THE BATTALION MAROON LIFE 10
Texas A&M baseball’s next era
Robert O’Brien — THE BATTALION
Aggie baseball, reborn, prepares for dawn of new horizons on Olsen Field By Ryne Ryskoski @rusty_ryskoski_
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n Feb. 18, the much anticipated first year of the Jim Schlossnagle era began for Texas A&M baseball. Coach Schlossnagle came to A&M last June from TCU, where he led the Horned Frogs to 15 NCAA tournament appearances, seven Super Regional appearances and five College World Series appearances in 18 years. He and the program brought in a highly regarded coaching staff, along with a roster retooled from the transfer portal, which has previous experience in the maroon and white and prospective youth. Schlossnagle said he has no shortage of excitement entering his 32nd year of coaching college baseball. Experiencing the support of the A&M fanbase is what he said he’s been anticipating since he made the decision to begin
a new chapter in College Station. “I’m always excited this time of year to get going and get to the competition and put together a team,” Schlossnagle said. “I’ve been on the opposite side of the Aggie fan base for a long time, so I’m looking forward to having those people cheer for a team that I’m a part of versus being against it.” A factor in Schlossnagle’s decision to leave TCU’s strong program was the chance to experience the talent-laden Southeastern Conference — and he said he finds it to be a challenge rather than an obstacle. “No disrespect to the Big 12 or any other conference, but there’s nothing like the SEC, and there’s certainly nothing like the SEC West,” Schlossnagle said. “One of my favorite sayings in life is, ‘If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much room.’” He said the rest of his coaching staff, who each come from highly successful backgrounds at all different levels of baseball from across the nation, is on board with embracing the challenge. “[There was] an opportunity to go, make
an impact and compete against the very best coaches and the very best players in the very best environment, of which Texas A&M should be one of those,” Schlossnagle said. “That’s what was part of drawing me here and our other coaches. Everybody on the staff already had a really good job at a really good place.” Junior utility man and power hitter Austin Bost said the high-level competition is something this new group looks forward to and is excited to go up against, especially at home. Of A&M’s 29 wins last season, 21 came at home, and the Aggies were 14-0 at home in 2020 before COVID-19 shut down spring sports. “It’s exciting to go out there and show the country what they don’t expect us to do,” Bost said. “We’re going to go out there every single day, not take a game for granted and go play hard every single chance we get. We have the best students, the best fans in the country, and whenever they’re there, it just changes. The whole environment makes us play better.”
Redshirt sophomore southpaw Jonathan Childress said games in the spring at Blue Bell Park are already a unique environment, but the new staff is committed to making Olsen Field even more enticing for fans to come to with cosmetic changes and, most importantly, wins. “Baseball games have always been one of the most exciting events we’ve had on campus, aside from football, obviously,” Childress said. “Just from all the things that we’re doing with the dance team starting to come to our games, and I’m pretty sure we’re getting a DJ — Schlossnagle is putting everything into it to make it an experience. On top of that, I really, truly believe we’re going to be a winning squad this year.” The biggest part of all this is, of course, the team itself, which looks vastly different from last year’s at all positions. Schlossnagle said one area of the team he has no qualms or concerns with is the catching group, which brings high-quality experience and a great deal of depth. Graduate catcher Troy Claunch comes from Oregon State with
