Taylor Jungmann joins elite baseball players as Texas officially retires his No. 26 jersey

When Taylor Jungmann first started playing baseball, the T-ball team coached by his father didn't have a complex way of assigning jersey numbers.

Jungmann was a shortstop, so he was given the No. 6 since that number correlates with the shortstop position in the scorebook. The number stuck. Years later, Jungmann wore No. 6 while leading Rogers High to a state championship as a star pitcher and infielder.

Jungmann transferred to Georgetown High for his senior season in 2008, but the Eagles did not have a No. 6 jersey that was big enough for his 6-foot-6 frame. So Jungmann added a digit to his uniform and adopted a new number.

So that is the story of why Jungmann chose to wear No. 26 at Texas. Only seven players are known to have worn that number in UT's history, and there won't be an eighth. Ahead of its doubleheader against Oklahoma on Saturday, Texas officially retired the No. 26 that the pitcher wore from 2009 to 2011.

Jungmann is the ninth UT baseball player to have his jersey retired. Texas has already set aside Nos. 3 (Keith Moreland), 20 (Burt Hooton), 21 (Roger Clemens and Greg Swindell), 23 (Brooks Kieschnick) and 25 (Scott Bryant and Huston Street). Kirk Dressendorfer, who wore No. 10 in 1988-90, was honored last month.

"When I was playing, you see those names up there. It's just, those guys are on a different level, so it's amazing to be able to have my name up there with those guys," Jungmann said earlier in the week. "University of Texas was my dream school growing up. I've bled burnt orange my entire life."

Of the nine Longhorns who have had their jerseys retired by the Texas baseball program, Jungmann is the only one who played in the 2010s. He and Street are the only members of that group who were coached by Augie Garrido.

Jungmann appeared in 61 games for Texas. He ranks in the top 10 in UT's record books for career strikeouts (356, sixth), ERA (1.85, seventh) and wins (32, 10th).

During the 2011 season, Jungmann went 13-3 with a 1.60 ERA and five complete games. He won the school's fourth Dick Howser Trophy, an accomplishment that would not happen again until Ivan Melendez was honored as college baseball's top player last year.

So what was it like to face Jungmann in his heyday?

"Miserable," recalled current Texas coach David Pierce.

In 2010, Pierce was an assistant coach on a Rice team that was beaten by Jungmann in an Austin Regional.

Since winning a player of the year award is an unofficial but understood requirement for jersey retirements in the Texas athletic department, Jungmann's ceremony Saturday might not have happened without his 2011 season. But he said his favorite memories at Texas were made in 2009.

During that 2009 campaign, Texas went 50-16-1. Jungmann, who was a freshman, did his part as he won 11 times. One of those wins was a complete-game five-hitter against LSU that forced a decisive game in the championship series at the College World Series.

"He's as special a kid as we've had since Calvin Schiraldi, Greg Swindell, Brooks Kieschnick and Kirk Dressendorfer," Moreland said in that game's aftermath.

Jungmann's Omaha heroics weren't the only highlight of that postseason run. Texas beat Boston College in a 25-inning marathon that is still the NCAA's longest game. Preston Clark secured the Austin Regional with a walk-off grand slam against Army. At the College World Series, the Longhorns recorded a walk-off win over Southern Mississippi and rallied from a 6-0 deficit against Arizona State. Texas finished the year as the NCAA runner-up.

"Travis Tucker, Brandon Belt, Michael Torres, Preston Clark, Austin Wood, all those guys, being around those guys, they taught us how to win," Jungmann recalled. "We just found ways to win. It was just a lot of fun that year."

Jungmann was selected by Milwaukee with the 12th overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft. He pitched in 30 MLB games and spent some time playing in Japan. Jungmann attempted a return to professional baseball in the States when he signed a minor league deal with Texas, but he began to rethink his future after that spring training was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 33-year-old Jungmann is now a former baseball player. He lives in Austin with his wife, Brittany. His son, Heath, turned 2 on Friday, and he has another child due next month. Jungmann invests in real estate and rental properties and owns painting and roofing companies.

While being honored at UFCU Disch-Falk Field ahead of Saturday's action, Jungmann was accompanied to the mound area by his wife, son, parents and sister. He posed for pictures during the pregame ceremony with Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson, who was his pitching coach at UT. Texas student assistant Cameron Rupp, who was a catcher for UT from 2008 to 2010, caught the ceremonial first pitch from Jungmann.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Taylor Jungmann is ninth Texas baseball player with retired jersey