OMAHA — The bar again has been raised for Texas A&M’s baseball program.
Now, they hope to find a way to finish the job sooner rather than later.
It’s safe to say the Aggies had trouble making big waves on the national stage before Jim Schlossnagle’s arrival in College Station. When he arrived, A&M had made just six trips to the College World Series, along with just two wins overall.
Three seasons later, everything has changed for the Aggies.
It started with a trip to Omaha in his first season and 44 wins. That year, the Aggies lost to Oklahoma twice, but also eliminated rival Texas and Notre Dame from the CWS. A&M fell just short of the Super Regional round last season, but everything felt different for the 2024 version of the Aggies beginning with fall workouts.
After doing my usual fall exhibition tour that included a stop in Houston to see the Aggies face the University of Houston, it was easy to see Texas A&M’s potential. Schlossnagle saw it, too, so much that he cut fall workouts short because he was so confident in what he was seeing out of his team. He didn’t want to risk any injuries.
It didn’t take long for the Aggies to show their potential once the season began. They finished the season with an unblemished non-conference record, and went on a tear after losing their opening SEC series on the road to Florida. A&M won six-straight conference series, and didn’t lose another one until an early May series against LSU.
This A&M team was the epitome of consistency throughout the spring, and its season ended with one or two pitches being the difference between putting on or still chasing the ultimate crown — a college baseball national championship.
“This has been a pretty special team,” Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “There had never been an A&M team play this far, and we know the 1989 team here was one of the best teams in the history of college baseball not to make the CWS.
Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M (Eddie Kelly)
“But this is an incredible team, and not just because of their record,” he added. “It’s because of their character, and how fun they were to be around. I think the bond between our team and the 12th Man was just really unique.
“At the end of the day, in 20 years, our guys will remember the relationships and experiences together way more than just winning or losing the final game of the season. This was a pretty special group.”
The Aggies also put together a pretty special run in Omaha, despite the odds being against them at times because of the injury situation.
As A&M clinched a trip to Omaha in the College Station Super Regional with a series win over Oregon, the series win didn’t come without severe consequences. Not only did the Aggies lose superstar outfielder Braden Montgomery for the season due to a broken leg, they also headed to Omaha without lefthanded pitcher Shane Sdao, who would’ve been a front-line arm they could start here.
Even with those setbacks, the Aggies made rather easy work of their side of the bracket with a 3-0 record before facing off with the Volunteers. But there were instances in the CWS Finals where not having Montgomery or Sdao hurt in a big way. The Volunteers won the extra-base hit battle against A&M in the series finale, while it seemed like Aggies were just one arm short of winning a national title with Justin Lamkin and Evan Aschenbeck both having to step up and shoulder heavier workloads in Omaha.
“Everyone at this level could easily say if we did this or if we did that. I mean, Tennessee was without AJ Russell, who is a great pitcher. Yet, it won the national title,” Schlossnagle said. “I think everyone at the end of the season has to fight through something.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s yet another example of as a coach you can tell your players that your time can come and change in an instant,” he added. “It changed in an instant for Braden, and it changed in an instant for Braden. It was a full-team effort for the entire season.”
Now, the Aggies turn the page to the 2025 campaign. And it will be then where they look to end a major men’s sport national title hiatus that dates all the way back to 1939.
From a pitching standpoint, there’s no doubt the Aggies will miss lefthanded pitcher Ryan Prager, who had an All-American type of season on the mound. Aschenbeck will forever live in Aggies lore after the season he had as the nation’s premier reliever. A&M also must replace hard-throwing righthanded pitcher Chris Cortez, who was fantastic the second half of the season. The list of returning arms should excite A&M fans — they’ll welcome back Sdao and Lamkin, along with lefthanded pitcher Kaiden Wilson, a talented freshman who should take a big step forward between now and next season.
From an offensive standpoint, the Aggies will lose Montgomery, catcher Jackson Appel, second baseman Travis Chestnut and first baseman Ted Burton. Shortstop Ali Camarillo is another position player who will have a good chance to sign in the MLB draft this summer. However, Hayden Schott can still return for another season and the Aggies will have a strong nucleus of sluggers with Jace LaViolette, Caden Sorrell, Gavin Grahovac and Kaeden Kent leading the way, along with the addition of Ivy League Player of the Year Wyatt Henseler, power hitter Matt Bergevin and other potential portal additions.
Also important for the Aggies is keeping this coaching staff together in College Station. Nolan Cain is a solid coach who has earned the stripes of portal king from an assistant standpoint, Michael Earley had another solid offense and Max Weiner became a household name with the job he did with the Aggies’ arms this season. And of course, the most important job for new Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts is crossing i’s and dotting t’s to make sure Schlossnagle has no reason to rejoin long-time best friend Chris Del Conte, who is in the middle of a coaching search for Texas, A&M’s fiercest rival. Schlossnagle, on Monday night, stopped just short of an outright ‘no’ on his interest level for the Texas job. But just like Tony Vitello at Tennessee, Schlossnagle has earned the right to get the keys to a new castle in College Station. After all, he has advanced further than any other Aggies coach in modern athletics.
Assuming all the pieces stay together for the Aggies, the immediate future looks very bright. A&M has been to Omaha two of the last three seasons — one trip featured a Final Four appearance and the other was a national runner-up loss to the Vols tonight in a series that went three games and came down to the final inning.
Some Aggies might not like to hear it fresh off a tough loss to Tennessee. But there’s serious progress being made with Schloss’s program, and their time is clearly nearing. This team has a real chance to be even better next season, especially on the mound in terms of depth.
Another season. Another bar was raised for the Aggies.
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Now, they hope to find a way to finish the job sooner rather than later.
It’s safe to say the Aggies had trouble making big waves on the national stage before Jim Schlossnagle’s arrival in College Station. When he arrived, A&M had made just six trips to the College World Series, along with just two wins overall.
Three seasons later, everything has changed for the Aggies.
It started with a trip to Omaha in his first season and 44 wins. That year, the Aggies lost to Oklahoma twice, but also eliminated rival Texas and Notre Dame from the CWS. A&M fell just short of the Super Regional round last season, but everything felt different for the 2024 version of the Aggies beginning with fall workouts.
After doing my usual fall exhibition tour that included a stop in Houston to see the Aggies face the University of Houston, it was easy to see Texas A&M’s potential. Schlossnagle saw it, too, so much that he cut fall workouts short because he was so confident in what he was seeing out of his team. He didn’t want to risk any injuries.
It didn’t take long for the Aggies to show their potential once the season began. They finished the season with an unblemished non-conference record, and went on a tear after losing their opening SEC series on the road to Florida. A&M won six-straight conference series, and didn’t lose another one until an early May series against LSU.
This A&M team was the epitome of consistency throughout the spring, and its season ended with one or two pitches being the difference between putting on or still chasing the ultimate crown — a college baseball national championship.
“This has been a pretty special team,” Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “There had never been an A&M team play this far, and we know the 1989 team here was one of the best teams in the history of college baseball not to make the CWS.
“But this is an incredible team, and not just because of their record,” he added. “It’s because of their character, and how fun they were to be around. I think the bond between our team and the 12th Man was just really unique.
“At the end of the day, in 20 years, our guys will remember the relationships and experiences together way more than just winning or losing the final game of the season. This was a pretty special group.”
The Aggies also put together a pretty special run in Omaha, despite the odds being against them at times because of the injury situation.
As A&M clinched a trip to Omaha in the College Station Super Regional with a series win over Oregon, the series win didn’t come without severe consequences. Not only did the Aggies lose superstar outfielder Braden Montgomery for the season due to a broken leg, they also headed to Omaha without lefthanded pitcher Shane Sdao, who would’ve been a front-line arm they could start here.
Even with those setbacks, the Aggies made rather easy work of their side of the bracket with a 3-0 record before facing off with the Volunteers. But there were instances in the CWS Finals where not having Montgomery or Sdao hurt in a big way. The Volunteers won the extra-base hit battle against A&M in the series finale, while it seemed like Aggies were just one arm short of winning a national title with Justin Lamkin and Evan Aschenbeck both having to step up and shoulder heavier workloads in Omaha.
“Everyone at this level could easily say if we did this or if we did that. I mean, Tennessee was without AJ Russell, who is a great pitcher. Yet, it won the national title,” Schlossnagle said. “I think everyone at the end of the season has to fight through something.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s yet another example of as a coach you can tell your players that your time can come and change in an instant,” he added. “It changed in an instant for Braden, and it changed in an instant for Braden. It was a full-team effort for the entire season.”
Now, the Aggies turn the page to the 2025 campaign. And it will be then where they look to end a major men’s sport national title hiatus that dates all the way back to 1939.
From a pitching standpoint, there’s no doubt the Aggies will miss lefthanded pitcher Ryan Prager, who had an All-American type of season on the mound. Aschenbeck will forever live in Aggies lore after the season he had as the nation’s premier reliever. A&M also must replace hard-throwing righthanded pitcher Chris Cortez, who was fantastic the second half of the season. The list of returning arms should excite A&M fans — they’ll welcome back Sdao and Lamkin, along with lefthanded pitcher Kaiden Wilson, a talented freshman who should take a big step forward between now and next season.
From an offensive standpoint, the Aggies will lose Montgomery, catcher Jackson Appel, second baseman Travis Chestnut and first baseman Ted Burton. Shortstop Ali Camarillo is another position player who will have a good chance to sign in the MLB draft this summer. However, Hayden Schott can still return for another season and the Aggies will have a strong nucleus of sluggers with Jace LaViolette, Caden Sorrell, Gavin Grahovac and Kaeden Kent leading the way, along with the addition of Ivy League Player of the Year Wyatt Henseler, power hitter Matt Bergevin and other potential portal additions.
Also important for the Aggies is keeping this coaching staff together in College Station. Nolan Cain is a solid coach who has earned the stripes of portal king from an assistant standpoint, Michael Earley had another solid offense and Max Weiner became a household name with the job he did with the Aggies’ arms this season. And of course, the most important job for new Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts is crossing i’s and dotting t’s to make sure Schlossnagle has no reason to rejoin long-time best friend Chris Del Conte, who is in the middle of a coaching search for Texas, A&M’s fiercest rival. Schlossnagle, on Monday night, stopped just short of an outright ‘no’ on his interest level for the Texas job. But just like Tony Vitello at Tennessee, Schlossnagle has earned the right to get the keys to a new castle in College Station. After all, he has advanced further than any other Aggies coach in modern athletics.
Assuming all the pieces stay together for the Aggies, the immediate future looks very bright. A&M has been to Omaha two of the last three seasons — one trip featured a Final Four appearance and the other was a national runner-up loss to the Vols tonight in a series that went three games and came down to the final inning.
Some Aggies might not like to hear it fresh off a tough loss to Tennessee. But there’s serious progress being made with Schloss’s program, and their time is clearly nearing. This team has a real chance to be even better next season, especially on the mound in terms of depth.
Another season. Another bar was raised for the Aggies.
Discuss this story and more on the D1Baseball Forums!
