2022-23 – The Best Year Ever For TCU Sports Fans

There is still work to be done in Omaha. But regardless of the outcome, this has been the best year ever for the Horned Frogs.

Barry Lewis | Jun 21, 2023

In this story:

Friday afternoon was a punch in the gut. The TCU baseball team had found a way late in the game to get a 3-run lead over a gritty Oral Roberts team. But instead, TCU gave up four runs in the top of the 9th, and for the second time in six appearances in Omaha, TCU lost its opening game.

I saw Brayden Taylor in the tunnel below the stands. His face said it all. The Frogs had that one in their grasp. Now, every game from here on out would be an elimination game. The Frogs bounced back, and on Sunday, defeated a tough national-seed Virginia team.

Tuesday afternoon, TCU once again faced Oral Roberts in a potential season-ending elimination game. The Frogs prevailed, winning 6-1. With the win, they advanced to the national semifinals.

Now, the Horned Frogs must beat No. 2 Florida for a chance at the National Championship.

With the win over Oral Roberts, the TCU baseball team became the sixth TCU team to reach the national semifinals, or better, in their respective sports – baseball, beach volleyball, equestrian, football, men’s tennis, and rifle.

TCU reliever Ben Abeldt celebrates after avoiding elimination in the College World Series

TCU Men's Tennis won their second straight ITA Indoor National Championship, the Big 12 tournament, and made it to the national semifinals.

TCU became the first team from the Big 12 and from Texas to make it to the football National Championship Game.

The TCU Rifle team finished as National Runner-Up

The TCU Beach Volleyball team had its most successful season ever and finished as the No. 3 team in the nation.

https://gofrogs.com/news/2023/2/25/equestrian-no-2-tcu-falls-in-hard-fought-battle-in-stillwater.aspx

TCU Equestrian advanced to the NCEA Semifinals and produced a nation-leading 12 All-Americans.

Regardless of what happens versus Florida, Horned Frogs should hold their heads high. Be proud. Enjoy the ride. The last ten months have been an incredible journey. INCREDIBLE. MEMORABLE. FANTASTIC. Or, in the immortal words of the late Jim Wacker, “Unbelieeeeeeeeeevable!”

The 2022-2023 academic year will go down as the best ever for TCU sports. Trust me. I dare anyone to find another year in TCU’s 150-year history that can compare to the ride we’ve been on.

As a die-hard Horned Frog fan for the last four decades, believe me, I have lived through plenty of years that were just horrible. I remember the 74-10 shellacking we took against Texas A&M my senior year at TCU. I lived through the Pat Sullivan years as a young alumnus. Basketball had a few good runs when I was at TCU, but not much and not often. Baseball? That was also hard to watch.

I remember being in the small bookstore in the BLUU not long after it opened. This would have been just after the Rose Bowl win. TCU was on the rise. That win over Wisconsin set the athletics program on a trajectory that has been fun to watch. But that day in the BLUU, two students were looking through a book about the history of TCU football.

“Dude, there was a time when TCU sucked,” one of the students proclaimed to his friend. I immediately turned to both of them and declared, “Dudes, I lived it!”

TCU has created a winning culture. We expect to win. Losses hurt. But even so, back on a rainy night on September 2 in Boulder, Colorado, did any of us project what was about to explode right before our eyes? At halftime of that first game of the season, we were up 7-6 over a team that wasn’t supposed to be that good. But we came out for that second half and just exploded.

It wasn’t just an explosion in that game. It was the first of 12 regular-season football games the Frogs would win. It was a magical season – an appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game, a berth in the College Football Playoff, a Fiesta Bowl victory over No. 2 Michigan, and an appearance in the National Championship Game.

Sure, let’s forget the game was over a few minutes after it began. But we got to a place 129 other teams did not. We got there in one try, something Oklahoma, the only other Big 12 school to make the College Football Playoff, couldn’t do in four tries. It was a moment all Frogs should be proud of, even though we got our butts whooped by Georgia.

On the day of the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, a large group of Horned Frogs gathered in a tent outside of State Farm Stadium to watch the Frogs beat Texas Tech in the opening game of Big 12 men’s basketball conference play. What a day – a victory over Tech and then the Michigan football win.

At that moment, I thought we might be on to a great ride. Fast forward a few weeks to the College Baseball Showdown and the way TCU demolished Top Ten teams Arkansas and Vanderbilt.

The Monday after that baseball weekend, men’s tennis won their second straight indoor national championship. Basketball had had some decent wins and was holding its own in a tough conference.

I admit. At that moment, I wondered if this could be the year we make the College Football Playoffs, basketball’s Final Four, AND the College World Series. Can you imagine?

Fast forward a few months later. Basketball gave us a great run. We made it to the Second Round for the second straight year. Baseball went on a rollercoaster of a ride in the middle of the season. At the end of April, the team was at 23-20 and on the verge of not making the tournament.

On May 1, the calendar turned to a new month, and the baseball team began a fantastic winning streak, going 20-3 (11-1 in postseason play), while outscoring their opponents 209-80!

I’m in Omaha and not going home until the Frogs go home. Sure, beating Florida twice will be difficult. But it’s not impossible. If we’ve learned anything over these last ten months, when it comes to TCU sports, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

Continue to believe. Win or lose against Florida, remember, you were part of the BEST YEAR EVER FOR THE HORNED FROGS!

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Published Jun 21, 2023

BARRY LEWIS

Barry is the publisher/managing editor for KillerFrogs.com. He has been a Horned Frog since the Jim Wacker era and loves covering all of TCU's sports.