It’s been an eventful first two weeks of the SEC season for Texas.

The Longhorns are 4-2 in the league after taking two of three at Auburn in a battle of top-five teams. Friday night’s game was a classic. Texas took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the top of the ninth but gave up three in the bottom of the inning after center fielder Aiden Robbins misplayed a line drive single that rolled all the way to the wall. Madness ensued at Plainsman Park.

WHAT. A. FINISH‼️#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/XdEwHxespl

— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) March 21, 2026

It was a tough ending for Robbins, who went 2 for 4 with two home runs, including a solo shot in the ninth inning that put the Horns on top. The transfer from Seton Hall is slashing .380/.449/.739 with nine home runs and 28 RBIs.

Texas held on for a 7-6 win on Saturday and cruised to a 5-0 win on Sunday to clinch the series.

Two weeks ago, Jim Schlossnagle’s team beat Ole Miss on Saturday and Sunday after suffering an exruciating loss to open the series. The Horns led 7-3 heading into the top of the ninth but lost the lead with two outs when Tristan Bissetta hit a ground slam to put the Rebels on top 8-7. Texas tied it in the bottom of the ninth only to lose 9-8 in 11 innings.

Texas hosts Oklahoma next week in Austin. The Horns and Sooners are two of the seven SEC teams with a 4-2 record after two weeks of league play.

Around the horn

The Paul Mainieri era didn’t last long at South Carolina.

Mainieri and the school parted ways on Saturday morning, only five weeks into his second season in Columbia. The Gamecocks went 6-24 in the SEC in 2025 and were off to an 0-4 start in 2026. On Friday night, they lost 22-6 at home to Arkansas.

Monte Lee, previously the head coach at Clemson and the College of Charleston, will serve as the interim head coach for the rest of the season.

Mainieri, who retired at LSU following the 2021 season, due in part to health reasons, was a curious hire. He was 66 at the time and had been out of coaching for three years.

Before his arrival, South Carolina had won fewer than 13 SEC games only once since the league went to a 30-game schedule in 1996.

This season, South Carolina (13-12, 1-5) has lost nonconference games to Northern Kentucky, Army, Queens, The Citadel and Charlotte.

On Friday night, right-hander Tyler Fay became the first Alabama pitcher since 1942 to throw a nine-inning no-hitter, as the Crimson Tide blanked Florida 6-0 in Tuscaloosa. Fay, a fourth-year junior, struck out 13 and walked two while throwing a career-high 132 pitches.

The former walk-on who broke into Alabama’s starting rotation late last season is now 4-2 with a 4.06 ERA with 47 strikeouts and eight walks in 37 2/3 innings.

Fay’s gem was the start of a big weekend for the Crimson Tide. They followed up the shutout on Friday with wins of 8-4 on Saturday and 14-7 on Sunday to complete the sweep. It was a nice response after getting swept at Kentucky to open the SEC season.

Quinton Coats and Jack Natali both hit three home runs — tying a single-game school record — in Cincinnati’s 20-10 win over Utah on Saturday. Coats leads the nation with 18 home runs (in 26 games), after hitting only six in 34 games as a freshman in 2025.

The Bearcats took two of three from Utah to improve to 19-7 overall and 3-3 in the league.

West Virginia and UCF are tied for first in the Big 12 at 5-1. The Mountaineers, the defending regular-season champs, were expected to contend once again. UCF is a bit of a surprise. The Knights, who went 9-21 in the Big 12 last season, won two of three at TCU over the weekend and have now won 11 of their last 13 to improve to 15-7 overall.

The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, are a disappointing 13-10 overall and 2-4 in the league.

There was a touching moment before the Tennessee-Missouri game on Saturday night in Knoxville, with the Volunteers inviting Hank Rucker, the 4-year-old son of Wes Rucker, to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Wes Rucker, who covered Tennessee athletics for various outlets for over two decades, died in a car accident on Interstate 40 in Knoxville in February. His wife, Lauren, is expecting the couple’s second child, a girl, this spring.

Honored to have Hank Rucker throw out tonight’s ceremonial first pitch!#TeamRucker pic.twitter.com/SWjnrp69GV

— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) March 21, 2026

The West Coast schools in the ACC continue to struggle. Stanford and Cal, which joined the league in 2025 after the implosion of the Pac-12, are a combined 1-11 in league games. Stanford, which hosted Utah Valley in nonconference action this past weekend, has series losses at Wake Forest (sweep) and vs. Pitt at home (lost two of three). Cal, meanwhile, has been swept by North Carolina (home) and Boston College (road).

The Cardinal have fallen on hard times after advancing to the College World Series in three straight seasons (2021-23). They slumped to 22-33 (11-19) in 2024, the final season of the Pac-12, and went 27-25 (11-19) in 2025, their first season in the ACC. This season, they are 9-12 overall and 1-5 in league play.

The Golden Bears, who finished in last place in the ACC last year at 9-21, haven’t been to a Regional since 2019, Mike Neu’s second season in Berkeley.

In a related matter, the four West Coast schools that joined the Big Ten last year are a combined 28-8 in league play. Top-ranked UCLA is 9-0 after sweeping Maryland by a combined score of 34–9 (11-4). USC is 8-1 and Oregon is 7-2, while Washington is 4-5 after getting swept by USC.

Tomas Valincius, who followed Brian O’Connor from Virginia to Mississippi State, has emerged as one of the nation’s top pitchers as a sophomore. In two SEC starts, wins over Arkansas and Vanderbilt, the lefty from Illinois has allowed a combined four hits and no earned runs in 14 innings. For the season, he is 5-0 with a 1.04 ERA and 0.865 WHIP with 47 strikeouts and six walks in 34 2/3 innings.

Valincius’ win on Saturday was part of a sweep over Vanderbilt in Starkville, capped off by a 17-7 run-rule victory in seven innings on Sunday. It wasn’t all good news for the Bulldogs. On Friday night, pitcher Ryan McPherson left the game with an apparent arm injury after throwing four innings. There is no update on his status.

Vanderbilt is now 13-12 overall and 2-4 in the SEC. The Commodores, who are dealing with several key pitching injuries, started two true freshmen on the mound over the weekend — never a good recipe at Dudy Noble Field. On Friday, Wyatt Nadeau, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance against LSU, gave up seven hits and five earned runs in four innings. On Sunday, Tyler Baird didn’t record an out, getting pulled after giving up five earned runs in the top of the first.

We almost had a brawl in the Central Michigan-Toledo game on Sunday afternoon.

MACtion baseball brawl 😳pic.twitter.com/1Lqln10LXE

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) March 22, 2026

And finally …

• How about this stat line for Kansas outfielder Tyson Owens on Saturday afternoon: 4 for 5 with two home runs and eight RBIs, including the game-winner on a walk-off infield single in the bottom of the ninth inning of a 9-8 win over Houston. The Jayhawks swept Houston in Lawrence to improve to 15-8 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12.

• Five weeks into the season, and there is only one player hitting over .500 — Western Michigan outfielder Tanner Malley (.573). The leader among Power 4 players is Pitt outfielder Lorenzo Carrier at .464.

• Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron, a potential top-five pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, is the only player in the nation with 10-plus home runs and 20-plus stolen bases. Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson (14 home runs, 11 steals) and Kansas State shortstop Dee Kennedy (11 home runs, 15 steals) are the only other members of the 10-10 club.

• Boston College and Notre Dame are both 6-3 in the ACC after recording weekend sweeps at home, the Eagles over Cal and the Fighting Irish over Clemson. BC last made the NCAA Tournament in 2023, while Notre Dame hasn’t been to the postseason since advancing to the College World Series in 2022.

• Southern Miss bounced back from a series loss to Arkansas State by taking two of three from Troy in a hard-fought series in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles are 19-5 overall and 3-3 in the league.

• Oklahoma took two of three from LSU in Baton Rouge to hand LSU its third consecutive series loss. The Tigers are 16-9 overall and 2-4 in the SEC.