Tag: Texas A&M University

Aggies baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle tallies 100th overall win at Texas A&M vs. Florida

Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle tallied his 100th overall victory in College Station on Saturday in Gainesville with a 10-6 win at Florida.

Texas A&M baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle tallied his 100th victory in College Station on Saturday night in Gainesville with a 10-6 win at Florida.

Earlier this year, Schlossnagle earned his 900th overall victory. The No. 4 Aggies (17-1) are off to a red-hot start to the season and will be going for the series win on Sunday afternoon at Condron Ballpark against the Gators after suffering their first loss on Friday evening.

Before arriving in Aggieland, he was head coach at TCU in Abilene from 2003-21, where he reached the College World Series five total times and in four straight seasons from 2014-17.

Schlossnagle reached the CWS in his first year at Texas A&M in 2022 but fell short in the NCAA Regional last season. The Aggies manager is 100-48 thus far in College Station and 911-441 (.674) overall.

While with the Horned Frogs, Schlossnagle won Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year seven times in 2003 & 2006-11. He earned Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2015 and Baseball America National Coach of the Year in 2016. Before taking over at TCU, Schlossnagle was an assistant coach at Elon (1990-92), Clemson (1993) and Tulane (1994-2001).

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.

No. 4 Texas A&M baseball team earns redemption versus Florida to tie SEC series

After suffering their first loss of the season on Friday, the Aggies earned revenge versus Florida with a win on Saturday to tie the series.

After suffering its first loss of the season on Friday night in Gainesville, the Texas A&M baseball team earned redemption against Florida with a victory to tie the series.

The Aggies (17-1 SEC) defeated the Gators (11-7, 1-1) by a final score of 10-6 on Saturday evening in Game 2 of the three-game set at Condron Ballpark. With the win, Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle tallied his 100th victory in Aggieland, a few weeks after racking up his 900th overall win.

Junior right fielder Braden Montgomery got the Aggies off to a hot start with a 3-run homer to right field in the top of the first inning. Florida tied the contest in the bottom half of the frame.

Texas A&M scored 5 runs in the top of the third, kick-started by 2 solo home runs to left from underclassmen dynamic duo, freshman third baseman Gavin Grahovac and sophomore center fielder Jace LaViolette. The Gators avoided a shutdown inning by tallying 2 runs in the bottom half but still trailed 8-5 after three innings.

In the top of the ninth, junior shortstop Ali Camarillo hit a 2-run single to right giving the Aggies some insurance. Florida scored once in the bottom half of the inning and ultimately lost 10-6.

Junior right-handed pitcher Tanner Jones started on the bump and got roughed up. He tallied 2.1 innings pitched, 5 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks and 1 hit by pitch with 2 strikeouts on 50 pitches.

Senior left-handed pitcher Evan Aschenbeck (3-0) took over in relief for Jones and earned the victory by dealing. He tossed 4.0 scoreless frames and allowed 4 hits & 1 walk with 6 Ks on 68 pitches. Sophomore LHP Shane Sdao threw the final 1.2 innings to pick up his first save of 2024.

The SEC rivals will battle for the series win on Sunday with first pitch set for 12 p.m. CST.

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.

Texas A&M men’s basketball team blows 18-point lead vs. Florida in semifinals of SEC Tournament

The Aggies will not be advancing to the finals of the SEC Tournament for the third year in a row after blowing a 18-point first half lead.

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team will not be advancing to the finals of the SEC Tournament for the third year in a row after blowing an 18-point first half lead against Florida.

The Aggies (20-14) were defeated 95-90 by the Gators (24-10) on Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Five Florida players scored at least 15 points, led by sophomore guard Denzel Aberdeen with a team-high 20 points on 6-of-9 field goal attempts, 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Aberdeen was the difference this weekend after scoring only 2 points during the Gators‘ 67-66 loss at Reed Arena on Feb. 3.

Aggies junior point guard Wade Taylor IV came out on a mission Saturday after tallying 32 points Friday during a victory versus Kentucky. Taylor scored 11-of-15 Texas A&M points to start the game against Florida on 4-of-5 shots and 3-of-3 from downtown.

At halftime, the Aggies led 50-42 and had 40 of their points come from three guards: Taylor (20), junior Manny Obaseki (12) and senior Tyrece “Boots” Radford (8).

Texas A&M’s floor general finished with a game-high 30 points (10-23 FG, 6-12 3PT, 4-4 FT). Eight-two points is the most scored in the SEC Tournament since Collin Sexton with Alabama in 2018.

The Gators went on a 24-8 run in the second half to take their first lead of the game at 72-70 with 7:37 left. Coach Buzz Williams joked with ESPN sideline reporter Marty Smith at intermission about getting him to suit up since most of the key Aggies were in foul trouble, which ultimately sparked Florida’s scoring streak.

The Gators will play Auburn on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the SEC Championship game on ESPN. Texas A&M will now await its NCAA Tournament fate, which will be revealed on Sunday night.

With two victories in a competitive conference tourney, the Aggies have likely locked up a March Madness berth.

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.

PREVIEW: Texas A&M men’s basketball team faces Florida in semifinals of SEC Tournament

The Aggies are attempting to become the first SEC team to reach three straight finals since Kentucky made five in a row from 2014 to 2018.

After losing in the SEC Championship game last season, Texas A&M has reached the tournament’s semifinals for the third year in a row.

The Aggies (20-13) qualified for the penultimate conference tourney game following an 80-71 win against Ole Miss on Thursday in the second round and a 97-87 victory versus Kentucky on Friday in the quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Texas A&M is attempting to become the first SEC team to reach three straight finals since the Wildcats made five in a row from 2014-18.

Back on Feb. 3, the Aggies narrowly beat Florida (24-10) by a final score of 67-66 at Reed Arena in College Station. The Gators advanced to the semifinals with a 102-88 win against Alabama on Friday night.

As pointed out by 247Sports Texas A&M beat writer Carter Karels on X, the Aggies seem to be in a win-win scenario on Saturday. If Texas A&M wins, it’ll add another Quad 1 win to its resume. However, if Florida prevails, the Aggies’ February victory is likely to be upgraded to a Quad 1 win.

Regardless of the SEC Tournament conclusion this weekend, Texas A&M appears to have earned its spot in the NCAA March Madness Tournament. Tip off on Saturday between the Aggies and Gators is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CST.

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.

No. 4 Texas A&M baseball team suffers first overall loss in SEC opener at No. 8 Florida

The No. 4 Aggies lost their first overall game of the season on Friday night in Gainesville by a final score of 8-6 against No. 8 Florida.

All good things eventually come to an end, as was the case for the Texas A&M baseball team’s unbeaten streak.

The No. 4 Aggies (17-1, 0-1 SEC) lost their first overall game of the season on Friday night in Gainesville, which was also the conference opener, by a final score of 8-6 against No. 8 Florida (11-6, 1-0).

The Gators scored twice in the bottom of the first inning at Condron Ballpark, ending redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Ryan Prager’s scoreless inning streak at 24, which was the longest by a Texas A&M pitcher since at least 2000. Prager was pulled after 2.1 innings as he allowed 7 hits, 6 runs and 1 hit by pitch with 1 strikeout on 54 pitches.

Junior right-handed pitcher Chris Cortez (2-1) took over in relief and struck out 7 consecutive batters from the third to fifth frames, totaling 4.0 innings, 2 runs and 2 walks with 8 Ks on 60 pitches. Despite pitching well, Cortez earned the loss.

Sophomore LHP Cade Fisher (2-1) earned the win for Florida and junior RHP Brandon Neely (1) picked up the save. Sophomore outfielder Jace LaViolette went 1-for-4 and extended his on base streak to 18 games. Meanwhile, junior OF Braden Montgomery failed to reach base safely Friday and had his run snapped at 45 contests.

The Aggies will attempt to tie the series against the Gators tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. CST.

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.

‘We don’t really care’: Texas A&M OF Jace LaViolette & RHP Tanner Jones preview SEC series at Florida

“I feel like the team is excited but we’re all understanding of what our job is as we begin is keep playing the baseball that we’ve been.”

As 1-of-2 remaining unbeaten teams in college baseball entering the SEC schedule the Texas A&M baseball squad is firing on all cylinders.

The No. 4 Aggies (17-0) have a three-game series in Gainesville versus No. 8 Florida (10-6) this weekend. Two key contributors will be sophomore outfielder Jace LaViolette and junior right-handed pitcher Tanner Jones.

“I feel like the team is excited but we’re all understanding of what our job is as we begin is keep playing the baseball that we’ve been playing, right? At the end of the day, we don’t really care who the opponent is, we’re just playing the game,” LaViolette said Thursday. “If we can play the game better than they can, then we should have a pretty good outcome and that’s what we’re worried about.”

LaViolette has 30 career home runs as an underclassman, ranking eighth all-time in program history.

Jones (1-0) earned a win against Wagner and no-decisions versus USC & Rhode Island in his three starts on the mound thus far.

“As you see, this team is talented, so it always feels good to be one of the guys competing there,” Jones said. “In my last outing, I fell behind hitters early and it bit me in the butt later in the game. I need to stay ahead.

“It’s huge, our offense is incredible! I remember in the last outing I threw the first inning, I walked two guys. The bottom of the inning, they scored three runs. It’s stuff like that where you gain confidence as a pitcher and you’re not scared of anything when your offense is producing runs like they are.”

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CST.

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.

‘We’re ready to go’: Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle looks ahead to first SEC series at Florida

“We’ve been able to, for the most part, stay healthy which is always at the forefront of my mind is keeping every player healthy,” he said.

As 1-of-2 remaining undefeated teams in college baseball entering the first SEC series of the season, the Texas A&M baseball squad is ready to go according to head coach Jim Schlossnagle.

“I think we’ve progressed well. We’ve been able to, for the most part, stay healthy which is always at the forefront of my mind is keeping every player healthy,” Schlossnagle said Thursday. “We’re missing a few guys, especially in the bullpen, the injury to (Travis) Chestnut stinks, especially for him. But we’ve also been able to play a lot of guys battling for positions that are still up for grabs and see what they can do. I feel like that has worked out well.

“Our starting pitching between (Ryan) Prager, (Tanner) Jones and (Justin) Lamkin, obviously Prager has been great and the other two guys are improving. We’re ready to go! We’ll see what that success or lack thereof leads to as we get into these big weekends.”

The No. 4 Aggies (17-0) have a three-game set in Gainesville versus No. 8 Florida (10-6).

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CST.

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.

Texas A&M alumnus Dan Campbell will return as Detroit Lions head coach with contract extension

After leading the Lions to the NFC Championship game for the first time in 32 years, alumnus Dan Campbell has earned a contract extension.

After leading the Detroit Lions to the NFC Championship game for the first time in 32 years, Texas A&M alumnus Dan Campbell has earned a contract extension.

Campbell had an extra year added to his original deal on Thursday, keeping him in the Motor City through the 2027 season. The Lions also gave extensions to general manager Brad Holmes and Chris Spielman, the special assistant to the president/CEO & chairperson.

“We are thrilled to have Brad and Dan under contract for the next four seasons,” stated principal owner and chair Sheila Hamp. “They have been the driving force behind the rebuild of our football team and the success that we have enjoyed. The continuity they provide for our football program will continue to be the key to our future success on the field.”

Campbell has gone from biting kneecaps to becoming one of the best leaders in the NFL within three seasons

Just over three years ago on Jan. 20, 2021, Campbell was hired to lead the league’s perennial loser in Detroit. The Lions regressed in his first season, going from 5-11 in 2020 to 3-13-1.

Detroit began the 2022 season 1-6 and Campbell found himself on the hot seat. Then the Lions proceeded to win 8 of their last 10 games, including in the season finale at Green Bay to keep their bitter rivals out of the postseason, finishing 9-8 overall.

“I could not be more proud of the work that Brad, Dan and Chris have done for our organization,” stated president and CEO Rod Wood. “They have selflessly worked together to build a winning culture within the Lions. I am excited to continue working with them to create the sustained success that we envision for the team, our fans and the city of Detroit.”

Campbell rode that wave of momentum into this season, leading the Lions to a 12-5 record and the franchise’s first NFC North division title. Detroit hadn’t won their division in 30 years, dating back to an NFC Central championship in 1993.

With a 24-23 victory against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round on Jan. 14, the Lions won their first playoff game in 32 years. Detroit followed that up with a 31-23 win versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to earn its first NFC Championship game berth since the 1991 season.

Campbell and the Lions led 24-7 versus the San Francisco 49ers but ultimately lost the penultimate title contest 34-31. However, if anyone can lead Detroit to its first NFL title since 1957, it’s certainly the man with an appetite for kneecaps and he’ll be around for at least four more seasons.

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.

BREAKING: Texas A&M hires Trev Alberts from Nebraska as next director of athletics

After Ross Bjork departed Aggieland in January to become the next athletic director at Ohio State, interim AD R.C. Slocum began his search.

After Ross Bjork departed College Station in January to become the next athletic director at The Ohio State University, interim AD R.C. Slocum began searching for Texas A&M‘s next director of athletics.

According to a report on Wednesday morning from Brent Zwerneman, Aggies writer for the Houston Chronicle, Texas A&M chose Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts as its next AD. That report was immediately confirmed by Yahoo Sports college football writer Ross Dellenger.

Sources close to ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel said the contract offer is pretty lucrative. The deal is reportedly for five years and would make Alberts not only one of the highest paid ADs in the SEC but also among the top 10 in the nation.

Following Zwerneman’s report, his colleague Greg Rajan shared an entertaining anecdote. Remember when ESPN senior NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper went off on the Indianapolis Colts for passing on quarterback Trent Dilfer in the 1994 draft? Well, the player they drafted was Alberts.

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.

‘There is no better place to play’: Q&A with Texas A&M defensive coordinator Jay Bateman

Bateman sat down with the Aggie Football social media team for a Q&A and he had a lot to say about his first few months in College Station.

Texas A&M defensive coordinator Jay Bateman recently sat down with the Aggie Football social media team for a brief Q&A and he had a lot to say about his first few months in College Station.

Question: First impressions of the program?

Answer: I think the main thing is getting back to work with Mike has been great. You get back in the room with him, it’s been awesome. Feel really good about who we’ve added to the team. I feel really good about the kids that were on the team.

“I knew that, when you’re recruiting, you knew how talented they were, especially at some positions on defense. So I think to get here and get to work has been great.”

Q: What is it like to work with coach Elko?

A: I think he’s really driven, really bright. I think a lot of the things defensively people do in college football right now, Mike started. To get back with him, we have a lot of the same philosophies. We kind of grew up in this thing together and I think to get back has been awesome.”

Q: What kind of player are you looking for on defense?

A: I want guys that play with great passion and great effort. I think when you have those two things, we’re going to recruit good enough athletes here. Like when you play with passion, you play with effort, things are going to be pretty good.

“When people sit down in the stands, I want them to know that we’re going to play really, really hard for Texas A&M. We will play with great effort and play with great physicality. I think when they cut that film on Sunday to get ready for us, I want the opposing team to be a little bit nervous about coming in here.”

Q: What makes this program special?

A: “There’s very few places that you can go play in this conference and to a great degree, this is one of them. I played here two years ago and I was working at another school. We kicked off at 11 a.m. when 102,000 people sat in the stands.

“There is no better atmosphere, there is no better crowd, there is no better place to play. To do that and get a degree from a school like this is pretty unique.

“My formative years as a football player, the Wrecking Crew was the Wrecking Crew, right? I remember all of them guys. Quentin Coryatt, all of them guys. The first day you get here, you walk through the hallway and you see the statues, trophies & awards and you’re like ‘Holy moly,’ some of the best players to have ever played this game played here.

“I think as a coach you’re saying to yourself, ‘OK man, it’s my job to uphold this tradition. It’s my job to get these kids ready to play at that level of football.’ I think that’s a challenge but it’s one that you embrace if you’re a competitor.”

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.