Life is coming at you fast.
Texas A&M baseball and its fans entered Tuesday, June 25, with the excitement and optimism that comes with the team’s first national championship game appearance in history. Sure, the Aggies lost narrowly to Tennessee, but there was a sense that the program’s foundation had been laid with a coach capable of contending for championships.
At least that’s what the Aggies thought.
Shortly after the team was greeted by a swarm of A&M fans from the College World Series finals, coach Jim Schlossnagle met with Texas athletic director and close friend Chris Del Conte and drove down Highway 21 to Austin. At 8 p.m. that evening, he was officially announced as the Longhorns’ head coach.
Accepting the head job at your old school’s rival is one thing. Making the move the day after coaching in the title game is another. But doing so after a heated tirade that included, “I left my family to coach at Texas A&M, I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again, and nothing has changed?”
Angry.
The drastic turn of events between Monday and Tuesday night happened in a flash. Before the Aggies could enjoy the glory of their run to college baseball’s biggest stage, they found themselves without a coaching staff. The squad that brought A&M to Omaha, Nebraska? Six players from the starting lineup have since gone into transfer mode.
In the space of 24 hours, the Maroon and White found themselves without their head coach, their assistant coaches and some of the most important players in a magical season that went from being on the cusp of being a perennial national contender to having to find a way to field a team next season.
Events have unfolded as quickly as they possibly could, and that is exactly the approach the A&M administration must take in its coaching search.
In the age of name, image and likeness and the transfer portal, time is of the essence when it comes to building stability within an athletic program. With players moving between schools at a time when it’s easier than ever to find greener pastures, it’s up to university administration to give student-athletes a reason to stay.
Even after the Aggies’ magical season, you can’t blame sophomore CF Jace LaViolette, freshman 3B Gavin Grahovac, sophomore 2B Kaeden Kent and others who have chosen to enter the portal. Relationships are important, and they will want to play for the coaching staff that they believe can develop them and help them become the best baseball players they can be.
Remember, an athlete entering the transfer portal doesn’t necessarily want to go anywhere else. They can always opt out of the portal and stay at their original school. Since they lost their head coach, the Aggies have 30 days to enter the portal. With NIL now playing a role – openly – in the recruiting process, it’s at least beneficial for players to test the waters and assess their value on a national level.
All the more reason for the A&M administration to act quickly. Athletes themselves need stability and have a right to know who is training them. When Schlossnagle moved to Texas with Nolan Cain, Michael Earley and Max Weiner, there was hardly any management personnel left other than the water carrier who could hold the fort at Olsen Field.
Trev Alberts, you are under time pressure.
The Aggies’ athletic director has only been on the job for a few months, but he’s not going to get a more challenging introduction to SEC baseball. He’s in a tough situation. How do you find a baseball coaching staff in such a short amount of time and be confident you’ve made the best hire possible?
Alberts will have options across the country for the next head coach. Florida’s Kevin O’Sullivan and Virginia’s Brian O’Connor are well established at their schools with national titles. Dallas Baptist’s Dan Heefner and East Carolina’s Cliff Godwin have had great success at mid-major universities. Perhaps they are ready for the call to the big leagues.
Skip Johnson of Oklahoma just won the Big 12 championship and had two wins over A&M in the College World Series two years ago before moving to the finals. He is a native Texan and previously served as pitching coach for the Longhorns. Tom Walter of Wake Forest and Tim Tadlock of Texas Tech could also be drafted from the Power Four level.
Given the resources at Alberts and A&M’s disposal, it may not take much convincing. The Aggies are riding high on college baseball’s biggest stage and boast a world-class stadium with $80 million in facilities to improve. A&M offers a sizable NIL fund, which should appeal to both players and coaches.
It would be hard to find a more passionate fan base than the 12th man whose reputation speaks for itself. If the uproar over Schlossnagle’s Manifest Destiny doesn’t underscore the Aggies’ baseball spirit, I don’t know what will. And hey, it’s SEC baseball. You can’t beat that.
“We will find a great leader and outstanding coach to lead this proud Aggie baseball program,” Alberts said in a statement. “Baseball success is important to everyone associated with Texas A&M. We will not slacken in our pursuit of excellence and our commitment to baseball will not waver.”
Whichever direction Alberts takes, the new coach will be tasked with assembling a staff, evaluating the rest of the roster and retaining players from the portal. As with all coaching changes, he will have a lot of work ahead of him. Squad building does not allow for any downtime in the area of college sports.
It’s up to Alberts to find a new leader for the program before LaViolette, Grahovac and others can be poached to a conference rival. Recruiting and the transfer portal don’t take a summer break, and that includes Alberts, who is looking for a successor to Schlossnagle.
The clock is ticking.
