With any good news, bad news may be on the horizon, but that’s just how life works. On Wednesday, Texas A&M baseball head coach Michael Earley received great news ahead of his first season leading the program, as ace pitcher Ryan Prager has opted to return to Aggieland for a final season.
However, just hours later, it was revealed that star closer Evan Aschenbeck, who the Chicago Cubs drafted in the 6th round of the 2024 MLB Draft, did not hear back from the NCAA after applying for a final waiver to return next season and will instead sign his deal with the Cubs as his Texas A&M career comes to a close.
Aschenbeck’s incredible career in College Station culminated in Texas A&M’s first appearance in the College World Series Finals, as the senior lefty finished with ten saves and an NCAA-leading 1.78 ERA while recording 88 strikeouts on the year. Aschenbeck posted his final farewell on X on Wednesday night:
“Aggieland, I am forever grateful for the love I have received over the last two years. After not hearing back from the NCAA about additional eligibility, it’s time for me to pursue my dream of playing professional baseball. I will be back as often as I can, Aggieland is my home.”
Per Instagram, Aschenbeck signed his rookie deal with Chicago.
Congratulations, Evan!
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Texas A&M star closer Evan Aschenbeck is officially off the MLB Draft board
While it’s not definite, it looks like Texas A&M star closer Evan Aschenbeck will be headed to Chicago to pursue his professional playing career, as the Chicago Cubs selected the Aggie senior with the 392nd pick in the 13th round of the 2024 MLB Draft.
With his selection, Aschenbeck is now the seventh Aggie taken in the draft, and for good reason. After being named Stopper of the Year at the conclusion of the 2024 regular season, Aschenbeck was nearly unhittable on the mound during the Aggie’s postseason run to the College World Series Finals.
After the hiring of new Texas A&M head coach Michael Earley, it was reported that Aschenbeck, who was always expected to go late in the draft, was applying for an extra year of eligibility, which is still currently in flux.
If this was indeed his last season with the program, the Brenham, Texas native finished the year in style with a 6-1 record, 10 saves, 87 strikeouts, and a NCAA-leading 1.78 ERA.
Texas A&M LHP Evan Aschenbeck has been drafted 392nd overall by the Cubs.
The NCBWA Stopper of the Year leaves Aggieland as the best reliever in school history. Any pitch in any count with a heart rate like he’s taking a Sunday stroll.
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Good news regarding Texas A&M Baseball’s roster could be in the works, as TexAgs’ reporter Ryan Brauninger, one of the more reliable sources in the Aggies media sphere, has reported that Texas A&M star closer Evan Aschenbeck is attempting to return to the program for a final season.
As the best season in Aggie Baseball history comes to a close, the news that third-year head coach Jim Schlossnagle would leave the program just a day after A&M’s College World Series Finals loss to Tennessee sent shockwaves through the sports media landscape while confusing a majority of the roster.
While most of the Aggies’ roster had their suspicions, loyalty to the program never wavered, despite nearly a dozen players entering the transfer portal before a new head coach was eventually announced.
Aschenbeck, who is coming off his best season yet, is looking to obtain a final season of eligibility after his last two seasons in College Station after transferring from Blinn Community College.
A First Team All-American, the senior was named “Stopper of the Year” after serving as a consistent impasse for every opponent he faced during the 2024 campaign, leading the country with a 1.78 ERA and 87 strikeouts. This could be the start of a significant trend of nearly every player from the 2024 roster returning to run it back in 2025.
Wow. Interesting stuff here from Brauny. It appears First Team All-American reliever Evan Aschenbeck is trying to return to @AggieBaseball for another season.
On another note, I've been told A&M has a very solid shot to keep almost every player in the portal. We shall see. https://t.co/AtYJKhHaah
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Four Texas A&M baseball players were selected as All-Americans over the last week, with an additional upperclassman being chosen Wednesday.
Four Texas A&M baseball players have been selected as All-Americans over the last week, with an additional upperclassman being chosen Wednesday amid the transfer portal madness.
Senior left-handed pitcher Evan Aschenbeck, junior outfielder Braden Montgomery and sophomores, LHP Ryan Prager and OF Jace LaViolette, were honored by Baseball America on Friday. The quartet were joined by junior RHP Chris Cortez on Wednesday as members of D1Baseball’s All-American teams. Cortez was selected to the third team.
LaViolette earned a spot on both first teams. Aschenbeck was a first team choice by D1Baseball and second team by Baseball America. Montgomery and Prager received spots on the D1Baseball second team. Montgomery was also chosen for the Baseball America second team while Prager was picked for the third team.
Fivee Aggies on D1Baseball’s squads was the most in the nation, as was the case with four among Baseball America’s teams. This was the fourth time this year that Texas A&M has had at least four players chosen for All-American units.
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Despite reaching the College World Series finals for the first time in program history, the Aggies fell just short vs. Tennessee on Monday.
Despite reaching the College World Series finals for the first time in program history and decisively winning Game 1, the Texas A&M baseball team fell just short against SEC rival Tennessee on Monday night.
The top seed Volunteers (60-13) defeated the No. 3 Aggies (53-15) by a final score of 6-5 in the decisive national title game at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
Texas A&M prevailed in the CWS finals opener 9-5 on Saturday night. Tennessee evened the series with a 4-1 victory Sunday afternoon.
The Volunteers are the first No. 1 seed to win the CWS championship in 25 years since Miami won it all in 1999. Tennessee is the fifth consecutive SEC squad to win the national title, dating back to 2019.
The Aggies scored 1 run in the third inning and 2 in each of the eighth and ninth. The Volunteers tallied 1 in the first, two in the third and 3 in the seventh.
Junior second baseman Christian Moore made a statement with a solo home run in the bottom of the first frame Monday. Freshman third baseman Gavin Grahovac tied the game with an RBI single to left field in the top of the third.
Sophomore outfielder Dylan Dreiling reclaimed the advantage with a sacrifice fly to right center field. Freshman shortstop Dylan Curley added on with an RBI single to left field, making the score 3-1.
Dreiling destroyed a 2-run homer to right field in the seventh inning. He earned NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player after racking up 3 HR, 11 runs batted in and 13 hits. Sophomore OF Kavares Tears tallied an RBI double to center and increased the advantage to 6-1.
Graduate student designated hitter Hayden Schott trimmed the deficit with an RBI single up the middle, followed by an RBI double from freshman OF Caden Sorrell to score Schott.
Texas A&M wouldn’t go down without a fight as Grahovac led off the ninth frame with a double down the left field line. Senior catcher Jackson Appel connected on an RBI single to left and plated Grahovac. Appel later scored on a wild pitch. Senior first baseman Ted Burton struck out swinging to end the season.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Justin Lamkin tossed the first 2.2 innings and allowed 5 hits, 3 runs and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts on 60 pitches. Junior RHP Josh Stewart pitched 2.1 scoreless frames, giving up 2 hits with 1 K on 28 pitches. Senior LHP Evan Aschenbeck tossed the final 3.0 innings, allowing 6 hits and 3 runs with 3 punch outs on 46 pitches.
Appel and Schott went out swinging in their final game after transferring, going 3-for-5 with 1 RBI, respectively. Grahovac went 2-for-5 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Sorrell, senior OF Travis Chestnut, junior SS Ali Camarillo and sophomores, 2B Kaeden Kent and OF Jace LaViolette, each recorded a single.
After the heartbreaking loss, Aggies head coach Jim Schlossnagle squashed any and all rumors about him potentially filling the Longhorns‘ vacancy in Austin.
“I left my family to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again. That hasn’t changed in my mind,” Schlossnagle proclaimed. “I have poured every ounce of my soul into this job. I have given this job every single ounce I could possibly give it.”
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Jim Schlossnagle will go with sophomore lefty Justin Lamkin in Game 3 of the College World Series Finals
Texas A&M (53-13) was on the cusp of winning its first national championship in program history, but due to late home runs from the resilient Tennessee Volunteers (59-12), the Aggies fell 4-1. They will again play for the title in a deciding Game 3 on Monday night.
Entering the game, head coach Jim Schlossnagle knew that after Saturday’s 9-5 victory, A&M’s pitching rotation would have to depend on several young arms out of the bullpen. Senior Chris Cortez may have pitched his last four innings as an Aggie, keeping the Volunteers in check with seven strikeouts and zero runs allowed.
However, after 99 pitches, the veteran made his way to the bench with another standing ovation. His exit led to freshman Kaeden Wilson taking the mound, which led to Tennessee taking the lead. Even though Wilson was impressive for the most part, two fat pitches led to four Volunteer runs, and Brock Perry and Weston Moss finished the final two frames.
With everything on the line, Schlossnagle announced that sophomore lefty Justin Lamkin is ready to go and will start on Monday night in the biggest game in Texas A&M baseball history.
Lamkin’s last two appearances have been nothing short of exceptional, recording 15 strikeouts and allowing four hits in two wins over Florida to make it to the finals. Also available Monday, reliever Josh Stewart and closer Evan Aschenbeck will also be ready to go.
It will be Texas A&M lefty Justin Lamkin on the mound tomorrow, head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. Also noted it was an extra day of rest for Josh Stewart and Evan Aschenbeck.
Texas A&M and Tennessee will attempt to win their first national championship in program history on Monday evening. The first pitch of Game 3 is at 6 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN+.
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Redshirt senior Zane Badmaev will reportedly take the mound vs. Tennessee in Game 2
Texas A&M (53-13) defeated top-seeded Tennessee 9-5 on Saturday night. The Aggies are now just 27 outs away from securing the program’s first National Title in head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s third season with the program.
Sitting at a perfect 9-0 since the start of postseason play, star outfielder Braden Montgomery’s season-ending injury was supposed to put a major dent in the Aggies’ offense, but credit to junior Kaeden Kent’s exceptional play in his absence, recording 12 hits two home runs, and 14 RBI since exploding on the season during the super regional round.
On Saturday, first-year pitching coach Max Weiner worked his magic once again, as ace pitcher Ryan Prager took the mound to the tune of six strikeouts and just two runs allowed, and Josh Stewart entered the fold for four Ks before elite closer Evan Aschenbeck’s borderline-career night with seven strikeouts to earn the victory.
Ahead of the 1:00 p.m. start time, Texas A&M’s depth chart was released to the media. It revealed that Schlossnagle would go with redshirt senior pitcher Zane Badmaev for his first start of the year. This move looks similar to what Tennessee did yesterday with pitcher Chris Stamos, who only lasted one inning.
With senior Chris Cortez available, my guess is that Badmaev is expected to last at least two, to possibly three innings before Cortez does the rest of the work in the middle innings. So far this season, Badmaev is 1-0, with 27 strikeouts and a 2.70 ERA.
Texas A&M will face Tennessee in Game 2 of the College World Series on Sunday, June 23 at 1:00 p.m. CT. The game will air on ABC and be available for streaming on ESPN+.
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View some of the best photos from Texas A&M’s victory over Tennessee on Saturday night.
Texas A&M is officially one win away from claiming their first-ever National title on the diamond. The Aggies grabbed a lead early and never looked back as they went on to beat the Tennessee Volunteers 9-5 in a game with 25 total hits and 18 runners left on base.
If you would’ve told a casual fan that A&M would hold one of the top offenses under 5 runs for most of the game, they probably wouldn’t believe you. However, during the College World Series, they only allowed three runs through three games.
The job is not done yet though, and the Aggies have an opportunity to push their post season record to 10-0 and bring the gold home to Aggieland. Below, you can see some of the best photos from the victory over Tennessee.
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“Coming in to that opportunity was awesome because the atmosphere was crazy. It’s the College World Series, everything is cool about it.”
After Tennessee tallied three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on Saturday night during the College World Series finals opener, Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle knew that he needed to call upon one man with a very particular set of skills.
He called upon the “Stopper of the Year” to close the game. Senior LHP Evan Aschenbeck did exactly that, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings and giving up 2 hits with a staggering 7 strikeouts on 46 pitches.
“It’s just something that I’ve been doing all year,” Aschenbeck recalled. “Just trying to give my team the best chance to win, that’s what pitchers are for. Max (Weiner) tells us all the time, ‘If some guy comes in and doesn’t have a good outing, the next guy can’t do that.’ Our job as relief pitchers is to come in and pick up the guy in front of us.
“Coming in to that opportunity was awesome because the atmosphere was crazy. It’s the College World Series, everything is cool about it. It was staying present and going pitch to pitch is what worked for me.”
The No. 3 Aggies (53-13) will attempt to win their first national championship in program history on Sunday at 1 p.m. versus No. 1 Tennessee (58-13) on ABC and ESPN+.
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“We really played well. Had some really good at-bats against some really good pitchers. Tennessee has got a great, diverse pitching staff.”
Coach Jim Schlossnagle reached the College World Series five times in 17 years at TCU without winning it all but he’s one win away from doing so during his second appearance in three seasons at Texas A&M.
“Great ball game, certainly I thought we really played well for the most part, we got timely hits. Had some really good at-bats against some really good pitchers. Tennessee has got a great, diverse pitching staff,” Schlossnagle said Saturday night. “I thought Prager threw some things, Stewie was awesome, Evan was Evan and Kaeden Kent just continues to play outstanding the back half of the season. It’s one win, we can’t make it anything more than that. Still got a ball game and a series to win, just like the regular season.”
The No. 3 Aggies (53-13) will attempt to win their first national championship in program history on Sunday at 1 p.m. versus No. 1 Tennessee (58-13) on ABC and ESPN+.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.
