Tinney, a junior who transferred to Texas from Notre Dame last offseason, enjoyed a real power surge in his first year with the Longhorns, for whom he emerged as the starting catcher and a designated hitter for midweek matchups. After hitting 17 home runs last year at Notre Dame, Tinney finished the 2026 season with a .326 batting average, 22 home runs, 58 RBIs and 68 runs, which tied for the team lead.
Tinney was the 44th overall prospect in the MLB.com rankings, just behind No. 43 Caden Sorrell, the Texas A&M outfielder. “Sorrell and Tinney both have big power and real defensive value from Texas colleges, but questions on hitability,” the ESPN scouting report said.
Tinney suffered a disastrous end to the season, however, when he committed two critical errors in the Longhorns’ 7-1 loss to Georgia at the College World Series, a pair of wild throws to first base that led to two Bulldog runs. The loss sent the Longhorns into the losers’ bracket of the CWS, where they beat Alabama in an elimination game before falling to Georgia again, 2-0. He added another error against Georgia in the final loss.
Tinney was 1-for-2 and scored two runs in the win over Alabama, but went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts in the season-ender.
Tinney was a Buster Posey Award finalist this season, given to the country’s top college catcher, and had a career .997 fielding percentage heading into the season. He committed only two other errors in 2026.