After adding two commits to the class of 2017, and one to the class of 2018, new Texas Longhorns baseball coach David Pierce has now landed his first player who will have an immediate impact for the upcoming season, as JUCO right-handed pitcher and shortstop Beau O’Hara officially switched his commitment from Tulane to Texas on Friday via an announcement on Twitter.
— Beau O'Hara (@BeauOhara11) July 23, 2016
The rising sophomore will be eligible to play for the ‘Horns this season.
O’Hara attended Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas and graduated in 2015. Afterwards, he played his freshman year of college ball at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas and caught the interest of then Green Wave skipper David Pierce. O’Hara signed with Tulane on May 17th.
The 19-year-old was ranked out of high school as the 25th best shortstop in the state of Texas. He was named as a first team 19-6A All-District player his senior season, and led Seven Lakes to a 21-11 record.
O’Hara appears to have prioritized playing under Pierce. Just three days after Pierce was hired by the Longhorns, O’Hara tweeted, “New chapter coming soon”.
The two-time All-District academic team member has had a unique baseball career thus far. O’Hara was originally first and foremost a shortstop, hailed for his “plus range” in the field and “potential with the bat” in high school by scouts at Perfect Game. He demonstrated his batting prowess by hitting for the cycle in his senior season. However, he was 0-16 at the plate at Blinn, and had 11 strikeouts.
Despite this, O’Hara flourished on the mound in junior college. He struck out 46 batters in only 42 innings, and only had 14 walks. He could be a huge asset for a Texas team that had trouble finding the strike zone and finishing off batters in its 2016 campaign. Though his ERA of 5.15 is not the most appealing, O’Hara’s rapid development as a pitcher is extremely promising, and Pierce and company clearly see some serious talent in the in-state product.
All-in-all, O’Hara is another solid get for Pierce — though the new skipper has yet to coach a single game for the ‘Horns, his energy on the recruiting circuit has been cause for excitement for the future of the once mighty baseball program.