Entering the KnupSports baseball preseason poll at #5 is the Horned Frogs.
In 2023, the Horned Frogs were 44-24 overall and 13-11 in conference play.Coach Kirk Saarloos is 82-46 in two seasons at TCU. This team got hot late in 2023 and won the Big 12 tournament and reached Omaha. They were beaten by runner-up Florida. The good news for the Frogs is they had a very young team.
Noew in 2024, they bring back sophomore catcher Karson Bower, sophomore shortstop Anthony Silva and their rotation anchor in Kole Klecker along with bullpen stalwart Ben Aheldt. These talented sophomore will be asked to anchor the team and make a deeper dive into the College World Series
Saarloos hit the portal for a few key additions, led by two-way All-American Payton Tolle (Wichita State) and second baseman Peyton Chatagnier (Mississippi). The combination of veteran experience and star sophomores makes for an exciting upside.
As far as the rotation shakes out, it should be Klecker and Tolle as the weekends and TCU will look to transfers Zack Morris (Arkansas) and Ben Hampton (West Virginia) to round it out.
Payton Tolle, last season at Wichita State hit .311/.361/.538 with 13 home runs and went 9-3, 4.62 with 97 strikeouts and 19 walks in 85.2 innings. He’s now set to step into the lineup and rotation for TCU, bringing both a powerful left-handed bat and a solid fastball-slider combination on the mound. As a two-way talent, he could be the most impactful transfer in the sport this season.
It won’t be easy but the Frogs have the ability for the deep dive into the postseason. They have a flurry of new players into the program which include:.
Pos. Name Year AVG OBP SLG AB HR RBI
C Karson Bowen So. .350 .420 .502 217 6 46
1B Kurtis Byrne R-Sr. .285 .343 .487 193 10 48
2B Payton Chatagnier R-Sr. Transfer—Mississippi
3B Brody Green Jr. .125 .222 .188 16 0 2
SS Anthony Silva So. .330 .416 .471 227 7 50
OF Logan Maxwell Jr. .300 .418 .460 100 2 18
OF Chase Brunson Fr. HS—San Clemente, Calif.
OF Luke Boyers Sr. .231 .401 .405 173 7 27
DH Peyton Tolle Jr. Transfer—Wichita State
