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College  | Story  | 12/17/2024

College Fall Report: Texas A&M

Isaiah Burrows
Photo: Jace LaViolette (Texas A&M Athletics)
Players Mentioned: Jace LaViolette, Kaeden Kent, Gavin Grahovac, Myles Patton, Clayton Freshcorn, Gavin Kash, Wyatt Henseler, Caden Sorrell, Isaac Morton, Luke Jackson, Kaiden Wilson, Grant Cunningham, Justin Lamkin, James Peyton Smith, Weston Moss, Brad Rudis, Ryan Prager, Kyrin LeBlanc, Josh Stewart, Sawyer Farr, Sam Erickson, Gavin Lyons, Houston Tomlinson, Jamal George, Blake Binderup, Terrence Kiel II

Last Spring: What a year it was for the Aggies, getting all the way to the National Championship before falling to Tennessee in a thrilling series. Texas A&M has established itself as one of the powerhouses in college baseball and last year showed it. It finished 53-15 and not only hosted a Regional, but also were battle tested in the Supers and College World Series. Armed with a slew of experienced arms and arguably the best 1-2-3 in the country atop its lineup, Texas A&M impressed in a bevy of facets. 



Head coach Jim Schlossnagle, along with associate head coach Nolan Cain and assistant coach Max Weiner, are now leading the Texas Longhorns. The Aggies responded with a huge in-house hire in former hitting coach Michael Earley to take the reins as head coach with even bigger sights for 2025.

Carrying Tools for 2025: Offensive Depth/Arm talent. Earley has long done wonders with the bats and boasts a stout group of returners, but the pitching staff this year can be the shining star and is deserving of a shoutout. Simply put, the Aggies are deep with power arms equipped with unique arm angles and deceptive release points. It lost Shane Sdao to begin the year, but Ryan Prager returns and will headline the rotation once again after being picked 81st overall by the Los Angeles Angels in last year’s draft. It’s three pitches for strikes with a low-90s fastball that plays up with unique carrying shape and deceptive release point. Another lefty, Justin Lamkin, will occupy a weekend spot after an absurd start to the 2024 season before slowing down a tick. The third and Sunday spot is up for grabs, but there are a number of names who opened eyes in looks this fall. 

Myles Patton, a transfer from Long Beach State, is an ultra physical low-90s lefty with a bender slider. Kaiden Wilson was consistent upper-90s from the left side and really pounded the zone in both intersquad and opposing scrimmages in looks. Brad Rudis could be another intriguing option to round out the rotation. Grant Cunningham, a transfer from Washington, brings plenty of intrigue as well and is one of the more highly touted portal arms with electric stuff.
 

The biggest standout, arms wise, in looks was sophomore Isaac Morton, who looks to be every bit of a star-studded option when it’s all said. A 6-foot-3 starter’s build with a power sinking fastball, he was 93-95 mph and touched 97 with 18 inches of run from a sub 5-foot-4 release height. He can spin a sweeping slider upwards of 3,000 RPM and a changeup that really fades to the arm side. The arm talent is simply immense.  


Be on the lookout for a big reliever in McLennan transfer Clayton Freschorn. He’s a bit smaller in the physical profile at 6-foot and 180 pounds, but he has one of the more true carrying four-seam fastballs you can find. It’s a heavy 92-94 mph, getting up to 96 with upwards of 21 inches of IVB and an eye opening -4.6 VAA with over a foot of extension. It’s a flat carry 4-seam from a low launch (5.3 release point) and feel for a good mid-80s slider. 

More on the bullpen, Cisco transfer Kyrin LeBLanc may touch triple digits this year. James Peyton Smith has a mid-90s fastball and legit sweeper for a potent two-pitch mix. Luke Jackson really opened my eyes my last look along with Josh Stewart. Weston Moss and Jackson Brasseux are more names to get familiar with. The Aggies have collected a blend of unique and power arms, those with lower arm slots and true power arsenals who can flat out pitch. The pitching staff oozes upside. 

For the bats, Texas A&M lost some heavy hitters to the draft and graduation but it returns a group of star-studded names. Junior center fielder Jace LaViolette may just be the first overall pick come July with a bevy of physical tools and top of the class left-handed power. Sophomore Gavin Grahovac is one of the best speed/power tool sets in college baseball coming off a Freshman All-American season. That 1-2 punch atop the order still remains, though it loses some power from last year.  


The biggest standout was shortstop Kaeden Kent, who was really on the barrel in looks from a loose left-handed stroke and more weight added to his frame. He showed some real good swing decisions and even tagged a changeup out front for a home run on my first look this fall. The tools to stick at short long term remain in question, but the overall offensive polish and hit tool is promising.  


Speaking of power, it is hoped to be recouped by some notable transfers, beginning with Gavin Kash and Wyatt Henseler. Kash, a transfer from Texas Tech, lived on the barrel in looks this fall with left-handed power that can fit right into that middle portion of the lineup. He rarely chased and hammered in-zone fastballs to both gaps. Henseler, a transfer from Penn, produced 98-plus exit velocity in my looks and has the tools to stick at third base potentially.  Let’s not forget behind the plate, where USC transfer Jacob Galloway really handled some arms this fall and showed a sound up-the-middle approach. Saint Mary’s transfer Bear Harrison will look to switch off behind the plate, as well. 

Sophomore Caden Sorrell continues to impress in looks with his blend of speed and contact. He’s added weight and there is some real jump off his barrel that left the yard in looks, he could be in store for another big year and will roam out in left field. Add in Hayden Schott and the Aggies return one of the better outfield trios. First baseman Blake Binderup was one of the better power producers in scrimmages and has legit pull-side juice, but even stayed inside and sprayed some balls to the opposite field gap. Utility man Jamal George is a plus athlete who can fit a multitude of roles.  


The Aggies only lost one name to the draft (Wyatt Sanford)  in what was shaping out to be a star-studded 2024 freshman class, and that remains true. Armed with real switch hit juice, true freshman Sawyer Farr hit some balls extremely hard in looks and got some starts at second base, though the frame and athlete may move him to the left side of the dirt long term. Freshman Sam Erickson hit a ball over the left field scoreboard my last look and the coaching staff has already changed his posture and load a bit, bringing him up and incorporating an easier stride into contact to get the barrel out in space better and cleaning up his heavy bat wrap. Terrence Kiel II didn’t make too loud of contact in looks, but the athlete and speed is high end. He burned a 4.1 home-to-first and can flat out roam in center field, the tools are really coming along. Houston Tomlinson and Gavin Lyons were some standout freshman arms who both ticked into the low-to-mid-90s. The Aggies have the pieces to make another deep run. 

Concerns for 2025: Offensive firepower and the stability of the rotation still have some question marks that could easily pop up over the year. It will be hard to replace the likes of Braden Montgomery, Jackson Appel, Ali Camarillo and others in the lineup this year and it will have to be a good mix of transfers to do so. It may take some time for this lineup to gel with so many new faces. Montgomery could change the game with one swing, and losing that type of run producing potential atop the lineup may hurt this year despite the names Texas A&M returns. The stability of the rotation and bullpen needs to play out this year and the Aggies lost some real good ones to the draft. If the offense can’t overcome some of the pitching woes this year, it may be a bit more bumpy than imagined.

Overall: This is a deep, talented squad with returners and incoming transfers. Some freshmen may make some noise here and there, but this is an experienced group top to bottom. With Earley leading the way, the optimism is through the roof. I came away awfully impressed by the metrics and arms the Aggies bring in even with the names they lost due to injury or last year’s departures. The SEC is always deep and high end, but count the Aggies in for a long race in 2025.
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