Outfielder Easton Winfield Reveals Family History of Longhorns’ Winning Tradition

When Texas baseball hired head coach Jim Schlossnagle to take the reins back in June, hopes of making the College World Series again felt more like a guarantee, seeing as he’s taken his teams to six out of the last 10.

And transfer sophomore outfielder Easton Winfield knew he had the perfect opportunity to be a part of that journey.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to come and stay in my home state and play baseball, and just the winning tradition of Texas has always been a huge thing my whole life, like I’ve always seen it growing up, and it was just an easy decision,” Winfield said during media availability on Tuesday. “I wanted to come here.”

Although his hometown of Alvin, Texas, resides over 150 miles away, Winfield said his family made the trip to Austin to watch his aunt, Loryn Johnson, play softball for Texas.

“My first memory was actually [when] my aunt played here, so I always came to watch her. And every time we’d be over there, my mom sometimes would come over here and take me to baseball games. And those are just memories I’ll never forget,” Winfield said.

Johnson was a Longhorn from 2007-2010 and left the Forty Acres second of all time in career batting average at .349 and first in slugging percentage at .562. As a sophomore in 2008, she tied the program record in most home runs in a single season with 12. Needless to say, Winfield saw a perfect example of the winning tradition of Texas.

According to Winfield, when he told Johnson that he was transferring to Texas, she said one thing he could look forward to is the unforgettable fanbase.

“She just told me [that] the fans are amazing. She said that they’ll be there no matter if you’re playing a nobody or if you’re playing one of the best teams in the country,” Winfield said. “They always show out. And she just said that it’s just a different winning tradition. Like you don’t experience a winning tradition like you do here.”

Winfield should have no trouble fitting into that Texas culture, as he already has an impressive resume and an upbeat attitude. He spent the previous year at Louisiana Monroe and started in all but two of 55 total contests, leading the Warhawks with a .332 batting average, and 10 home runs, and was tied for most RBI with 40.

Winfield is expected to take over at left field come Friday when the Longhorns open the season in Arlington at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown.