Going into this baseball season, Texas coach David Pierce believes that he has six candidates for the three spots in his weekend rotation.

Lebarron Johnson Jr. is a lock. The 6-foot-4 right-hander closed out the 2023 season on a tear and enters this year as the Big 12 preseason pitcher of the year. Pierce said that Charlie Hurley, Cody Howard and Chase Lummus are also being considered, as is Luke Harrison, a left-hander who threw to live hitters this week for the first time since he had elbow surgery in 2023.

Then there's Tanner Witt.

After starring as a reliever for UT's 2021 College World Series team, Witt transitioned into a starting role in 2022. He made two solid starts before an elbow injury ended that season.

After having Tommy John surgery, Witt returned during the second half of the 2023 season. Given little wiggle room to regain his form as Texas chased a conference title and postseason success, Witt went 2-1 with a 10.97 ERA over 10⅔ innings. He also struggled during a summer stint in the Cape Cod League before Texas limited his workload in the fall.

Baltimore did use a late-round pick to select Witt in the 2023 MLB draft this past summer. Witt, though, chose to return to the Longhorns. In a tweet, he stated that he had "unfinished business."

Witt was among the topics of conversation during UT's first media availability of the season Friday. Pierce said that Witt was looking "outstanding."

"The rough summer was probably a good sign for him and us because it allowed him to take a deep breath," Pierce said. "He and I had a lot of conversations of I'm not pushing you to pitch in the fall until you're ready and so he didn't pitch because he needs to get his body right, moving down the hill right, his arm path. Even a guy like Tanner that you look at, he's struggled with some confidence as well so just building that confidence. He's in a really good spot right now. Still a little below a tick of his (velocity), but I like where he is."

Which freshmen will step up in the outfield?

After Dylan Campbell was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Eric Kennedy joined Kansas City's farm system, Texas had two holes to fill in its outfield. Sophomore Jared Thomas will likely fill one of those holes by moving from first base to center field, and a freshman could be the front-runner to get playing time in right field.

But which freshman?

On Wednesday, the Big 12 touted Will Gasparino as its preseason freshman of the year. A California product, Gasparino was viewed as one of the top-100 prospects in the 2023 draft class, but he went undrafted.

"He's a solid player, a ton of talent. Once we get all clicking together, you'll see it on the field," UT left-fielder Porter Brown said. "You'll see the potential and all the hype that's around his name. Really good tools, really strong arm from the outfield, can run, tall, got the power."

Gasparino, though, isn't the only freshman who is receiving rave reviews. Tommy Farmer IV was a name offered by Brown when he was asked to pick a young teammate who could emerge in 2024. Pierce said that Farmer "has been just a pleasant surprise."

Like Gasparino, Farmer was recruited out of California. He hit over .300 in each of his last two seasons at Oaks Christian High School.

Pierce said he expects that both Gasparino and Farmer will play a lot this season.

Longhorns not thinking about polls

This week, Texas was ranked second in the Big 12 preseason poll. The Longhorns picked up two first-place votes from the conference's coaches, but TCU will enter this season as the clear-cut favorite in the conference.

The Big 12 preseason poll was released one week after D1Baseball revealed its first national rankings for the season. Texas was listed 16th.

Brown wasn't taking much stock in those rankings when the subject was brought up Friday. He also pointed out that Texas was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12's preseason poll last year, and the Longhorns went on to win a conference championship.

"All the preseason rankings are cool and keep people locked into the season, but you've kind of just got to take those with a grain of salt," Brown said. "(We need to) hold your head down, work hard every day and just work to get 1% better every day and just work hard. At the end, the result will come. That's what we're focusing on right now."

Brown joined Johnson as UT's representatives on the Big 12's preseason team. The Longhorns will open their season on Feb. 16 with a home game against San Diego. The team's annual alumni game is set for Feb. 3.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: News and notes as Texas Longhorns prepare for 2024 baseball season