Peyton Powell mulled over the open-ended question for a bit, then finally answered, if somewhat ambiguously.

Asked what he considered his best position on the Texas baseball team, the fifth-year senior offered, “As of right now, third.”

Third works.

He was spectacular there last season.

But so, too, could catcher, shortstop, outfield. Heck, Powell even pitched for his Robinson High School team near Waco. And first base is open, now that expected Duke transfer Luke Storm has abruptly ended his career. I’m sure he could play there, too, with a week or two of training.

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They don’t come any more versatile than Powell, who criminally was voted on only the All-Big 12 second team when he deserved even higher accolades.

But he’s pretty humble, too.

As he said about potential positions, “Third, catcher, first. Wherever the team needs me.”

Coming back for one more title shot

That says all you really need to know about the 23-year-old Longhorn, who waited his turn — and waited his turn and waited his turn — until last year’s breakout season. And boy, did he break out.

Not only did he play third base as well as any other infielder in the Big 12, but he hit a team-high .339 (matching the departed Dylan Campbell) with 10 home runs and 16 doubles, and he drove in 46 runs. He was as dependable as they come.

Not that he was satisfied with his production.

He wants more.

Out of himself.

For his team. Mostly for his team.

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Powell was one of at least four or five current Longhorns who many figured would leave for the professional baseball ranks. However, he chose to come back. So did top two starting pitchers Lebarron Johnson Jr. and Tanner Witt as well as left fielder Porter Brown.

Together, the valuable foursome provides the nucleus for a 16th-ranked Texas team that last June fell one bizarre ending in Stanford away from a third straight appearance at the College World Series.

Head coach David Pierce is thanking his lucky stars they returned.

“We easily could have lost five guys in the draft, so I’m excited about our potential with experience,” Pierce said. “I want Peyton to go out and be Peyton Powell. I really think he has a chance to be one of the best players in the country. He’s so good.”

Peyton Powell: 'I want to win a natty'

He is. He might not be major league good. But one baseball insider says Powell is “a great college baseball player, and no moment is too big for him.”

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And Powell and Brown both made it clear that they and their teammates returned for one reason only.

“I want to win a natty,” Powell said emphatically on the first day of spring workouts at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The Longhorns will open their season Friday with a three-game series against San Diego.

Goals always come in big packages if you’re a Texas Longhorn.

No program has been represented in Omaha, Neb., more than the 38 times Texas has shown up in its home away from home. And no school has higher expectations than Texas, which is gunning for a seventh national crown and first since 2005.

Powell did his part last season, but so did a lot of teammates who moved on. Like Campbell with his Hall of Fame glove, athletic prowess in right field and 38-game hitting streak. Like center fielder Eric Kennedy, a cornerstone of recent Texas teams. Like ace Lucas Gordon and his 2.63 ERA. And catcher Garret Guillemette (.298) and closer Zane Morehouse (seven saves) and shortstop Mitchell Daly (seven homers), who transferred to Kentucky.

Focused on Texas' present, his own future

But enough other parts are back to make Texas the No. 2 pick in the Big 12 behind TCU.

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Lots of pitchers return. Two highly recruited freshmen are back. First baseman Jared Thomas was projected to move to center before Storm’s surprise exit and could return to first unless junior Cam Constantine proves he can handle the position. Heralded shortstop Jalin Flores has to regain his confidence and show he can hit better than .175. The shortstop he couldn’t beat out is gone, but Jack O’Dowd returns as a steady second baseman.

Powell did consider leaving school as an undrafted free agent but chose to stay for some unfinished business.

“I got calls,” he said, “but I turned them down.”

His age probably works against him since he’ll turn 24 in September and doesn’t have the power that a major league team usually wants in a corner infielder. That’s OK for now because Powell’s goals are more focused on the immediate future, starting with the opening series against San Diego. And he’s a complete player.

He’s not over the abrupt ending in Palo Alto when Kennedy and Campbell lost sight of a routine two-out fly ball in the West Coast twilight. It fell in to allow in the winning run for Stanford and send the Cardinal to the CWS.

Some Longhorns are still numb.

“It was a shock for a while,” Powell said. “I didn’t know what was happening. Last year was devastating. We’re not playing angry this season, though. That’s not our identity, but we do have a chip on our shoulder.”

Unlike in his first three seasons at Texas, Powell is considered one of the linchpins for the current team and a strong leader for a talented but young freshman class.

“Jack has upped his leadership skills, and JT had to grow up fast,” he said. “And I’ve had to realize young guys were going to look at me for guidance.”

That’s a far cry from 2019, when he arrived as a fresh face out of high school, eager to make an impression but lacking in confidence.

“When I first got here, I didn’t understand what college work meant, even though I thought I did,” Powell said. “I found out we had a 26-year-old on the team.”

Now the cleats are on the other foot. His feet.

And he wears them well.

Texas' opening series

San Diego at No. 16 Texas, 7 p.m. Friday, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday, UFCU Disch-Falk Field, LHN, 1300

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas baseball's Peyton Powell is as valuable as he is versatile