playing
in there.

Speaker 2 (59:18):
It's what the SEC does. And so that was his
points made on that.

Speaker 1 (59:23):
By the way, questioned on the text line, somebody said,
who did Chris Stockton play for at Texas?

Speaker 2 (59:32):
He's now a foot doctor. You'll remember calling.

Speaker 1 (59:34):
The last time I saw you, I was in a
wheelchair because at a stress fracture in my foot. There's
a possibility Chris could be my foot doctor. I remember
him being a four year starter text played for Mac
Brown outstanding kicker. A couple of walk off field goals
one at Iowa State comes by, and then Ricky Williams
Heisman season, he kicked the game winner to beat Texas
A and M there.

Speaker 2 (59:54):
So, anyway, there's the answer to that question.

Speaker 1 (59:57):
Let's go back to Texas Athletics to baseball and here
from Ryland Galvon Longhorn's catcher at the availability yesterday, certainly
one of the captains and team leaders of this team
as they get ready for another regional, right, I haven't seen.

Speaker 10 (01:00:10):
Look, there's kind of a new Died reaction for y'all
and being asked that was made, what kind of went
into that and how do you guys kind.

Speaker 3 (01:00:17):
Of get prepped for the tournament?

Speaker 10 (01:00:18):
Yeah, I think obviously we knew we were going to
be hosting and stuff like that, but.

Speaker 3 (01:00:24):
Yeah, we're kind of just looking forward to who we're facing.

Speaker 10 (01:00:26):
Uh, there's a lot of preditions out there, but you know,
nothing's ever like setting stone or anything. So uh, pretty
happy the way it panned out, and just excited to
get out on the dish for this regional, my first
time I ever experiencing it, having one here and slipping
forward to it.

Speaker 3 (01:00:42):
I guess that kind of rough may.

Speaker 8 (01:00:43):
Hell, how much does this these last few days off
the lad you guess kind of reset GI up and
start fresh.

Speaker 10 (01:00:50):
Yeah, obviously, you know, with the last month of May
and really the entire season, everything that we've done to
this point, to this point has has been pretty cool.
But obviously pussy'son baseball is different. Everything's but behind us,
it's about who's playing their their best baseball right now,
and we're trying to prepare ourselves, put ourselves in situations
that we feel like we'll be in and imagining visualizing

(01:01:13):
the results happening. That's basically what we're doing in our
preparation for this week, throughout practice, mental training and stuff
like that.

Speaker 3 (01:01:21):
So right, well, it's a long season. It's a long season.
How did this being able to host you know, kind
of seeing.

Speaker 12 (01:01:28):
The reveal, is that kind of rejuvenate you guys?

Speaker 10 (01:01:30):
Yeah, it's been a long year and just looking back
throughout the year and you know, everything that we've been through.

Speaker 3 (01:01:37):
Uh, it's pretty special.

Speaker 10 (01:01:38):
Obviously with the older guys that come back with the
wrong last year's team. If you would have told us
that we're going to be in this position, you know,
when a regular season conference title and be the number
two seed and host the regional on Austin, if you
would have told us that last year, probably wouldn't have
believed you. But at the end of the last year,
so uh, just grate grateful to be in the position

(01:02:00):
that we're in and then ready to get out there
on Dish Falcon compete and obviously the SEC tournament doesn't
go the way you wanted to. Yeah, Ethan kind of
showed something on the mound that game.

Speaker 3 (01:02:09):
What did you see for him and what can he
provide going forward? Uh, just all the competitor that everybody
knows that he is. It was great for our team.

Speaker 10 (01:02:17):
Obviously throughout the years, kind of been used as like
a lefty specialist, but stepped up in a time when
we needed it most and that's a great sign Uh
for our team and and uh for him and proud
of him and uh looking forward to see him out
on the reach.

Speaker 17 (01:02:33):
Room putting off of that. Bryan is a Regionals kind
of test pitching that. Yeah, how do you feel about
this team's ability to kind of pass that test?

Speaker 3 (01:02:43):
Yeah?

Speaker 10 (01:02:43):
So great about everybody that tows that rubber, anybody that
comes throughout from that pen, we know where they're going
to get their best. Winner is going to get them
ready to pitch and yeah, just ready to play good defense, minding.

Speaker 15 (01:02:58):
Anything else for real.

Speaker 14 (01:03:00):
I'm just talking to Kimbell and you mentioned like the
mental aspect of the Allis Dandards and pros this year.
Who at min kag Oh, how is that kind of
picking your mentality throughout this season helped you?

Speaker 10 (01:03:10):
I think it's one thing I've really learned has given
me a lot of perspective. Uh, just the way I
attack each and every day.

Speaker 3 (01:03:17):
Grateful to be here.

Speaker 10 (01:03:18):
There's a lot of people that want to wear our
uniform and and I want to step on that field
that dish fal can play and understanding that we're grateful
enough to be putting put in the position to do that.
I think just being able to uh, just take every
day one, one day at a time and be here
my feet are at has really helped me.

Speaker 3 (01:03:38):
And uh, it's transferred over onto the field.

Speaker 1 (01:03:42):
That's Ryland Galvan, the Longhorns catcher. By the way, he
was talking about Ethan Walker. Ethan Walker's junior college Walter State,
is the number one seed in this year is Junior
College World Series going on in Grand Junction, Colorado. Uh
And in fact, they've won their first two ball games.

(01:04:03):
They're including beating McLennan College of Waco, who of course
is Kate Bings Juco. And they beat them yesterday and
so they're unbeaten. Right, they're the top seed in that deal.
And right now McLennan's playing Blynn Random versus Waco. They're
just to stay alive on them, all right. We will

(01:04:24):
be back to wrap up hour number two on thirteen
under the Zone.

Speaker 2 (01:04:26):
Glad to have you with us.

Speaker 1 (01:04:28):
As well, as I mentioned in the first hour of
the program, we heard from the media availability of Longhorn's
head Coachim slas Nagle following yesterday's selection viewing party that
they had on campus there and also we got a
chance to hear from other Longhorn baseball players. We got

(01:04:48):
to hear from Kimball Schusler in the just completed a
three o'clock hour, as well as Ryland Galvan. Also in
terms of Longhorn basketball, we heard from Sean Miller, the
new head coach, was at the SEC meetings. We're going
to hear from football coach Steve Sarkisian coming up, and
we'll talk Texas softball with head coach Mike White. He'll

(01:05:09):
join us live from Oklahoma City coming up this half
hour or this hour as well. But right now I
want to jump right back into baseball, so we brought
you the full scope. This was the conversation I had
following that selection announcement with head coach Jim Slasnagle. I
would imagine this is something that never gets old, right,
being able to look up there and see your team

(01:05:30):
on the board.

Speaker 6 (01:05:31):
Yeah, it's not something you ever want to take for granted,
especially if you've ever had to experience being on the
bubble and not getting in, or being on the bubble
and barely getting in.

Speaker 2 (01:05:41):
It's like Christmas morning to me. Every year. You can't
conference championships.

Speaker 6 (01:05:46):
All that stuff is nice, but you can't make a
NOMA unless you're in a regional and so just the
opportunity to be in and then also obviously to play
at home.

Speaker 2 (01:05:53):
Man, it's really hard to do.

Speaker 6 (01:05:55):
And the super proud of our team and staff or
what we've accomplished to this point.

Speaker 1 (01:05:58):
You mentioned to Roger in the post aim after the
Tennessee game, you said, we're going to be somewhere in
that top eight, and you said it doesn't really matter
to me.

Speaker 2 (01:06:05):
So I would imagine being number two is not bad. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:06:08):
Yeah, if you have tolas before the season, you're gonna
win an SEC regular season and be a number two
national seed.

Speaker 2 (01:06:14):
We all would have signed up for that.

Speaker 6 (01:06:15):
So journey has been, you know, interesting, and it's been
winding road. But again, just really proud of our team
and now you got to go play. I mean, all
bets are off. We got good teams coming here. We
have three teams that are used to playing here, you know,
and two teams that we that have played here this year,
and obviously Kansas State, who's been you know, a conference
member until this year, so it's certainly not going to

(01:06:38):
be they're not going to be spooked by being here
simply because they've been here.

Speaker 2 (01:06:42):
So I'm sure it'd be a very competitive regional.

Speaker 1 (01:06:44):
I'm really curious about saying, have you ever, in your
time as a head coach be at TCU, A and M,
have you.

Speaker 2 (01:06:49):
Ever been in a regional?

Speaker 1 (01:06:52):
We're two of the teams out of the other three
you'd already played during the year.

Speaker 2 (01:06:56):
That's a really good question. I don't. I don't. I
don't think so. I'm sure maybe. I'm sure maybe at.

Speaker 6 (01:07:04):
Some point in the Louisiana regionals, you know, when I
was at Tulane, you know, back in the days where
you know, they were super regional and where there wasn't
as much money spent on flying teams around.

Speaker 2 (01:07:14):
So I'm sure we I'm sure it's happened, but I
don't remember.

Speaker 1 (01:07:17):
As far as Kansas State. That's another team, you know,
from only a year ago. So I mean there's a
great deal of familiarity here, is there.

Speaker 2 (01:07:24):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (01:07:24):
Yeah, great, I mean for Kansas State, for Texas and Dishwalk,
should be a lot of familiarity.

Speaker 2 (01:07:30):
You know, I haven't.

Speaker 6 (01:07:31):
I haven't coached against k State since twenty one, but
you know TULO has from last year and they have
d Kennedy, who was on you know, Texas team last year.
I've actually known him since he's eighth grade. But but yeah, utsa,
certainly they came here and beat us in a really
good game on a Tuesday night, and and Coach Hallmark's
done an awesome job of creating not just a winning program,

(01:07:53):
but that program has a prisona about it, It has
a it has a trademark and their toughness and grit
and kind of play anybody anywhere type thing. And then
the job that the Houston Christian coach has done is
off the chart. I'm very, very impressed by him. He's
got a great future in.

Speaker 1 (01:08:09):
Our professional in terms of the study that you and
Max get together. In terms of figuring out your pitching plans,
that's something that evolves over the next day or two
before or do you already have in mind what you
want to do going into the weekend.

Speaker 6 (01:08:23):
I think, you know, we've been playing out scenarios for
the last two weeks, two and a half weeks, you know,
when we you know, used openers. We started being in
the first game of a conference series against maybe a
guy that could be Conference pitcher of the Year, and
we still won the game. So so yeah, we've been
we've been talking about we've been talking about all this week,
and now that we have our draw, we'll go back.

(01:08:44):
And one good thing about our draw, two of the
three teams we've already done a lot of work on,
so you just got to kind of refresh it so
that that's a good thing.

Speaker 2 (01:08:52):
Saves us some time this week.

Speaker 6 (01:08:54):
But we'll figure out what the best matchup is, and
you know, you know I know that, and we know
if we've been now yet, but I'd prefer to play
the first game and that allows us. There's a lot
of advantages to that, but one of them is it
allows us to watch the game after us and whether
we've won or lost, gets a little more time to
get a better idea of who we're going to play
and what we need to do against them.

Speaker 1 (01:09:15):
And then also, I know how important it is to
you and the staff also over these past few days
and then going into we could get some guys healthy
if you get them rested up a little bit.

Speaker 2 (01:09:24):
I mean, that's still an ongoing challenge, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (01:09:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:09:27):
Yeah, I mean I'm sure there are other teams that
are trying to get healthy players back, but for us,
we earn the right to go a little slower in
the conference tournament and then get back here and give
the guys. We got back on Friday, got a quick
lift in, then gave the guys off all day Saturday, and.

Speaker 2 (01:09:44):
Didn't practice till Sunday night.

Speaker 6 (01:09:45):
So it's almost like forty eight hours worth of kind
of being away from baseball. We had a good workout
last night and we'll get back into a normal weekly
routine this week.

Speaker 2 (01:09:53):
But especially a guy like Jonah.

Speaker 6 (01:09:55):
It'd be nice to get him back, even if it's
just a Dah type thing. I think we're a significantly
more dynamic team when he's playing, which is crazy to
say about a seventeen year old player. He does have
to go graduate Thursday night and get his diploma, so
we're going to let him do that as long as he's.

Speaker 2 (01:10:14):
Back in time for the game.

Speaker 6 (01:10:15):
So but yeah, I think everybody could use a little rest,
and we're making the most other right now.

Speaker 2 (01:10:19):
How about that.

Speaker 1 (01:10:20):
John Williams will walk the stage at Galveston Ball on
Thursday night and then probably see action in the regional,
depending on how that hamstring's going. You'll probably see action
in the regional on Friday afternoon at one o'clock, and
that conversation that I had with Schloss happened right before

(01:10:43):
they did make the announcement that Texas would play at
one o'clock on Friday afternoon, and you'll hear it here
on AM thirteen under this own beginning at twelve forty
five for the pregame start time. Roger Wallace will join
me for the radio call. Keith Morland is working the
telecast of the regional this weekend. He knew he was
going to be working a regional somewhere for ESPN or

(01:11:04):
the ESPN family of networks. He just didn't know where,
and they had told him probably at an SEC venue.
He didn't know it was going to be Austin, but
he he'll be working as the analyst, working with Victor Rojas,
former Rangers broadcaster and I think A's and Angels broadcaster,
outstanding broadcaster. So that'll be your your TV coverage team

(01:11:24):
for this week as well. All right, up next, we'll
hear from long Ortons head football coach Steve Sarkisian from
the SEC meetings when we continue on thirteen under the Zone.
All right, continuing on this Tuesday afternoon, SEC meetings are
going on in Destin, Florida, and long Ortons head football
coach Steve's Sarkisian meeting with the media.

Speaker 20 (01:11:48):
He's got nice hands down here in Florida.

Speaker 25 (01:11:50):
It's good. Kind of an exciting time of the year,
you know.

Speaker 20 (01:11:55):
I always say that in our.

Speaker 25 (01:11:57):
Sport was kind of, you know, kind of check marks
along the year of where you're at, and this is
obviously one of them when it comes to spring meetings
to know that, you know, summer's right around the corner.
We're getting back with our players and getting ready to
go for the fall.

Speaker 20 (01:12:11):
So, like I said, it's good to see everybody.

Speaker 22 (01:12:14):
Sorry, maybe a lot of talking about public football playoff.

Speaker 23 (01:12:18):
I know you're gonna learn more about the hostel for
several days.

Speaker 22 (01:12:21):
You have some things like here's what I You know,
you've been in a couple of what you think should
maybe be the right number or what are the things
when you enjoy that conversation, when you jure those conversations
that are.

Speaker 23 (01:12:33):
Sort of on your mind to learn or maybe provide
some feedback.

Speaker 25 (01:12:36):
Yeah, I think you know, I've lived this life going
all the way back to the early two thousands, right
when I was an assistant coach at USC and we
didn't we didn't have a playoff, and and I think
that there was.

Speaker 20 (01:12:55):
I remember a year at UH at SC.

Speaker 26 (01:12:58):
We had a great football team and the way the
computers spit it out in the end, I think LSU
might have played Oklahoma and we played Michigan and the
Rose Bowl, and I think there was split champions that year.

Speaker 25 (01:13:11):
I think it was US and LSU were split champions.
And then we grew into a two team playoff, and
we grew into a four team playoff, and now we've
grown into where we're at today. And I think at
the end of the day, we all just want to
put the best teams to have an opportunity to compete
for a championship. And now more than ever, you know

(01:13:33):
the length of the season. You know, last year we
played sixteen games, and that was just to get to
the semi finals. We would have been seventeen right to
win a championship. And so the idea I think we've
all got.

Speaker 20 (01:13:47):
To wrap our brain around.

Speaker 25 (01:13:49):
I don't know if we'll ever see an undefeated national
champion again. If we do, that's a really good team,
because it's just so difficult, and it's not so it's difficult, yes,
because of the quality of the opponents you play, but
it's so difficult to stay healthy that long. I mean,
you're gonna have teams in years like we had last
year where you lose your starting quarterback and how do

(01:14:10):
you respond to your quarterback being down and you lose
both your left tackles that happened to us last year
or your left tackle.

Speaker 20 (01:14:17):
Then you're right tackle, and do you have the depth
to endure?

Speaker 25 (01:14:20):
And so I think you're gonna see teams more and
more now two losses, three losses, maybe even four losses
that get in not very different than the NCAA baseball
tournament of what that looks like. I looked at Vanderbilt,
I think is a number one seed. There was a
point in the season they were eleven and ten, and
now they're the number one seed in the baseball tournament.

Speaker 20 (01:14:42):
And so I don't know. And we kind of saw
it in basketball this.

Speaker 25 (01:14:46):
Year with Florida and then when in the national this
idea of somebody's gonna go sixteen to oher in college football,
man put a statue up somewhere of that team because
I just don't know if that's gonna happen again. And
so the idea that I think, you know, the powers
of beer. Trying to get it right. I think is
a good, healthy discussion, and I understand not everybody's on

(01:15:07):
the same page right now. Hopefully we can get to
that point to where that is that we're giving the
best teams the opportunity to get into that playoff, because
that's really what it is.

Speaker 20 (01:15:19):
It's a playoff and you're rewarding teams that We've got.

Speaker 25 (01:15:24):
A committee us trying to say who are the best
teams that should deserve an opportunity to compete for a
national championship.

Speaker 20 (01:15:31):
And so we've got our conference championship.

Speaker 25 (01:15:32):
There's a regular season, we've had a playoff, We've had
a championship game.

Speaker 20 (01:15:36):
What is that going to look like moving forward? Then
there's the.

Speaker 25 (01:15:39):
Playoff and so I don't know if I have all
the answers. I'm excited to hear. What are the talks,
you know, and where are we at? What I do
know is from our perspective, this conference is really hard.
You know, the SEC is tough, and it's tough on
every level. I think that this past spring is eighteen

(01:15:59):
straight years the SEC has had the most draft picks
in the NFL Draft. You know, this year, we broke
the record with seventy nine draft picks going to the
NFL Draft, and so for year after year after year,
the best players have been coming from from the Southeastern
Conference and we love being part of it. But I
also I surely don't want to punish our teams for
playing quality opponents weekend and week out. And then all

(01:16:21):
of a sudden you look up and it's two years
in a row the SEC hasn't had.

Speaker 20 (01:16:25):
A team in the national championship game.

Speaker 25 (01:16:27):
That doesn't make sense all the time, right, And so
we've got to make sure that we've got enough opportunities
to compete for national championship.

Speaker 24 (01:16:33):
Lean championship weekend idea of play in weekend as somebody
that played in the championship.

Speaker 25 (01:16:38):
Game last year, Yeah, this is a idea. Well, you know,
I value the championship game weekend. Like I said, I've
been in this conference. This is now going to be
my fifth year, three as an assistant and now two
as a head coach, And it means something to win
an SEC championship.

Speaker 20 (01:16:57):
And anybody that tells you it's diminished, they're lying. It
means a lot.

Speaker 25 (01:17:02):
It means a lot in our in our building, and
I'm sure in everybody else's building to those players.

Speaker 20 (01:17:08):
You know.

Speaker 25 (01:17:09):
And so I think one of the challenges of that is,
you know, in a lot of other sports, they have
a regular season champion and then they have a tournament,
a conference tournament champion.

Speaker 20 (01:17:20):
We don't have that in football.

Speaker 25 (01:17:22):
You know, last year we were a seven to one
team at the end of the regular season, I think
Georgia was six and two, and there was a few
six and two teams, and then we played Georgia and
we got beat you know, and Georgia was the conference
champion last year, and so what is that gonna look
like moving forward? We're just not gonna have a conference champion,
or we're gonna have a regular season champion and that's it.

Speaker 20 (01:17:40):
How is this all gonna play out? But I also
looked at it from our fans perspective.

Speaker 25 (01:17:44):
That was a lot on our fans, you know, to say,
you know, we're gonna go to Atlanta and play a
conference championship game. Then we had to play the first
round of the playoffs, and then we had to go
back to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. Then we had
to go to Dallas, and so you're putting a lot
on fans to start to travel different than in some
of the other sports tournaments where they have, you know,

(01:18:06):
like this weekend in baseball, we got four teams coming
to Austin that are all competing to get to a
super Regional and things of that nature. So I just
think we've we've got to do a great job from
a college football perspective to to really look at it
from every angle and to say what's best for our
sport and to make sure that we're the quality of

(01:18:27):
play is at the highest level, but also not taking
it away from the student athletes because they want to
win a conference championship. You know, the sees this is
an amazing conference and so to compete for one of
those is incredible. But yet putting yourself in position to
compete for a national championship is again a tremendous goal
that all of us have going into every season. But

(01:18:50):
I hope we don't lose that because it does mean
a lot. But again, we've got to be mindful of
some of the other factors that this has. Everybody wants
more teams, everybody wants more games to he wants I
get all that, but let's not lose sight of some
of those things that we got into this sport for
a long time ago.

Speaker 20 (01:19:07):
That still mean a lot to a lot of us.

Speaker 23 (01:19:09):
That are involved. Do you feel like King the coaches
are pretty united and wanting one junior quarter win though,
and that being January.

Speaker 20 (01:19:19):
I don't know the exact timing of when that should be.

Speaker 25 (01:19:23):
I do think we're all in agreement that one transfer
portal would be beneficial. Again, we're trying to we're team builders,
that's what we do, right, and it's hard to build
a team when you've got two different portals and you're
not sure who's on your team, who's coming, who's going,
and you do your best to build a culture to
where hopefully you can retain those players and bring in

(01:19:45):
some good players.

Speaker 20 (01:19:45):
And again we've all benefited from that.

Speaker 25 (01:19:47):
But I think if we can uniform that a little
bit at some point in spring, I think would be helpful.

Speaker 20 (01:19:52):
What that exact time is, I don't know yet.

Speaker 25 (01:19:55):
I do know from my perspective for two years now
have been in the playoffs back to back years, that
December portal window was brutal where we had I think
nine guys go in and then ten guys go in
the next year while we were still playing in the
college football playoffs and that was very difficult. So I'm
definitely an advocate for that portal being after the playoffs

(01:20:19):
are done.

Speaker 20 (01:20:20):
But when in spring? When does that occur?

Speaker 23 (01:20:23):
I don't know yet.

Speaker 25 (01:20:26):
I don't know because you want to start building that
team too right, and May seems May seems kind of late.

Speaker 20 (01:20:32):
Like I said, I think somewhere in spring is probably
the right timing.

Speaker 25 (01:20:37):
What does that look like? You know that is that
late January? Is that February?

Speaker 23 (01:20:41):
Is that March?

Speaker 20 (01:20:42):
I don't know, you know, what does that exactly look like?

Speaker 25 (01:20:44):
And I haven't heard everybody's thoughts on that, And that's
what these meetings are forwards, trying to figure that out
that that might spur some thoughts for me and maybe
others have some feelings that I have on the on
the issue.

Speaker 27 (01:20:56):
Have a really high profile program in course my great players,
but I don't know, can't later player these days, And
just speaking on arts, I mean, there's been so much
publicity and build up now.

Speaker 23 (01:21:05):
To the role he's gonna play. How do you how
do you manage that or do you manage that? I
know where Bayton was in Tennessee, I think he had
some help with that sort of thing.

Speaker 25 (01:21:12):
Yeah, I don't know if you can insulate it not
not anymore, you know, I don't know when Peyton was around.
I don't know if there were cell phones and then
all those things. Right, So it's a little different, a
little different time and a little different era than than
what our guys operate in now. You guys all didn't
have Twitter accounts back then either, and you didn't report
instantaneously and you didn't just retweet what the next guy

(01:21:35):
wrote about because that's kind of what you guys do now.
That's fine, okay, But but the idea of that for Arch,
part of coming to the University of Texas is building
that brand, is getting some of that exposure. And so yes,
do we support him as much as we can, like
we do all of our players. But it's also a

(01:21:55):
great platform for our guys, and so it's not all
neg there's a lot of positives to this, but at
the end of the day, for a guy like Arch
in this instance, I want to.

Speaker 20 (01:22:07):
Make sure that he enjoys this experience too.

Speaker 25 (01:22:09):
Right, here's lifelong dream, right of being the starting quarterback
at the University of Texas. Now it's his opportunity. I
want to make sure he has a great experience. Part
of that is the exposure. Part of that is protecting
him and putting some guardrails up on that so that
he can enjoy the experience.

Speaker 28 (01:22:25):
Steve, when you built this program, I know you've worked
under Saver and you worked under Peak, but Johnson had
a lot of conversations with NFL coaches. How important were
those conversations and you doing what you do now, the
OTA style scheduling and the way you're running it.

Speaker 20 (01:22:44):
Yeah, we've definitely tried to you know, I've been fortunate.

Speaker 25 (01:22:49):
I think in our era of coaching, you could probably say,
you know, Nick Sabe and Pete Carroll are two of
the top three, maybe four coaches in my era of
a young coach growing up.

Speaker 20 (01:23:01):
In our profession. It's I was very fortunate that way.

Speaker 25 (01:23:04):
So I've got great experience that I that I definitely
lean into. But I also think that we have to
forever evolve. You know, we have to continually adapt to
the new player, the new times, the new regiment, the
new the new things that are that are put on
our players plates and what's best for us.

Speaker 20 (01:23:23):
It's easy to do what you've done before.

Speaker 25 (01:23:26):
That's that's the easy thing to do, and sometimes it's
more difficult to h to step outside of the box
and to get a little bit uncomfortable and to maybe
start to do things a little bit differently having your
team's best interest in mind. And that's what we've tried
to do while we're here, all the while not not

(01:23:46):
losing sight of what's our foundation and what's our program
built upon. And so we take a lot of pride
in that of of, Okay, where is college football headed,
what does it look like in the NFL, and what
are they doing now and what is their product look like?
And where do they feel like in the NFL they
wish they could be a little bit better? And then
how do we combine those two things to do what's

(01:24:07):
best for us. We're still in the We're still a
developmental program different than the NFL. We still you know,
I had twenty one high school kids in spring practice
this year that are still trying to figure out, you know,
what is what is a stance right?

Speaker 13 (01:24:21):
What you know?

Speaker 25 (01:24:22):
So we're developing differently than they are in the NFL.
So just to say just be just like they are
in the NFL, probably not realistic, But there's components to
the NFL that that we can start to tap into
that I think would serve our players better long term,
not only this season but throughout their career.

Speaker 23 (01:24:41):
Developmental conversation.

Speaker 27 (01:24:43):
When you got the job, did you have a conversation
through staff or a conf Flood in particular, about you're
going to develop offensive line of high school Because as
many polls as you had flowed back good lead players
who left a lot of programs were gone in the portal.

Speaker 23 (01:24:57):
To do that, you're bringing in more hown rown guys.

Speaker 27 (01:25:01):
How critical is that in that particular position group to develop?

Speaker 20 (01:25:05):
Yeah, I think it's important in that.

Speaker 25 (01:25:10):
You know, we we've recruited pretty good here in the
last four years, and not just the old line, but
a lot of positions and other positions maybe not so well.
And you know, we've utilized the portal like a lot
of schools have to fill needs. You know, we haven't
tried to build our roster through the portal. We've tried
to fill needs in the portal and we just haven't

(01:25:32):
felt like we've had those needs at the offensive line.

Speaker 20 (01:25:34):
We've recruited it well. Coach Flood is a great teacher,
he's a great coach.

Speaker 25 (01:25:39):
We've got good continuity in that room, We've got good
leadership in that room. And so I think one of
the natural things I was asked this earlier, people are
going to say we're going to be a young football
team this fall. We're not necessarily young. We just got
some new faces guys who have been in our program,
who have been who have been working on their craft,
who have been developing, and now it's their opportunity.

Speaker 20 (01:25:59):
They're not necessarily young.

Speaker 25 (01:26:00):
This are guys in their third and fourth years in
our program that now it's their time to compete and
to show what they're capable of doing. And part of
that for us is to live through maybe some of
the growing pains that we just don't have the continuity
that we've had the last couple of years. But there's
still a lot of good players that if we felt
like they weren't good enough, maybe we would have gone
into the portal. But we felt like we had more

(01:26:22):
pressing needs that we needed to address and that room
was going to be good enough for us to compete
at a high level.

Speaker 1 (01:26:29):
It's long Worn's head coach Steve Sarkishan from the SEC
media days talking about the adjustments they've made with the
collegiate football calendar, not the schedule, but the calendar per se.
All right, up next, we'll shift to softball. We'll be
joined by Texas softball head coach Mike White when we continue.

Speaker 2 (01:26:47):
I'm thirteen under the zone.

Speaker 1 (01:26:48):
Coming up shortly going to visit with Texas hoftball head
coach Mike White here momentarily as he gets his team
ready for their Thursday matchup at the College World Series,
the women's College World Series in Oklahoma City as and
getting ready for the Florida Gators, a team they took

(01:27:10):
two or three from during the course of the season,
but they were just coming off of that. Man, that
was something else. That that's super regional. That was that
was really something else.

Speaker 4 (01:27:21):
I don't know how Teaking Cavan got out of that.
In Game two with run with two in scoring position
and no outs, You're thinking, this is where the season ends,
and on no day's rest because she pitched the game before,
found a way in Texas able to win an extra
innings and then Game three just out class Clemson.

Speaker 3 (01:27:43):
What a super.

Speaker 1 (01:27:44):
Regional amazing, amazing what they did to be able to
pull that off and now getting ready for the Women's
College World Series where they'll play the Florida Gators. So
we're looking looking forward to seeing how they do. And
of course we'll war you the game. Andrew Haynes on
the call, and that will be on Thursday morning at

(01:28:06):
eleven o'clock. Please to be joined on the highline now
by the head coach of the Longhorn softball team, Mike White. Mike,
I'll start off with the true confessions thing, and Cameron
just said that when it was two on with nobody
out and too in scoring position there and Teagan really

(01:28:27):
just task with the opportunity of trying to find a
way to get out of that inning and keep the
game alive and moving on to the next frame on
Friday night, from the department of true confessions, what was
going through your.

Speaker 2 (01:28:40):
Mind at that time?

Speaker 16 (01:28:43):
Lord, find a way to find a double playlet drives?

Speaker 2 (01:28:47):
That was something else.

Speaker 1 (01:28:48):
But that says an awful lot about the resilience of
your broll club, don't it.

Speaker 29 (01:28:52):
Yeah, it really does. I mean, it's never had it
till it's over. And you know that was true testament
to that situation. I mean, a lot of things could
happen to score and then you know, to get a
strikeout was big. There's another glimmer of hope, a little
more pressure on the next eddo than a soft line drive,
you know, and then it just have to make sure that, hey,
you've done all the hard work, can I finish it?

Speaker 3 (01:29:10):
And she was able to do that.

Speaker 2 (01:29:12):
Uh did it?

Speaker 1 (01:29:13):
Also because Teagan had had her own challenges in the
run up to that.

Speaker 2 (01:29:20):
How instrumental, how important was it?

Speaker 1 (01:29:21):
I mean, she's a kid with a lot of confidence anyway,
but still in all to have the success realize in
the most crucial moments, you think, that's that's also a
little bit of that little mental psychological boost for someone
who'd had a tribulation or two in recent days.

Speaker 29 (01:29:39):
Yeah, without a doubt, I mean, without being inside her
head and know exactly what she's saying to herself in
those moments, you know, after her to the buildy and
especially you know the night before and she didn't pitch
that well, go around a little bit. So to bounce
back the next day and come out and throw what
I considered it was a real gritty game.

Speaker 3 (01:29:57):
She was very very good.

Speaker 29 (01:29:58):
I mean you could just see the movement on ball
was better here her confidence was and you know, when
the chips were down there because of what happened, she
was able to just kind of really seal the deal
as it was to see.

Speaker 1 (01:30:11):
You also got a gritty performance from Mac Morgan before
going back to tigan uh and then and then Mac
with things being closed out. How how important was it
too for a veteran like that for Mac to step
up in the circle for you.

Speaker 29 (01:30:26):
Yeah, it kind of reminded me a little bit when
we went to Sophia Simpson back and Mac and Soar
and the super regionals and we did a huge performance
in that situation because the Oulcini was just wore out
and the same thing happened here. We knew that, you know,
Teagan was unlikely to go seven innings just because of
fatigue and everything, and we knew we had to step
someone had to step up, and we just felt Max

(01:30:48):
was the one, you know, hadn't pitched a whole lot
and would be strong and she didn't disappoint us at all.

Speaker 9 (01:30:53):
Do you.

Speaker 1 (01:30:54):
I'm curious how your conversations with her work, because the
last time that she been from was the unfortunate game
for everybody against Texas A and M and and for
her to step into that moment. Clearly you've got a
great deal of confidence in her, and I know she's
confident herself. But is that But is that also even
before those games come around, knowing that you're probably gonna

(01:31:15):
have to rely on her in a crucial moment, do
you have a conversation with her about those kinds of things.

Speaker 2 (01:31:21):
Yeah?

Speaker 29 (01:31:21):
Absolutely, you always kind of telling them, hey, be ready,
you know, get ready.

Speaker 3 (01:31:25):
You know, whatever happens happened, and this is what we do.

Speaker 29 (01:31:27):
But going forward, and you know we we we told
her that and she was able to believe in that,
and you know she was ready. You know, she showed
no signs of any kind of worry at all. She
was just had that look in her eyes, really steal
a look and said, give me the ball.

Speaker 3 (01:31:44):
I'm going to get this done.

Speaker 2 (01:31:46):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (01:31:46):
So we've been talking about, uh, you know, the pitching
side of it, but but you also got some clutch
hitting as well. You know, the I think about Katie's
story driving in Mia Scott on the side bond and
then Jolie Mitchell with a coming in on the wild
pitch to get to get up five to one. And
so you had even the Caden Henry ground out that

(01:32:09):
that scored Ashton Maloney from third. I mean those are
important things, right, because that's the total team thing at work.
The dynamic, isn't it, where everybody's kind of pitching in
and contributing to the cause.

Speaker 29 (01:32:21):
Yeah, just find a way, you know, And I think
we found a way. I wasn't pretty a lot of times.
I mean I think their runs were probably scored pretty
or if you corny is a.

Speaker 3 (01:32:28):
Word, then owns.

Speaker 2 (01:32:29):
But it didn't matter.

Speaker 29 (01:32:31):
You know, we scored one more than they did, and
that's what really matters.

Speaker 3 (01:32:33):
And it doesn't matter how, it's how many.

Speaker 29 (01:32:35):
And we certainly were we're part of that saying for sure,
you know, I just love the grit we showed in
determination and just found a way to get it done.

Speaker 1 (01:32:45):
Visiting with Mike White, Texas softball coach here on thirteen
hundred the zone, the other player want to ask you
about it, and I've and we were talking. I've already
brought up some of the obvious ones there. But the
other player that I wanted to ask you about, who's
who's really come up and gotten some big moments for you,
is Leanne Good. And here's somebody who's batting to ninety nine,

(01:33:06):
but coming up with some key plays on both sides
of it, and again rolling back to finding a way,
isn't it when you have some other players, maybe the
stat might not be quite as gaudy as somebody else,
but still coming through with clutch moments for you on
both sides.

Speaker 29 (01:33:20):
Well, absolutely. I mean, you know, you go back to
her your freshman and sophomore year. She was pretty reliable
hit it for us, you know, and and did a
great job and roam throughout the order anyway.

Speaker 3 (01:33:30):
From you know, two or three up to like seven
or eight.

Speaker 29 (01:33:33):
But this year was more in a struggle than normal,
and she was letting that affect everything else she was doing.
And so we just kind of to take some pressure off.
I said, hey, we're going to leave you down the
seven eight area and just worry about your defense. We
need you defensively right now, and and just that things happen.
And I think she was talking to herself in the
right way and understanding that, you know, she didn't have

(01:33:54):
to do it all offensively for us. We just wanted
her to contribute in lo and behold, she ended up
more than contribut and she really kind of led the
bottom house of the lineup.

Speaker 1 (01:34:03):
It's been over two months since you last played Florida
and that was the deal with did things getting pushed back.

Speaker 2 (01:34:09):
With the weather and then wound wound up with the.

Speaker 1 (01:34:11):
Doubleheader Saturday in the Monday game as well. How much
of your own team's experience in that weekend series in
Gainesville is factored into the preparation as opposed to the
way you view them now and how your own team
is performing right now.

Speaker 29 (01:34:29):
Yeah, I mean they're I think they're a stronger team
now than they were at the start of the SEC season.
You know, they've got their number one ace back, Keegan
roth Rock, who's been the premier pitcher the last couple
of years.

Speaker 28 (01:34:41):
Now.

Speaker 29 (01:34:41):
We did face there last year in the College World
Series and did well, But it doesn't always mean you're
going to do the same thing again. But we do
have some experience with here, and so we kind of
know what she's going to bring to the table. But
you know, we've we've just got to focus on what
we can control, and that is, you know, how we pitch,
how we play defense, the energy we bring and and
just called it.

Speaker 3 (01:35:00):
That's against a good team and see where the ship's fall.

Speaker 1 (01:35:03):
Is this still an evaluative thing for you and the
staff with regard to who you want to start in
the circle on Thursday?

Speaker 2 (01:35:10):
Or is it the default to go with Eagan? Well,
we have in mind made up.

Speaker 29 (01:35:16):
I'm not going to kind of spill the bees on
that one, but but I know what the order we're
going to do and how we're going to play it
at this point. And uh yeah, and it's you know,
as in the cultural series, it's so important to try
to get you know, definitely the first win for sure,
and you know, the second one is a bonus without
a doubt because then you get two lives going into
the Sunday half of the bracket. Uh, you know, so

(01:35:38):
that's also important, But the first one is really That's
That's big Mike.

Speaker 1 (01:35:43):
Is as often as you've taken teams to Oklahoma City
and and as often as you've taken the Texas program
to Oklahoma City, how regular do you try to keep
things as opposed to obviously the enjoyment of the experience,
uh for the student athletes, but by the same token,
a business trip all that kind of stuff that kind
of gets melded together. How how do you view it

(01:36:06):
through the prism of getting a team ready to play
on the highest stage.

Speaker 29 (01:36:12):
Yeah, we talked about that this morning and just said
there's gonna be you know, Unfortunately, there's only four players
that haven't been there before, you know, the rest of
the rest of the squad, the other sixteen players are
all there last year, and that's a bonus for us.
And and you know, there's gonna be a lot of
bells and whistles and a lot of.

Speaker 3 (01:36:27):
Events and a lot of things.

Speaker 29 (01:36:28):
I've got a barbecue tonight, and you know, there's old Americans.
You know, I think that one of the top freshmen
of the years may announced, which we don't have one
that race right now.

Speaker 3 (01:36:36):
But there's just a lot of other stuff.

Speaker 29 (01:36:38):
And then tomorrow is a lot of media, a lot
of ESPN shoots and special things they do, and uh
so they'll take up a lot of our day. And
then we have a day of practice or an hour
and a half of practice, so.

Speaker 3 (01:36:48):
It should keep us pretty busy.

Speaker 29 (01:36:50):
But uh you know, and then of course we be
the first game on Thursday, which I think is good
because you know, with the weather issues sometimes here in Okay, see,
you can get pushed back.

Speaker 3 (01:37:00):
I remember a year, we had UCLA and Oregon. When
I was catching Oregon.

Speaker 29 (01:37:03):
Yeah, we didn't start the clus to midnight just because
of the way the delays.

Speaker 2 (01:37:07):
Wow, wow, something else.

Speaker 1 (01:37:09):
Hey, I appreciate you taking the time at a busy
time and wish you all the best of success. Here
will obviously be carrying the broadcast live on Thursday, and
we'll look forward to the team doing really well in
ok See.

Speaker 2 (01:37:20):
Thanks so much, Mike, I appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (01:37:22):
Thanks Craig, I appreciate it.

Speaker 28 (01:37:24):
Bet.

Speaker 1 (01:37:25):
That's Mike White, Texas softball coach, joining us from Oklahoma
City and again Thursday morning, eleven o'clock. You'll hear the
game right here on thirteen under the Zone, as Texas
will take on Florida in the Women's College World Series.
We'll be back to wrap up today's edition of the
program on thirteen Under the Zone.

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Texas Baseball earns #2 Seed, Texas Softball reaches WCWS, and SEC Spring Meetings

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