The college baseball world was rocked on Tuesday.
Just a day after his Texas A&M baseball team lost in Game 3 of the College World Series final against Tennessee, coach Jim Schlossnagle was announced as the new head coach of the Aggies’ biggest rival, Texas.
To rub salt in the wound, Schlossnagle took his entire coaching staff with him to Austin, and a handful of big-time TAMU players entered the transfer portal in turn, with many seeing burnt orange in their futures.
But it shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion that all of these players are heading to Texas, especially with the Aggies team reportedly learning of Schlossnagle’s departure via social media. And if one of those players chooses to pursue a future without Schlossnagle, LSU could be the beneficiary.
All-American outfielder [autotag]Jace LaViolette[/autotag] is among the players who entered the transfer portal, and though he’s a native of Katy, Texas, the sophomore committed to LSU early in his high school career before backing off that pledge following Paul Mainieri’s retirement in 2021.
After turning in a Freshman All-American campaign in 2023, LaViolette was even better this spring. He went .305 at the plate, hitting 16 doubles and a team-high 29 home runs while plating 78 runs. He finished his sophomore season with a 1.175 OPS.
He’s also a star on defense and made a snag at the wall in the College World Series opener against Florida that saved the game for the Aggies.
LaViolette is an elite player who will surely be pursued by nearly every top contending team in the portal, but if he doesn’t follow Schlossnagle to Texas, LSU may have the early leg up.
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