Jim Schlossnagle is on the heart of the Texas-Texas A&M storm

Texas and Texas A&M assembly in baseball for the primary time as SEC rivals did not want something further.

It did not want Texas coming in as No. 1. It did not want the resurgent Aggies coming off wins over the No. 1 and No. 2 groups within the nation in back-to-back street collection for the primary time in class historical past.

As a result of it already had Jim Schlossnagle within the heart of the storm.

Final 12 months, Schlossnagle led Texas A&M to the championship collection of the Males’s Faculty World Collection, the place the Aggies have been simply seven outs away from their first nationwide title in class historical past, earlier than falling late in Sport 2 in opposition to Tennessee. Then on Monday, June 24, because the Aggies and Vols ready to play the deciding recreation, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte introduced that Texas and coach David Pierce had made a mutual choice to half methods. Hours later, the Vols pulled out a 6-5 win to crush A&M’s hopes and finish a dream season.

The timing at Texas raised eyebrows with Aggies followers. Schlossnagle had labored with Del Conte at TCU, the place Schlossnagle coached the Horned Frogs from 2004 to 2021, and the 2 are admittedly shut mates.

So after the sport, Schlossnagle was requested about his future with Texas A&M, and he did not reply too kindly.

“I feel it is fairly egocentric of you to ask me that query, to be sincere with you,” Schlossnagle stated after the loss. “However I left my household to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to by no means take one other job once more. And that hasn’t modified in my thoughts.”

However certain sufficient, by Tuesday, June 25, Schlossnagle was the brand new coach at Texas, and Del Conte regaled reporters along with his story of assembly the coach in a cemetery in Snook, Texas, about 12 miles outdoors of Faculty Station, when the coach returned from Omaha.

“I left on the first light, and I knew I couldn’t be seen anyplace in Faculty Station, so I went to the Snook Cemetery and waited for [Schlossnagle] to get again,” Del Conte stated. “The Snook Cemetery will go down in historical past.”

The timing was gorgeous. For the Longhorns, it was the final word energy transfer. For the Aggies, it was the final word betrayal. At his introductory information convention, Schlossnagle did apologize for his response after Sport 3 of the MCWS, nevertheless it did little to quell the unfavourable response.

“I had an thought it could be nuclear, however I did not know that it could be apocalyptic,” Schlossnagle advised ESPN’s Paul Finebaum. “However that simply reveals you the fervour of the twelfth Man, to be sincere with you. You’ll be able to’t ask individuals to be passionate and assist your program the way in which I did after I was there, or the way in which you do whenever you’re at an incredible college like that. After which when one thing unfavourable occurs, or a change, then there’s going to be a response to that.”

There are the preliminary images, with hitting coach Michael Earley making the transfer to Austin with Schlossnagle and being launched in a Longhorns polo. Simply days later, the Aggies introduced him again as their new head coach.

So if by likelihood the Aggies cruise previous the Snook Cemetery on their strategy to Austin, they’re going to be able to enter a charged ambiance, with ticket costs commanding a premium — as of noon Thursday, the most affordable ticket in line with Vivid Seats was $80 — and a rowdy ambiance anticipated at Texas’ UFCU Disch-Falk Area. They’ve met almost 400 occasions in baseball and might’t even appear to agree after they first performed, or what the collection report is. In accordance with ESPN Analysis, the Longhorns say the primary recreation was in 1903 they usually lead the collection 244-132-5, whereas the Aggies say 1904 and 240-132-5.

This week, Schlossnagle tried to mood the dialog round him.

“These sorts of collection — Texas and Texas A&M — these issues are approach larger than any coach or any particular person or participant,” Schlossnagle advised reporters on Saturday. “That is been occurring for a very very long time, and definitely going to be occurring lengthy in any case of us on this room are gone. I am certain it is going to be a good time.”

Nonetheless, this one’s not larger than any particular person, however Schlossnagle would be the essential character in the entire collection (Friday, 8 ET, SEC Community; Saturday and Sunday, 4 ET, ESPN2).

His teaching acumen shouldn’t be up for debate, which the Aggies and Longhorns have each witnessed. The Aggies started because the preseason No. 1 with 10 of the 16 SEC coaches voting them as their preseason convention favorites. Then, from late February to early March, Texas A&M misplaced 5 video games, to Cal Poly, Texas State, Arizona, Oklahoma State and UTSA in a six-game stretch and have been swept of their first two SEC collection by Alabama and Vanderbilt. After accidents to Caden Sorrell and Gavin Grahovac, the Aggies limped into April at 13-14 general with a 1-8 report within the SEC.

Texas, in the meantime, has misplaced 5 video games all season and is now No. 1 with a three-game lead within the SEC standings and solely 4 collection remaining. Of their first season within the SEC, the Longhorns are 16-2 in league play, tied for the second-most SEC wins at this level for the reason that convention expanded in 1992, in line with ESPN Analysis.

However the Aggies (24-16 general and 8-10 within the SEC) appear like a resurgent bunch, going 11-2 in April, with huge SEC collection wins in opposition to then-No. 1 Tennessee and then-No. 2 Arkansas. Now, they get an opportunity at one other No. 1 within the Longhorns.

Aggies followers are accustomed to the work of Texas’ new pitching coach Max Weiner, and that has been a energy for the Longhorns this season, with an SEC-leading 2.94 ERA, second-best nationally, limiting opponents to a .210 common. There are seven SEC pitchers with an ERA underneath 3.00, and three are Longhorns: Dylan Volantis (first at 0.47), Max Grubbs (fifth at 1.71) and Ruger Riojas (seventh at 2.97)

The Aggies will fight that with the new bat of All-American Jace LaViolette, who was a part of these early struggles, however now leads the SEC in residence runs, RBIs and OPS in April. In consequence, the Aggies, who averaged 4.4 runs with 10 complete homers in that 1-8 convention begin, are averaging almost 10 runs per recreation with 25 homers of their 9 league video games in April.

The Aggies dispatched Sam Houston 13-3 on Tuesday evening in seven innings to clear the decks for his or her return to Austin behind two residence runs from Blake Binderup, a Faculty Station native.

“Now that the sport’s over from right now, I am certain there’s slightly little bit of ideas creeping into individuals’s minds about the place we’re going, who we’re taking part in, who our former coach was once,” Binderup stated. “On the finish of the day, it is simply baseball. It is a enterprise journey. We will have enjoyable, but additionally, the purpose is to win.”

Win what is likely to be a very powerful recreation and collection but on this storied rivalry. And perhaps even larger than when the 2 groups confronted off within the Males’s Faculty World Collection in 2022, one which noticed the Aggies come out on high.

For Earley, who will likely be dealing with his former boss, he is hoping to maintain feelings in examine.

“We won’t shrink back,” Earley stated. “I do know that the storyline is there. Greater this 12 months in all probability than it would ever be, and it’s what it’s.”