STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Following a standout 2025 season and an All-WAC First Team selection, senior Slade McCloud enters the 2026 season with notable preseason recognition.
 
McCloud is ranked as the No. 10 second baseman among mid-major players and No. 40 overall entering the season, according to D1Baseball.com.
 
"Slade is one of the best teammates and most talented players we have had here at Tarleton State," head coach Fuller Smith said. "He can do just about anything he wants to on the diamond, which makes it worth the price of admission."
 
During his season in 2025, McCloud led the Texans with a .358 batting average, collecting 78 hits in 218 at-bats. He earned WAC Baseball Player of the Week honors on Feb. 17, and finished the year with a career-high 45 runs scored, third most on the team. McCloud had the tied-most RBI on the team with 45 and posted a .541 slugging percentage with eight home runs. He was also a threat on the base paths, tallying 20 stolen bases on the season.
 
The infielder was one of three players to start all 56 games for the Texans last season.