Saarloos Introuduces a New Era for TCU Baseball
The last few months have been a series of highs and lows for TCU, and with any new head coaching change, a new era for TCU baseball awaits. Long-time TCU Baseball Coach Jim Schlossnagle announced that he’d be departing to College Station to take over as the Texas A&M Head Coach in early June. It was a surprising departure to many, but TCU would hire long-time pitching coach Kirk Saarloos to run the show for the Frogs.
TCU had six players drafted in the 2021 MLB Draft; out of those six, five would be eligible to return to TCU next year. The only player that is 100% heading to the MLB is Russell Smith, the Frog’s go-to pitcher. Smith was selected in the second round by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 51st overall pick.
Saarloos started assembling his staff as well as his recruiting campaign. Bill Mosiello will stay with the Frogs remaining as the associate head coach. John Dilaura will take Saarloos’s position as the recruiting coordinator. TCU hasn’t had any recruits de-commit thus far; however, one of TCU’s top recruits Creed Willems, selected in the 8th round by the Baltimore Orioles, will be going straight to the pros.
Recruiting News
Caedmon Parker is a top 100 high school prospect, but he reaffirmed that he would stay committed to TCU. Kirk Saarloos will also get Gray Thomas and Hunter Teplanszky for the Frogs in 2022; the two recruits decided to remain committed to TCU. TCU had a top 15 recruiting class in the country, and Saarloos will have a lot to work with.
The Frogs will get freshman pitcher River Ridings posted a 1.08 ERA with 39 strikeouts, while freshman Cam Brown posted a 1.93 ERA in three starts. Saarloos gets the Big 12’s most outstanding player, outfielder Porter Brown as far as position players go. Brown sat atop the Horned Frogs lineup and solidified his position as the leadoff man for TCU. Kirk Saarloos will have some time to get his guy’s ready, but for the new era of TCU baseball don’t expect them to fall off one bit.
Check out our recap of new head coach Kirk Saarloos.
Story By Jack Damon
