Texas A&M Duo Earns Preseason All-SEC Honors
With college baseball nearly back in swing, Texas A&M continues to rack up the accolades.
Aggie standouts Jace LaViolette and Braden Montgomery have earned Preseason All-SEC honors, as announced by the league office Thursday.
In the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, the No. 10 Aggies were picked to finish third in the SEC Western Division behind defending national champions LSU and Arkansas. Defending national runner-up Florida was selected to claim the crown in the Eastern Division.
LaViolette, a unanimous Preseason All-American, was named to the first team after slashing .287/.414/.632 as a freshman a season ago. A native of Katy, Texas, LaViolette led the Aggies in home runs (21), RBI (63) and stolen bases (18) in 2023 en route to earning Freshman All-America honors from four different publications. LaViolette’s 21 homers set a Texas A&M freshman single-season record.
In SEC play, the 2023 USA Collegiate National Team member led all players with an .835 slugging percentage. Overall, LaViolette ranked inside the Top 10 in the SEC in homers, RBI and walks (48).
Montgomery, a unanimous Preseason All-American, earned a spot on the second team after transferring from Stanford in the offseason. The junior led the Cardinal to back-to-back College World Series appearances and is one of the nation’s top two-way players. In 2023, Montgomery hit .364 with 17 homers and 61 RBI in 64 games. On the mound, the Madison, Mississippi, native made 10 appearances and struck out 19 hitters in only 14.0 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, 16 multi-RBI contests and closed the season with a 28-game on-base streak.
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.