Amid the chaos surrounding Jim Schlossnagle’s semi-disastrous exit to head the Texas Longhorns baseball program a day after Texas A&M’s College World Series Finals loss to Tennessee, Aggies athletic director Trev Alberts was determined to find his successor much sooner than later.
After nearly a dozen candidates interviewed over the course of five days, former hitting coach Michael Earley was named the 21st head coach in A&M program history following an impressive interview coupled with current players, prospects and fellow coaches vocal respect what he brings to the table.
Needing a reliable coaching staff to get him through the ups and downs of his inaugural campaign, two key assistants have been hired: new associate head coach/pitching coach Jason Kelly and new recruiting director/hitting coach Caleb Longley.
Longley has spent the majority of his coaching career at Texas in the same capacity as his new duties with Texas A&M. During the 2022 season, he helped the Longhorns hit a program record 128 home runs while helping sign the third-ranked recruiting class for 2024.
Kelly’s coaching career has been fast and furious, serving as a pitching coach since 2003. Like Longley, he was Arizona State’s pitching coach from 2020-2021 when both Earley and Longley were on the Sun Devils staff. During his six-year run as Washington’s pitching coach, Kelly was named D1Baseball.com’s Assistant Coach of the Year during the program’s only College World Series appearance.
Before becoming LSU head coach Jay Johnson’s first hire during his transition to LSU, Kelly’s brief stint as Washington’s head coach was an immediate success. He led the Huskies to an NCAA regional appearance during the 2023 season.
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