Texas A&M Baseball Lands In Top 10 Of USA Today Poll
Expectations continue to rise at Blue Bell Park entering 2024.
The Texas A&M baseball program will open the 2024 campaign as a consensus Top 10 team after checking in at No. 10 in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll, the publication announced Tuesday.
This marks the second straight season the Aggies have earned a Top 10 ranking in the poll after opening at No. 4 in 2023. A&M is one of eight squads from the SEC represented in the poll and one of six inside the Top 10.
Texas A&M Athletics
The Aggies have been ranked in all five major polls, including Top 10 designations from Perfect Game, D1Baseball, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and USA Today. Last season, A&M finished just short of returning to the super regionals after losing two of three against Stanford in the Stanford Regional round-robin tournament.
A&M is coming off its 37th trip to the NCAA tournament after finishing with a 38-27 record in 2023. Head coach Jim Schlossnagle, who is in his third season at the helm, returns 19 players from a season ago while adding the No. 4-ranked transfer and freshman classes.
Newcomer Braden Montgomery could be the difference-maker to send A&M back to Omaha for the College World Series in junior. A transfer outfielder and pitcher from Stanford, the junior was voted a consensus Preseason All-American, along with sophomore standout Jace LaViolette.
Last season in Palo Alto, Montgomery hit .364 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI in 64 games. On the mound, the right-hander made 10 appearances and struck out 19 hitters in 14 innings of work.
Among the Pac-12, the junior ranked inside the top 10 in runs scored (70), hits (82), RBI, home runs, total bases (149) and walks (51). Montgomery, who garnered ABCA All-America honors in 2023 and was a member of the USA Collegiate National Team, also registered 27 multi-hit games, and 16 multi-RBI contests.
Montgomery closed the season with a 28-game on-base streak.
Other top transfers include catcher Jackson Appel (Penn), infielder Ali Camarillo (Cal State Northridge), infielder Ted Burton (Michigan), right-hander Tanner Jones (Jacksonville State) and right-hander Eldridge Armstrong (San Diego State).
The Aggies are scheduled to open the 2024 season at Olsen Field on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. when they host McNeese for a three-game set.