Predicting TCU Baseball's 2023 Season: Book Your Tickets To Omaha?

Back-to-back conference titles is nice, but TCU knows its ceiling is the College World Series.

Heading into the ninth inning in College Station, the TCU Horned Frogs could feel the excitement building. Three outs stood between them and the Super Regional series, and then just a series win there would send them to the College World Series. They were up 9-8 on the Texas A&M Aggies thanks to a go-ahead Tommy Sacco home run.

And then the wheels fell off.

The Frogs gave up seven runs in the top of the ninth and fell 15-9, eliminating themselves from the postseason and ending the 2022 campaign.

Another promising year full of accomplishments, but the golden goose of the College World Series evaded Kirk Saarloos and TCU once again.

Experience Matters

15 players on the 2023 TCU baseball roster were at Blue Bell Park that day. Perhaps the most experienced group in the Big 12 knows the job wasn't finished and many have shown serious strides of improvement during fall camp.

Eight starters are returners this season. Preseason All American Brayden Taylor headlines the group at third while center fielder Elijah Nunez and pitchers Luke Savage and Garrett Wright return with preseason All-Big 12 honors. West Virginia transfer Austin Davis was also named to the preseason All-Big 12 team after finishing on the all conference list last year.

Kansas transfer Ryan Vanderhei joins the starting rotation after a couple good years in Lawrence.

The bulk of the starters for 2023 are juniors, however at least two incoming freshman have opportunities to both play and start. Anthony Silva of San Antonio projects to start at shortstop and Long Beach, Calif., product Louis Rodriguez may work his way into the starting rotation.

TCU's freshman crop ranks sixth nationally– not only giving the experienced group some talented depth, but setting up the Frogs to have a cohesive group for the next few years.

TCU Baseball Positional Previews

Check out in-depth looks at all three position units here:

• Pitchers
• Infielders
• Outfielders

TCU Baseball Schedule: No Free Lunches

Last year's biggest obstacle was the schedule. This year, it gets no easier.

The perennial gauntlet that is the Big 12 reloads for another season of national contention, though TCU was picked first preseason by multiple outlets. The Frogs open Big 12 Conference play by visiting the National Runners-Up in the Oklahoma Sooners. Though OU lost the bulk of their excellent players from last year, it's a tough way to open up conference play.

TCU also visits Texas Tech, West Virginia, and Kansas State, but handles Texas, Oklahoma State, and Baylor at home.

The non-conference schedule is what turns this from a run-of-the-mill Big 12 schedule into a gauntlet.

The Frogs open up their 2023 season in Arlington in the College Baseball Showdown to take on a trio of SEC teams. No. 10 Vanderbilt and No. 8 Arkansas– two very real national frontrunners– are Games 1 and 2 and the tournament closes up with Missouri.

TCU returns home to face Florida State (the second year of a home-and-home) and also plays annual postseason contenders UNC Wilmington and Cal State Fullerton at home later in the season.

They also have their annual rivalry games with Dallas Baptist and Texas State, who earned a preseason top-25 ranking this season. The Bobcats, who always bring a good team to bat, will be especially feisty this year.

Strengths & Weaknesses

TCU's biggest strength this season is in their talent and experience. This should be another good batting team and a very strong team defensively. Experience comes into play with leadership, especially in the grind of a long college baseball schedule.

The infield should be one of the nation's best. Taylor is one of the top two or three defensive infielders in the country and there's no real weak point; same goes for the outfield. Thanks to this defensive unit, pitching won't need to be completely locked down for TCU's defense to be terrific.

Their biggest weakness comes in the unknowns with the starting rotation. Cam Brown showed potential to be the team's ace last year and Savage is always reliable. However, there's no real standout top pitcher as it stands today. Transfer Vanderhei also has potential, but did post a 6.46 ERA last year.

Wright will be a strong closer, but can relief pitcher River Ridings step forward? He had 10 saves last year and was excellent until the end of the season where he was battered.

With 60 games on the schedule, top-end pitching isn't enough. Depth pieces need to emerge early on.

TCU Baseball Season Prediction

Given the length of the season, it's good to see TCU have at least one staple non-conference series per month. It's easy to stay motivated and focused through March, but wake-up series against UNC Wilmington in April and Cal State Fullerton in May provide good checkpoints for TCU.

The experience and leadership in the locker room will prove advantageous in taking care of these series.

Let's make this clear: TCU is good enough to beat almost any team in the country on any given day. But as we saw last year, midseason slumps can be the difference between hosting and playing in a Regional Tournament.

Last year, the Frogs won 38 games. I believe they can improve upon that mark and challenge for a top-10 ranking come late May.

Season Prediction: 42-18, Super Regional Appearance.

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