Bio
Landen Barns, a versatile utility man enters his fifth professional season after being signed on June 12. The 28-year-old spent the 2024 campaign in the Pioneer League with the Ogden Raptors under manager Evan Parker, appearing in 84 games and slashing .308/.375/.384 with two home runs and 50 RBI. In a corresponding move, the X’s have released C McGwire Holbrook.
Barns played the majority of the 2023 season with Ogden but also made a one-game appearance with the Tri-City Valley Cats of the Frontier League—his manager that day was Pete Incaviglia, the current skipper of the Cleburne Railroaders. Across 54 games in 2023, Barns hit .309 with two home runs and 32 RBI, continuing to show strong contact skills and offensive consistency.
Following a year away from the game in 2021, Barns returned to pro ball by signing with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League. He appeared in 15 games and posted a .231/.286/.385 slash line with one home run and seven RBI in a brief but productive stint.
Barns began his pro career in 2020 with the Westside Woolly Mammoths of the United Shore League. During that pandemic-shortened season, the Cypress, Texas native batted .222 and collected 20 hits, one of which went for extra bases, and drove in seven runs.
At the collegiate level, Barns played for East Texas Baptist University in NCAA Division III’s American Southwest Conference. He was a three-year starter for the Tigers, appearing in 129 games and hitting .309 with 12 home runs and 85 RBI over his career. His senior season in 2019 was his best, when he slashed .398/.445/.627 and earned Second Team All-Conference honors while also being named ASC Hitter of the Week.
A native of Cypress, Texas, Barns attended Rosehill Christian High School, where he lettered in both baseball and football. He batted .556 across his high school career and was a standout in the secondary and on special teams, earning All-District honors as a kicker, punter, and defensive back. He comes from a strong baseball lineage—his father Jeff played collegiately for South Carolina from 1985–87 and spent a decade playing and coaching in the Angels, Athletics, and Royals organizations.
The Explorers add Barns with hopes of utilizing his versatility—having played all four infield spots and taken up catching duties in recent seasons—as a super-utility option for the stretch of the 2025 campaign.