Round Rock Express Unveil 2026 Roster Featuring Four Top-30 Rangers Prospects

Jose Corniell is back in Round Rock, and this time Texas is counting on him to not stay long.

The Round Rock Express unveiled a 31-player preliminary 2026 roster that features four of the top 30 prospects in the Texas Rangers organization per MLB.com, led by Corniell, who checks in as the No. 4 prospect in the system, alongside infielder Cameron Cauley at No. 13. Right-handers Emiliano Teodo and Gavin Collyer round out the quartet, ranked No. 17 and No. 30 in the organization, respectively.

The preliminary roster includes 31 players, 21 of which have appeared with the Express before. In total, 19 of the 31 players have logged Major League service time in their careers, a mix that gives first-year manager Kyle Moore one of the more experienced Triple-A rosters in the Pacific Coast League from day one.

Corniell spent time in big-league camp this spring competing for a Rangers bullpen spot. He made his Major League debut in the final weekend of last season pitching in relief, missed all of 2024 after Tommy John surgery, but had a strong 2025, going 1-2 with a 1.89 ERA in 13 starts across three affiliates. Unless Texas suffers a significant wave of spring injuries, he heads back to Round Rock to build innings and stay on standby.

Teodo arrives at Triple-A with something to prove. After a sensational 2024, he was converted to a reliever in 2025 and the results were not what anyone wanted to see, struggling at the top two levels before a brief Arizona Fall League stint where he posted a 0-hit line across four innings. A slider that grades out at 70 on the 20-80 scale is still there; the command just needs to catch up.

The roster carries a notable piece of local history: for the first time in club history, the Express have a player who was born and raised in Round Rock on their Opening Day squad. Right-hander Mason Thompson was drafted out of Round Rock High School by the San Diego Padres in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft and has appeared in the big leagues over parts of four seasons with the Padres and Washington Nationals.

The roster also features six players born in Texas: Dane Acker (College Station), Aidan Anderson (Port Arthur), Cauley (Houston), Josh Stephan (DeSoto), Trey Supak (Bryan) and Thompson (Round Rock).

Two players on the roster represented their countries in the 2026 World Baseball Classic: right-hander Cal Quantrill pitched for Canada and outfielder Alejandro Osuna patrolled the outfield for Mexico.

Among the returning faces, Justin Foscue, Trevor Hauver, Cooper Johnson, Richie Martin Jr., Josh Sborz, and outfielder Aaron Zavala are all back in Round Rock for another go. Foscue, the Rangers' 2020 first-round pick out of Mississippi State, has logged substantial Triple-A reps and remains a phone-call-away option for Texas at the infield corners.

The Texas Rangers previously announced the minor league coaching staffs for 2026, with Kyle Moore tabbed as the 11th manager in Express history.

The Express open the 2026 season Friday at Sugar Land, a rivalry series that never lacks for stakes given that the Space Cowboys are the Astros' Triple-A club. With four organizational prospects ranked inside the Rangers' top 30 on the same roster, what happens in Round Rock this year matters well beyond the Pacific Coast League standings.