It hasn’t been a great 24 hours for Texas A&M baseball. The Aggies, on top of losing a decisive Game 3 in the national championship series at the Men’s College World Series, saw head coach Jim Schlossnagle leave for the Texas job.
But Aggies pitcher Chris Cortez wanted to make something clear: The sky is not falling in College Station. That, and the Aggies have plenty to be proud of after the 2024 season, including making the championship series in Omaha for the first time in program history.
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“This should not take away from what this 2024 Texas A&M baseball team has done,” Cortez said on social media. “The players make the team, not the coaches. Less than 24 hours ago we were one of the last two teams standing, playing for a National Championship. Nothing can take that away from us.”
More on Schlossnagle’s departure
No matter what answer Schlossnagle landed on, a decision to leave College Station was bound to have profound ripples across college baseball. And Schlossnagle, who on Monday saw his team miss a national championship by one win, is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in college baseball, meaning it would be a coup for whichever team ended up with him.
Reports emerged during the 2024 Men’s College World Series that Texas would be moving on from long-serving head coach David Pierce and that the Longhorns would try to poach the highly-successful head coach from one of Texas’ biggest rivals. The Longhorns eventually moved on Pierce days before Schlossnagle made it official that he’d be heading to Austin.
With the Texas job open shortly after the Aggies’ season ended, Schlossnagle was asked about potentially being in consideration there.
“I think it’s pretty selfish of you to ask me that question, to be honest with you,” Schlossnagle said following the game. “I left my family to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again, and that hasn’t changed in my mind. That’s unfair to talk about something like that. That would be like you asking [Braden] Montgomery if he’s going to sign in the draft. But I understand you gotta ask the question, but I gave up a big part of my life to come take this job and I’ve poured every ounce of my soul in this job and I’ve given this job every single ounce I can possibly give it. Write that.”
With Schlossnagle choosing to take the Texas job, the Aggies are now in a lurch to hire a new head coach to try and sustain the level of national success that Schlossnagle helped usher in. Texas, on the other hand, is hopeful Schlossnagle can keep Texas on the level of not only making it to Omaha, but winning national championships in baseball.
Schlossnagle has also been highly successful in the state of Texas, guiding TCU to being a national contender prior to joining the Aggies. Adding to the layers of the dynamic, Texas is also in pursuit of Schlossnagle just days before the Longhorns are officially set to join the SEC in be in the same conference as the Aggies for the first time in a decade.
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