TCU Baseball 2025 Season Recap

A look back at a very successful season for head coach Kirk Saarloos and the Horned Frogs.

After missing the NCAA Tournament in 2024, TCU Baseball bounced back with a very solid 2025 season that saw them earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament as a two seed in the Corvallis Regional and advance to the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament. The Frogs finished with an overall record of 39-20 and a 19-11 record in Big 12 conference play.

TCU did a great job of taking care of business against in-state rivals with series wins over Texas Tech, Houston, UTRGV, and Baylor. The Frogs’ most impressive weekend performance, however, was a sweep of the number 22-ranked Kansas Jayhawks in Fort Worth, where TCU scored 25 runs in three games.

The end of the season was somewhat disappointing as TCU went from being looked at as a potential host for an NCAA Regional to losing their first two NCAA Tournament games in non-competitive fashion. TCU was a very young team this season, and Kirk Sarloos and his staff have done a good job of retaining major contributors and making key additions via the transfer portal as the Frogs project to be a very dangerous team in 2026.

Infielders

The one position group that will see the most turnover from 2025 to 2026 is the infield. The de facto leader of the position group in 2025 was veteran shortstop Anthony Silva. Silva had another solid season in his Junior year for the Frogs, batting .283 with six home runs and 38 RBIs. The San Antonio native’s biggest contribution, however, was his excellent work on defense. Silva was one of the premier defenders in college baseball during his three years at TCU, making him an intriguing prospect for major league teams in this year’s MLB draft.

Cole Cramer was Silva’s double-play partner for most of the season as the primary second baseman for the Frogs. The Washington State transfer was a consistent bat who hit in the three hole for a large part of the season with a slash line of .320/.433/.419. Cramer demonstrated a very patient and controlled approach at the plate, drawing 43 walks, which led the team. Cramer also provides positional versatility for TCU, playing a few games at first base this past season and playing the majority of his games at Washington State as a third baseman. Cramer has one more year of eligibility and projects to be an important returning contributor to the 2026 team.

Texas A&M transfer Jack Bell received the majority of the work at third base this season for the Frogs and showed flashes of tremendous upside with solid defense and plus power at the plate. Bell slashed .259/.376/.453 with five home runs and 31 RBIs. Bell was a sophomore in 2025 and could be a candidate to take over the shortstop spot in 2026 if Silva departs for the MLB draft. Bell has plenty of range and a strong arm to provide great defense from both spots on the left side of the infield.

The biggest departure to the transfer portal from the Frogs this offseason was junior catcher and first baseman Karson Bowen, who recently announced his commitment to Florida. Bowen was a major contributor for the Frogs during his three seasons in Fort Worth and slashed .333/.425/.516 in his last year in purple. Bowen started the year as the primary catcher but played more first base as the year went on, and Nolan Traeger started playing very well behind the dish. Bowen, unfortunately, suffered an injury late in the season and missed the postseason run for the Frogs.

Another candidate to see more opportunities in 2026 is Stephen F. Austin transfer Colton Griffin. Griffin is another player with positional versatility, playing multiple spots in the infield for the Frogs in 2025 and providing solid defense across the board. Griffin was solid at the plate in his sophomore season, hitting .266 with a .796 OPS.

Nolan Traeger is the first of a few true freshmen who were very important contributors for TCU during their first season on campus. Traeger burst onto the scene as a rock-solid defender behind the plate and a difference maker at the plate with a refined approach and great bat-to-ball skills. Traeger slashed .327/.429/.472 with an OPS above .900 and threw out nine runners in his true freshman campaign. Traeger struck out just 29 times in 2025, which was the lowest mark among qualified hitters in TCU’s lineup. Expect Traeger’s numbers to rise as he grows more comfortable at the collegiate level, and for Traeger to be a middle-of-the-order bat for TCU next season.

Outfielders

The most impressive season from a Frog in 2025 came courtesy of right fielder Sawyer Strosnider, who hit an astronomical .350 with a .420 on-base percentage and a .650 slugging, good for an OPS of 1.070. Strosnider set a program record for most triples in a season with ten, stole ten bases, and hit 11 home runs. Although Strosnider dealt with some injuries down the stretch that prevented him from playing in the field, he was a very good defensive outfielder when he played early in the season. Strosnider has a very strong arm and great range, making him the ideal right fielder. Expect Strosnider to be brought up in conversations for plenty of awards and an early draft selection in 2026.

Noah Franco was yet another true freshman making his presence felt during his first year in college with an impressive slash line of .313/.396/.548. Franco led the team in doubles with 16 and tied Strosnider for second place on the team in home runs with 11 of his own. Franco is a strong corner outfield defender with arguably the strongest arm of any position player and solid range. If Franco can turn a few of those doubles into home runs next season and cut down on the strikeouts, he has the potential to be an All-American next season.

The everyday center fielder for TCU in 2025 was sophomore Chase Brunson, who came into his own during his second season with the Frogs. Brunson led the team in home runs with 12 and hit .317 with a .395 on-base percentage and a .554 slugging percentage. Brunson displayed tremendous speed as a defender in centerfield and on the base paths with nine stolen bases on nine attempts. Brunson will be a middle-of-the-order bat and an important defender in 2026 again for the Frogs.

The biggest departure from the outfield is Isaac Cadena, who recently committed to USC via the transfer portal. After transferring in from Ohio State, Cadena was a solid contributor for the Frogs with a slash line of .235/.351/.392. Playing mostly left field this season, Cadena provided tremendous pull-side power as a left-handed batter with eight home runs and 34 RBIs.

After a very promising true freshman campaign in 2024, Sam Myers struggled a bit at the plate for the Frogs in 2025, hitting just .235 with an OPS under .700. While Myers was not himself as a batter, he found other ways to contribute as a tremendous base runner, with a team leading 12 stolen bases and as a very rangy outfield defender. Myers is perhaps the biggest bounce-back candidate for TCU in 2026, as if he gets back to his true freshman hitting form, he can become a very impactful player for the Frogs.

Pitchers

The ace of the TCU pitching staff in 2025 was undoubtedly Wichita State transfer Tommy LaPour. LaPour led the team in innings pitched with 90.1, in strikeouts with 88, and in ERA among qualified pitchers at 3.09. LaPour has electric stuff in a high 90s fastball and a wipeout breaking ball that is effective at putting away hitters. Expect LaPour to remain in the Friday night role for the Frogs next season.

In a group of talented true freshmen pitchers, Mason Brassfield stood out above the rest as a reliable left-handed starter who should remain in a weekend role for the 2026 season. Brassfield pitched to the tune of a 4.09 ERA in 61.2 innings with 68 strikeouts in his first year with the Frogs. Brassfield has a unique armslot that increases his deception and makes his pitches play up to hitters on both sides of the plate. Brassfield’s best pitch is a breaking ball with tremendous vertical break that is especially devastating to lefties.

One of the bigger losses to the pitching staff came with the announcement that Kole Klecker had entered the transfer portal. As TCU dealt with injuries down the stretch, Klecker was put into several roles, including weekend starter, multi-inning reliever, and high-leverage reliever, and he performed well in all of them with a 4.66 ERA in over 19 innings pitched.

After turning down an offer from the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2024 MLB Draft, Caedmon Parker returned to the Frogs for his first fully healthy season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery and flashed the talent that made him such a highly touted prospect out of high school. Parker is a name to watch this draft season as he has one more year of eligibility and could return to TCU in hopes of boosting his draft stock with what would hopefully be a healthy season.

Another intriguing name to watch in this MLB draft will be left-handed pitcher Ben Abeldt. Abeldt was set to be the Friday night starter for TCU this past season before suffering a season-ending injury that required Tommy John surgery before throwing a single pitch in the 2025 season. Abeldt was a lights-out reliever in the 2024 season and could be selected highly in the MLB draft, but similar to Parker, might look to boost his stock even further with a healthy season as a starter at TCU.

Over the first few weeks of the season, there was no better pitcher for the Frogs than Braeden Sloan. While Sloan was not a starting pitcher for the Frogs, he was the ace reliever in the first half of the season, with the ability to pitch over four innings in relief at a time. The junior left-hander struck out hitters at an absurd rate, collecting 76 strikeouts in just 58.2 innings of work in 2025. While Sloan did slow down over the course of the season, expect him to be a high-leverage arm out of the bullpen for TCU in 2026.

One bullpen arm that turned it on down the stretch was right-handed pitcher Louis Rodriguez, who finished the year with a 3.19 ERA over 48 innings of work. While Rodriguez does not have a super high velocity fastball, he throws a wide mix of pitches with above-average control and excellent movement. The California native should be an important piece of the pitching staff for the Frogs in 2026.

Kirk Saarloos will have to find replacements for two solid bullpen arms as both Cohen Feser and Mason Bixby have entered the transfer portal. Feser made his return to the mound after missing the 2024 season with an injury and served as a reliable veteran arm for TCU with a 4.97 ERA over 25.1 innings of work. Bixby had the most electric fastball on the team with velocity that consistently ran into the triple digits, but unfortunately struggled with command and could never consistently locate his breaking ball.

Kade Eudy and Nate Stern were two very reliable true freshman relievers, sporting ERAs of 3.75 and 1.35, respectively. Both pitchers will be leading candidates for the closer role and high-leverage innings in 2026, as both demonstrated they can be trusted to provide shutdown innings out of the pen.