Texas right-hander Sam Cozart had a minor surgical procedure on his foot, Texas Baseball announced on Friday.
The operation was described as minor and there is no indication it threatens his availability for the Longhorns in 2027. Fall practice is still months away, giving the sophomore-to-be a wide runway to recover before Texas heads back to UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
Cozart, 6-foot-6, 260-pound righty from High Point, North Carolina, turned in one of the best freshman seasons a Texas pitcher had ever had. He finished 2026 with a 1.72 ERA and did not lose a game, going 6-0 with nine saves.
He struck out 71 batters in 49 innings with 12 walks and kept opponents to a .132 average at the College World Series. The 0.69 WHIP and that opponents’ average were both among all Division I pitchers with at least 45 innings in the league, and he allowed multiple runs in a single game just once all year. Against SEC foes he had a 1.01 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP and seven saves in the conference lead.
He finished the season by throwing several innings out of the bullpen in Texas’ College World Series elimination loss to Georgia, striking out six after stranding the bases loaded in the sixth.
Cozart was named NCBWA Stopper of the Year as the nation’s top reliever and NCBWA National Freshman Pitcher of the Year, shared Perfect Game’s Co-Freshman Pitcher of the Year honor and was selected to first-team All-America and All-SEC.
He also picked up two SEC weekly awards along the way, including Co-Freshman of the Week in April after two saves during the series win over then-No. 11 Alabama. He worked four scoreless innings that weekend, allowing no hits and striking out eight.
Cozart started the year as a midweek starter and then moved to the ninth inning when SEC play started and made three starts among his appearances. How he is used next spring is one of the more interesting questions facing the staff, and a healthy foot is the starting point for all of it.
