The 2017 TCU Horned Frogs baseball team represented Texas Christian University during the 2017 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Horned Frogs played their home games at Charlie & Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium as a member of the Big 12 Conference. They were led by head coach Jim Schlossnagle, the winningest coach in TCU baseball history, in his 14th year at TCU.
Previous season The Horned Frogs entered the 2017 season on the heels of three consecutive trips to the College World Series. The 2016 TCU Horned Frogs baseball team notched a 38–14 (15–9) regular season record to finish third in the Big 12 Conference standings. In the postseason, the Horned Frogs won the Big 12 tournament Championship with wins over Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas and West Virginia, were selected as one of sixteen NCAA Regional Tournament hosts for the third year in a row and the sixth time in eight years, swept through the Fort Worth Regional with wins over Oral Roberts, Gonzaga and Arizona State; advanced to the Super Regional round of the Tournament for the third straight year, where they faced #4 National Seed Texas A&M in College Station, TX for the best-of-three series; won the College Station Super Regional after an 8–2 win, 1–7 loss and 4–1 win; and advanced to their third consecutive College World Series. At the 2016 CWS, the Frogs notched a 2–2 record, winning their first two games over Texas Tech and Coastal Carolina before losing two consecutive games to Coastal Carolina and being eliminated from the tournament. TCU finished the season with a 49–18 record and ranked third in the final polls.
Preseason
MLB draft The following Horned Frogs on the 2016 roster were selected in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft:
List of Drafted Players Name 2016 Class Pos. Team Round No. Signed/Returned Brian Trieglaff RS Junior RHP New York Yankees 13 398 Signed Mitchell Traver RS Junior RHP Cincinnati Reds 17 498 Returned Brian Howard Junior RHP Houston Astros 17 517 Returned Rex Hill Junior LHP Kansas City Royals 27 823 Signed Elliott Barzilli Junior INF Houston Astros 29 877 Returned Preston Guillory Senior RHP Miami Marlins 31 923 Signed* * indicates draftee had no more college eligibility
Departed players The following Horned Frogs on the 2016 roster departed the program prior to the 2017 season:
List of Departed Players Name 2016 Class Pos. Reason Zach Alaniz Freshman OF Departed Drew Gooch Sophomore LHP Transferred to UT Arlington Preston Guillory Senior RHP Graduated and Drafted/Signed Rex Hill Junior LHP Drafted/Signed Ryan Johnson Sophomore OF Transferred to San Jacinto College Dillon Meadows Freshman RHP Transferred to Weatherford College Zack Plunkett Sophomore C Transferred to Arkansas Devon Roedahl Freshman RHP Transferred to San Jacinto College Mitch Sewald Junior RHP Transferred to LSU Eunice Dane Steinhagen Senior OF Graduated Brian Trieglaff RS Junior RHP Drafted/Signed
Summer leagues Between the 2015–16 and 2016–17 academic years, the following 2017 Horned Frogs participated in summer collegiate baseball leagues:
List of Players in Summer Leagues Player 2017 Class Pos. League Team Evan Skoug Junior C USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Josh Watson Sophomore OF Cape Cod Baseball League Falmouth Commodores Dalton Horton Sophomore LHP Cape Cod Baseball League Wareham Gatemen Austen Wade Junior OF Cape Cod Baseball League Wareham Gatemen Nolan Brown RS Senior OF Cape Cod Baseball League Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox Jared Janczak RS Sophomore RHP Cape Cod Baseball League Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox Connor Wanhanen Junior 1B/OF Cape Cod Baseball League Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox Dalton Brown Sophomore RHP New England Collegiate Baseball League Sanford Mainers Michael Landestoy RS Junior INF New England Collegiate Baseball League Sanford Mainers Austin Boyles RS Freshman RHP California Collegiate League Orange County Riptide Sean Wymer Sophomore RHP California Collegiate League Orange County Riptide
Recruiting class The Horned Frogs added the following 11 players to the roster as part of their 2016 recruiting class: List of 2016 Recruits Name 2016 Class Pos. Previous School Hometown Cal Coughlin Freshman RHP/3B Lake Forest H.S. Lake Forest, IL Alec Creel Freshman RHP Homeschool Wake Forest, NC Jake Eissler Freshman RHP/1B ThunderRidge H.S. Littleton, CO Haylen Green Freshman LHP Lufkin H.S. Lufkin, TX Dion Henderson Freshman LHP Oak Park H.S. Detroit, MI Zach Humphreys Freshman C Midlothian H.S. DeSoto, TX Austin Ingraham Junior OF North Central Texas College Keller, TX Charles King Freshman RHP Coppell H.S. Coppell, TX Nick Lodolo Freshman LHP Damien H.S. La Verne, CA Trey Morris Freshman RHP Taylor H.S. Katy, TX Bryan Sturges Freshman C/OF Seven Lakes H.S. Katy, TX
Season projections The 2017 Horned Frogs were projected as one of the "Eight for Omaha" in July 2016 by Baseball America, D1 Baseball and Perfect Game.
The Horned Frogs started the 2017 season as the unanimous preseason #1 club, also being picked to finish first in the Big 12 Conference.
Personnel
Coaching staff TCU returned its entire coaching staff from the Frogs' 2014, 2015 and 2016 College World Series seasons. After leading the Frogs to their third consecutive College World Series and being named Baseball America's 2016 National Coach of the Year, Jim Schlossnagle, the winningest coach in TCU Horned Frogs baseball history, inked a six-year contract extension worth over $1 million per year, and assistants Shane Mosiello and Kirk Saarloos inked multi-year contract extensions. Name Position Season at TCU Alma mater Jim Schlossnagle Head coach 14 Elon University (1992) Bill Mosiello Associate head coach 4 Fresno State University (1986) Kirk Saarloos Assistant coach 5 California State University, Fullerton (2001) Zach Etheredge Volunteer Assistant Coach 4 University of Texas at San Antonio (2008)
Roster
Schedule and results
! style="background:#4d1979;color:white;"| Regular season |- valign="top"
|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | February 17 || 6:30 pm || || * || #1 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W6–3 || Janczak(1–0) || Biasi(0–1) || Feltman(1) || 5,812 || 1–0 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | February 18 || 2:00 pm || || Penn State* || #1 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W12–1 || Howard(1–0) || Lehman(0–1) || – || 5,507 || 2–0 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | February 19 || 11:00 am || FSSW+ || Penn State* || #1 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W9–3 || Lodolo(1–0) || Hagenman(0–1) || – || 4,455 || 3–0 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | February 21 || 6:30 pm || || at UT Arlington* || #1 || Clay Gould Ballpark • Arlington, TX || W7–2 || Eissler(1–0) || West(0–1) || – || 2,008 || 4–0 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | February 24 || 6:30 pm || || #19 * || #1 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || L9–13 || Lingos(2–0) || Howard(1–1) || – || 5,062 || 4–1 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | February 25 || 4:00 pm || || #19 Arizona State* || #1 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W8–4 || Lodolo(2–0) || Hingst(0–1) || Wymer(1) || 5,153 || 5–1 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | February 26 || 1:00 pm || FSSW+ || #19 Arizona State* || #1 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W5–2 || Janczak(2–0) || Montoya(0–1) || Feltman(2) || 4,481 || 6–1 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | February 28 || 6:30 pm || || * || #1 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W13–5 || Eissler(2–0) || Amador(0–2) || – || 4,205 || 7–1 || – || StatsStory
|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 3 || 7:05 pm || FS2 || #3 LSU* || #1 || Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX(Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic) || W9–6 || Howard(2–1) || Lange(2–1) || King(1) || 17,145 || 8–1 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 4 || 7:05 pm || FS2 || #11 Texas A&M* || #1 || Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX(Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic) || W11–1015 || Feltman(1–0) || Chafin(1–1) || – || 21,843 || 9–1 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 5 || 1:35 pm || FSN || #9 Ole Miss* || #1 || Minute Maid Park • Houston, TX(Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic) || W5–3 || Janczak(3–0) || Feigl(1–1) || Feltman(3) || 6,497 || 10–1 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 7 || 6:30 pm || || #16 * || #1 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W3–210 || Feltman(2–0) || Elledge(0–1) || – || 4,600 || 11–1 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | March 10 || 8:30 pm || || at * || #1 || Anteater Ballpark • Irvine, CA || L2–11 || Raymond(3–1) || Howard(2–2) || – || 1,148 || 11–2 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | March 11 || 4:00 pm || || at UC Irvine* || #1 || Anteater Ballpark • Irvine, CA || L3–6 || Spear(2–0) || Lodolo(2–1) || Faucher(6) || 1,168 || 11–3 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 12 || 3:00 pm || || at UC Irvine* || #1 || Anteater Ballpark • Irvine, CA || W16–7 || Janczak(4–0) || Martin(1–1) || – || 1,394 || 12–3 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | March 14 || 8:00 pm || || at * || #3 || Blair Field • Long Beach, CA || L0–7 || Villalobos(1–0) || Horton(0–1) || – || 1,732 || 12–4 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 17 || 6:30 pm || || || #3 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W3–1 || Wymer(1–0) || Leban(0–1) || Feltman(4) || 4,521 || 13–4 || 1–0 || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 18 || 5:00 pm || FSSW || Kansas || #3 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W5–1 || Janczak(5–0) || Turski(1–2) || – || 4,904 || 14–4 || 2–0 || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | March 19 || 1:00 pm || FSSW+ || Kansas || #3 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || L3–4 || Villines(1–2) || Wymer(1–1) || – || 4,535 || 14–5 || 2–1 || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 21 || 6:30 pm || || at **(Game completed May 2 in Fort Worth) || #3 || Crutcher Scott Field • Abilene, TX || W3–0 || Eissler(3–0)* || Skeffington(1–4)* || Feltman(11)* || 1,432 || 33–11* || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 24 || 6:30 pm || || || #3 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W7–5 || Green(1–0) || Teel(2–2) || Feltman(5) || 4,794 || 15–5 || 3–1 || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 25 || 7:00 pm || ESPN2 || Oklahoma State || #3 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W6–5 || Morris(1–0) || Hearrean(0–1) || Feltman(6) || 5,502 || 16–5 || 4–1 || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 26 || 1:00 pm || ESPN2 || Oklahoma State || #3 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W5–1 || Howard(3–2) || Battenfield(2–1) || Eissler(1) || 4,745 || 17–5 || 5–1 || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 28 || 6:30 pm || || * || #3 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W10–2 || Eissler(3–0) || Martinez(2–1) || – || 3,760 || 18–5 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 29 || 6:30 pm || || UTRGV* || #3 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W18–27 || Boyles(1–0) || Delgado(2–2) || – || 3,854 || 19–5 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | March 31 || 6:35 pm || ESPN3 || at || #3 || Tointon Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS || W5–011 || Wymer(2–1) || Floyd(1–3) || – || 1,872 || 20–5 || 6–1 || StatsStory
|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | April 1 || 2:05 pm || ESPN3 || at || #3 || Tointon Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS || W1–010 || Green(2–0) || Ward(0–2) || Feltman(7) || 2,060 || 21–5 || 7–1 || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | April 2 || 1:05 pm || ESPN3 || at Kansas State || #3 || Tointon Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS || W12–4 || Howard(4–2) || Heinen(1–2) || – || 1,836 || 22–5 || 8–1 || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | April 4 || 6:30 pm || || at UT Arlington* || #3 || Clay Gould Ballpark • Arlington, TX || W5–4 || Traver(1–0) || West(0–2) || Feltman(8) || 1,187 || 23–5 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | April 7 || 6:30 pm || || * || #3 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W9–2 || Janczak(6–0) || Dills(2–1) || – || 5,024 || 24–5 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | April 8 || 2:00 pm || FSSW || Murray State* || #3 || Lupton Stadium • Fort Worth, TX || W15–6 || Lodolo(3–1) || Dubsky(2–4) || – || 4,780 || 25–5 || – || StatsStory |- bgcolor="#bbffbb"