Jeff Ontiveros (1979-2023): Member of 2002 title team set home run records at Texas

Jeff Ontiveros, who set home run records at Texas and still holds the mark for games played in a Longhorns uniform, died this week, the school acknowledged Saturday.

A tweet from the Texas baseball program said: "We are saddened to hear of the passing of Jeff Ontiveros, ’02 national champion and the Longhorns’ all-time leader in games played. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones."

The Twitter account belonging to the baseball team at Round Rock High School, where Ontiveros won a state championship in 1997, said he died Friday morning. No cause of death has been announced.

Ontiveros, 43, played at Texas from 1999 to 2002. The first baseman is still the Longhorns' all-time leader in games played (260), starts (253), at-bats (922) and total bases (510).

He also left Texas as the Longhorns' home run king, though his 55 career homers were surpassed by Kyle Russell's 57. The 20 home runs he hit in 2002 were bested by Ivan Melendez (32 in 2022), Russell (28 in 2007) and Kody Clemens (24 in 2018). While Melendez was resetting the school standard last season, Ontiveros told the American-Statesman: "Kid's a phenomenal player. It's fun to watch him compete at that kind of level."

On his final play in a UT uniform, Ontiveros scooped up a grounder hit by a South Carolina batter and stepped on first base to secure the 2002 College World Series title.

"Jeff was someone I grew up idolizing as a high school standout, then a college leader, then a teammate who provided all of us with his blend of absolute toughness and beautiful love for the game," former UT teammate Huston Street tweeted Saturday. "He is a Longhorn Legend, Champion, and made all those around him better."

After he left Texas, Ontiveros played for a few years in Boston's farm system.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Former Texas baseball slugger Jeff Ontiveros dies