Lance Davis, the No. 2 overall prospect in the state of Arkansas coming out of high school, set the state’s high school ERA record with a 0.14 in his senior year. He spent his first college season redshirting at the University of Arkansas and dealt with a foot injury during his time as a Razorback that kept him off the mound in 2025.

Since transferring to TCU in 2025, Davis has been a mainstay in the Horned Frogs’ rotation, making starts since February. The 6-foot-4 right-hander has a 3-3 record this season across 49 innings pitched with an ERA of 5.14. Davis has shown sharp command, with 32 strikeouts against 12 walks.

Redshirt freshman Lance Davis has found his footing this season, delivering seven-inning shutouts against Big 12 opponents UCF (March 21) and Arizona (April 11). Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Lately, Davis has been shining. The Frogs have picked up the win in his last five outings, dating back to March 21 against the University of Central Florida. In his last three starts, he is 2-0, throwing 20.2 innings, with a 2.61 ERA. His best game of the season was against Arizona on April 11, when he threw seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts, allowing just four hits and one walk.

Davis will try to build upon this momentum when he faces Houston on Saturday, April 25. The Frogs entered this series on a three-game winning streak and are facing a struggling Cougars team that has just three wins in its last 10 games.  

TCU Magazine spoke with Davis about his road to TCU and what lies ahead. 

What was your experience playing baseball growing up? 

I grew up in northeast Arkansas, in a small town, but a big baseball town. So that’s the thing we did growing up. It’s about an hour away from Memphis, so we would drive across the river and play some really good competition.

Did any of your family members play baseball?

No, actually. My parents were both basketball players, so it was sort of weird for them for me to be interested in baseball, but I hated basketball, so I picked up baseball and ran with it.

What does it feel like being able to get on the mound again?

It’s been awesome. You’ve got to get used to it again a little bit, but now that we’re halfway through the season, it’s about finding your footing and feeling a little better each week.

Lance Davis, center, was named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll at Arkansas. Now a criminal justice major at TCU, he has said becoming a lawyer is “sort of a dream” of his. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

What has been your favorite aspect of TCU Baseball so far?

The culture built by the guys before us — and what we’ve continued to build — is unmatched. There’s a great strength program, a great coaching staff that all mix together to have a successful program.

Do you feel that you’re more comfortable on the mound as of late?

Yeah, I think each week the goal is to get better, and I think so far I’ve done that. The goal moving forward is to keep improving.

What are your future plans?

I’m a criminal justice major, but I’ll see where baseball takes me and then hopefully get my degree here. That’d be special to me to come back and finish it at TCU. But I think for me, I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer, so that is sort of a dream of mine also.

Editor’s Note: The questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity. 

— Grant Harris