Baseball is a few weeks away and the Aggies have retooled for a run at the College World Series
Before we know it, spring will be here, and Olsen Field will be packed with fans eager to see the new-look Aggie baseball team. There will be a plethora of new but talented players on the squad this year who arrived in Aggieland through various venues due to diligent recruiting from head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s staff.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room that is pitching. If you watched any number of Aggie baseball games last season, you witnessed countless games where A&M would have but could not get out of the inning. Even more frustrating, they would have two outs be up in the count, then still manage to give up runs. To address these issues, coach Schlossnagle brought in the innovative Max Wiener as the new pitching coach to replace Nate Yeskie, who left for LSU.
Wiener was named one of Baseball America’s top ten assistants and, before joining the Aggies, helped develop a number of the Seattle Mariners’ pitching prospects. There are some questions about how his system will translate to the college game, but he is making a solid impression on the team so far.
âItâs awesome I love that guy. Heâs the best Iâve never seen someone approach pitching in the way that he does, and I love it. He makes throwing fun.â – Branden Montgomery
Next, Texas A&M needed to be aggressive in replacing the beloved Aggies Hunter Haas, Trevor Warner, and Jack Moss, who all protected the infield at Olsen last season. The staff at A&M hit the transfer portal hard, bringing in the likes of Shortstop Ali Camarillo and the No. 1 overall transfer in Stanford’s utility player Braden Montgomery. They did such a bang-up job that the NCAA has them ranked as the No. 4 transfer class leading into the 2024 season.
Next, we must touch on who is coming back and the crown jewel of the returners is phenom Jace LaViolette. The 6’4″, 230-pound sophomore operated the right field for most of his freshman season, and once he got acclimated, he quickly became one of the most feared hitters in the SEC. His 21 home runs broke a 36-year-old Texas A&M record, while his .835 slugging percentage was good enough to lead the league. He will be expected to be one of the leaders of the 2024 squad with the goal of returning to the College World Series.
We will round it out with the top-notch job the staff did on the recruiting trail for the incoming class. Most baseball outlets believe the Aggies have multiple incoming freshmen that could have an immediate impact.
Pitchers Isaac Morton and Kaiden Wilson should be able to work into the lineup throughout the season, but Gavin Grahovac is one for everyone to keep their eye on. He is a powerful hitter in the same vein as LaViolette and could have a chance to make a run at the freshman record that Jace just broke. Perfect Game has him ranked as the 40th-ranked prospect in the Top 75 freshman and Coach Schlossnagle got an absolute steal once Grahovac removed his name from the 2023 MLB Draft.
Texas A&M is ranked in the top ten in most preseason polls, which means they will have some early hype to live up to. Given how well Coach Schlossnagle had the team rolling his first season if they can get the pitching up to par, they will be one of the most dangerous teams in the nation to face. Opening day is a few weeks out and we are eager to see how much the team has improved. Personally, I believe this team is destined for Omaha.
