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Texas announces ace pitcher Jared Spencer out for remainder of 2025 season
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Jared Spencer has pitched for the last time in 2025. Texas shared the news on Thursday ahead of Friday’s opener in the highly anticipated rivalry series with Texas A&M.
Kirk Bohls of the Houston Chronicle was the first to report that Spencer would have season-ending shoulder surgery. Texas confirmed the news in a press release. The Longhorns confirmed the news in a press release.
The senior left-hander had a 4-1 record with a 3.27 ERA in 10 starts this season. Opposing batters were hitting .215 against the 6-3, 210-pound hurler.
With Spencer sidelined, Texas is going with a rotation of Ruger Riojas, Luke Harrison and Jason Flores for the Friday-Sunday series against the Aggies in Austin.
UT skipper Jim Schlossnagle feels confident that Riojas is the right guy to step into Spencer’s spot.
“Ruger really has the moxie and the spirit to handle everything that comes with Friday night in the SEC,” Schlossnagle said Thursday.
"Ruger really has the moxy and the spirit"
— anne-parker coleman (@anneparkercole1) April 24, 2025
Coach Schloss said as soon as Jared Spencer exited on Thursday night they began game planning for the next weekend….
They considered Luke Harrison, they believe he could handle it but they like Ruger's energy…#Texas | #Hookem pic.twitter.com/Apw12IkAvn
Riojas joined Texas ahead of the 2025 season after 2 seasons at UTSA. The 6-foot, 192-pound right-hander has a 7-1 record over 13 appearances, including 5 starts. Riojas has a 3.33 ERA over 48.2 innings with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 48-12. Opponents are hitting .221.
Texas is the No. 1-ranked team in the country and atop the SEC standings with an overall record of 34-5 and 16-2 mark in conference play. In their first season of SEC play, the Longhorns have won all 6 conference series so far. They’re set to renew the rivalry with Texas A&M, facing an Aggie squad that is 9-1 over its last 10 games, winning SEC series against Tennessee, South Carolina and Arkansas.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
