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College  | Story  | 11/9/2022

Head of the Class: No. 9 Texas

Tim Redding     
Photo: Travis Sykora (Perfect Game)
2023 Recruiting Class Rankings | 2023 High School Player Rankings

9. Texas Longhorns



Full 2023 Recruiting Class

Head Coach: David Pierce | Recruiting Coordinator: Steve Rodriguez

Top 5 Recruits:

Rank Name Pos. High School Hometown State
12 Travis Sykora RHP Round Rock Round Rock Texas
32 Will Gasparino OF Harvard-Westlake Los Angeles California
125 Cole Selvig RHP Regis Altoona Wisconsin
143 Casey Borba 3B Orange Lutheran Santa Ana California
162 Dondreone Kennedy SS Prestonwood Christian Fort Worth Texas



After a pair of disappointing losses in the 2022 College World Series to Notre Dame and in-state rival Texas A&M, Head Coach David Pierce is looking to rebound and finish the journey they seem to build for every year…a national championship. Coach Pierce and his staff have done their homework and put together quite a list for the 2023 recruiting class that is coming in next fall. That list is loaded with 11 of Perfect Game's top-500 ranked players, and two of them are in the top 35.

Leading the way is local standout Travis Sykora at No. 12 overall. Travis will bring with him a big, strong, physical presence from the mound and a right arm that can bring fastballs clocked up to 100 mph. He hides the baseball well with a compact arm action. Travis also displays a power-type slider in the upper-80s, with feel to eliminate spin on his changeup. Despite being a big guy, Sykora is a very good athlete and showed some good bat control while hitting over .350 in almost 60 at-bats. Travis is surely looking to be an immediate impact arm while trying to lead the Longhorns to another CWS appearance. Will Gasparino is another top-level player coming in at No. 32 overall. Gasparino is an extra-long and tall, athletic player and can really cover some ground in the outfield with his plus speed. Running a sub-6.50 in his 60-yard dash, he is a nightmare once he reaches base. Possessing a strong arm, he can help control the opposition from trying to take extra bases on the basepaths. Will also shows raw power when on time and can make in-game adjustments with a versatile swing. Recruiting coordinator (as well as hitting and infield coach) Steve Rodriguez went out to California to pluck this potential two-way player. Coach Rod knows good talent around the country when he sees it, being that he is a former head coach of the Baylor Bears.

One of the more intriguing pulls for this recruiting class was done way up north in Wisconsin. UT was able to grab another power-throwing arm in Cole Selvig (No. 125). Cole has a medium build and frame with some current strength and projects to be able to add more. He has a full swing arm action that leverages his fastball in the 90-93 mph range and a slider he can throw for strikes a lot. Cole will be another good add to the new pitching coach’s staff. The newly-hired PC is former MLB pitcher of 15 years and former San Jacinto pitching coach Woody Williams.

A couple more offensive weapons representing the West Coast and in-state talent are Casey Borba (No. 143) and Dondreone Kennedy (No. 162), respectively. Borba does a nice job of getting the barrel out front with good bat speed. He shows some power and ability to elevate the baseball when squared up on the bat. A lot of raw physical strength. Dondreone could easily be a jack-of-all trades player until he figures out where exactly he wants to be a master. Very athletic and versatile, Kennedy shows some sneaky easy power and juice, especially to the pull-side gap to line. Blessed with exceptional speed, he will be a nuisance on the bases. His arm strength is plenty strong enough to play on the left side of the infield, as shortstop tends to be his primary position currently. Rounding out PG’s top-200 ranked players coming out of this class to the University of Texas are Hayden Morris (No. 163), Easton Tumis (No. 170) and Nikolas Sanders (No. 199). Morris and Tumis are bringing a pair of right-handed arms that also bring low-90s heat and will only continue to develop with the pitching coach and rest of the staff. Sanders is a catcher that provides some eye-popping power when he catches the ball right on the barrel. Nikolas will also blossom with this staff’s ability to develop players, and with the stable full of horses coming in, this could be a juggernaut of a battery for a few years.

With a powerful recruiting class in his first go-around with the Longhorns, Coach Rod has put his skipper in position to have some of the top arms in the country anchoring his pitching staff over the next few years. Adding some versatile yet power in the lineup also gives Coach Pierce the ability to plug and play his guys anywhere in the order. With the overall additions on both sides of the baseball, Texas is surely a preseason favorite to go back to Omaha and this time potentially raise a banner in Austin.

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