There a decisions to be made, and no time to lose.
Welp, today sucks. Less than 24 hours after the Aggies fell one run short against Tennessee in the national championship game, persistent rumors finally came to fruition and Aggie head coach Jim Schlossnagle is headed to Austin to take the job at Texas.
BREAKING: Jim Schlossnagle is reportedly leaving Texas A&M after three seasons to join the University of Texas: https://t.co/4cH1m9mOuD
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) June 25, 2024
It’s an emotional issue, to be sure. A coach leaving for the Aggies for the Longhorns always would be. But happening a day after a crushing title game loss (and vehemently demeaning a reporter for asking about the Texas rumors) makes it all the more raw.
But no matter what your feelings are toward Schlossnagle, the more pressing issue at hand is: What’s next for Texas A&M baseball?
First and foremost, a new coach has to be hired, and there’s no reason to believe A&M can’t attract a great one. Three years ago Schloss saw A&M’s potential to turn A&M into a title contender, and now that he’s done it, bringing in someone of similar caliber becomes that much easier. Schlossnagle was among the top five highest-paid college coaches, and would have likely received a healthy raise/extension had he stayed in Aggieland. Given that budget, the job should draw plenty of interest from across the country.
I spoke to sources throughout the last week with knowledge that Schlossnagle would consider going to Texas. I was told if that happened, @AggieBaseball would pay whatever was needed to land an elite coach. A&M, given new ballpark coming/resources will be attractive. Buckle up.
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 25, 2024
And that brings us to the roster. The NCAA transfer portal window closes for baseball on July 2, so if the Aggies want to keep current players out of the portal by selling them on the new regime, there’s no time to lose. As is the case in seemingly every coaching change, it seems inevitable that A&M will lose some players. Some may even (painfully) find their way to Austin. But there will also be some who will stay, and perhaps others who follow the new coach from his previous stop. I’m not gonna tell you to like it, but it’s the nature of the beast in college athletics today. The portal can suck, but it also gave us Braden Montgomery, Hayden Schott and Jaxson Appel, so how bad can it be?
Could we see some short-term struggles? Perhaps. But long-term, this program is still in as good of shape as it’s ever been, in no small part thanks to the $80 million Blue Bell Park renovation/expansion that’s still in the works. It’s something Schloss fought long and hard for, and now, something that will hopefully become a stumbling block on the recruiting trail as A&M develops what will hopefully be one of the premiere facilities in college baseball.
Losing a coach against your will sucks. But what happens in the coming days and weeks could make it suck a lot less.