This is the first of a multi-part series previewing the TCU Horned Frogs baseball team. 

Major media outlets agree that TCU has the talent for another deep postseason run. The Frogs rank in the preseason top 12 in polls from reputable outlets including D1 Baseball, Perfect Game and Baseball America. TCU is ranked in the preseason top 25 for the 17th consecutive season. The optimism is an extension of roster continuity from last year’s squad that went 39-20 but was eliminated in the NCAA Corvallis Regional. 

TCU returns much of its squad from last season, including a trio of potential first-round MLB draft picks. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Feeling a Little Drafty 

The Frogs roster features legitimate major league talent with three 2026 MLB Pipeline Top 100 draft prospects: outfielder Sawyer Strosnider (No. 10), outfielder Chase Brunson (No. 44) and ace pitcher Tommy LaPour (No. 62).

Wichita State transfer Tommy LaPour assembled an 8-3 record and a 3.09 ERA over 16 starts in his Horned Frogs debut last season. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Brock, Texas, product Strosnider, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season, is one of the best all-around athletes in the country. He has a pretty, left-handed swing and hit for a .350 average with a .420 on-base percentage. The 20-year-old slugged .650 and hit 13 doubles, 11 homers and led the nation with a school-record 10 triples while pacing the team in hits (77) and runs batted in (51).

Brunson is an all-around player who provides both a consistent bat and great defense in center field. The 6-foot-3 San Clemente, Calif., native was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team last season after slashing .317/.395/.554 with 12 dingers. Brunson started the 2025 season with a 43-game on-base streak. He is expected to be the centerfielder again this season after starting 58 games last year.

LaPour, the big 6-foot-4, 230-pound right-hander, was a true workhorse for the team last season after transferring from Wichita State. LaPour has a big fastball that lives at 95-98 miles per hour and can get all the way up to 101. He also has a slider and changeup that can be used when he gets ahead in the count. The Kansas City-area native started 16 games in 2025 and threw 90.1 innings to the tune of a 3.09 ERA. He struck out 88 hitters while only walking 27. This earned him first-team All-Big 12 honors last year.  

Sophomore Studs 

Noah Franco is a talented player who has the ability to hit and pitch. The two-way pitcher and outfielder hit .313 with a .548 slugging percentage as a freshman and mashed 11 homers. He also has the arm to provide some innings on the mound, as he threw 12 innings, striking out 18 on the year. Perfect Game gave him first-team Freshman All-American honors last season.

Nolan Traeger is a left-handed-hitting catcher who started 43 games as a true freshman, hitting .327 with a .429 on-base percentage. He is a very good framer behind the plate and has a strong arm that threw out nine would-be base stealers last season. He was named second-team All-Big 12 in 2025.

Sophomore catcher Nolan Traeger is among the four returning Horned Frogs who were listed as freshman All-Americans by Perfect Game a season ago. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Comings and Goings 

The two biggest losses for TCU in the transfer portal were first baseman and catcher Karson Bowen, who went to Florida, and right-handed pitcher Kole Klecker, to Arizona State. The Frogs responded to these losses by bringing in first baseman Rob Liddington (Incarnate Word), infielder Kyuss Gargett (Kentucky), and pitchers Ethan Thomas (Hawaii) and Tanner Sagouspe (Cal Poly).

Liddington is a left-handed hitter who can plug in place of Bowen at first. The senior hit .359 and swatted 15 homers for Incarnate Word last season.

Gargett is an athletic infielder who can play multiple positions. He has experience in big moments, making 5 starts and 12 appearances in the College World Series.

Thomas is a 6-foot-5 230-pound right-handed pitcher with a fastball that gets up to 94 and a couple of off-speed pitches. He spent his last two seasons at Hawaii and made 18 appearances with 37 strikeouts and three saves for the Rainbow Warriors in 2025.

Sagouspe is a right-hander out of Cal Poly who finished his 2025 campaign with 40 innings pitched over 25 appearances registering an ERA of 3.60 with 50 punchouts. His over-the-top delivery brings in a fastball in the low 90s, and he features a hammer curveball. 

— Grant Harris