Texas A&M Baseball Duo Earns NCBWA All-America Honors
Call it a clean sweep in College Station.
Texas A&M outfielders Braden Montgomery and Jace LaViolette were named Preseason All-Americans by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, the publication announced Tuesday.
With the selection, the duo becomes the first Aggie teammates to be named unanimous Preseason All-Americans in program history.
Montgomery, who was voted to the first team, joined the Aggies this offseason after helping Stanford reach back-to-back College World Series appearances. Last season in 64 games, the junior posted a .364 batting average with 17 home runs and 61 RBI.
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Montgomery also made 10 appearances on the mound, striking out 19 batters in only 14 innings. The Madison, Miss. native also can play various positions in the infield.
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.
LaViolette, who was voted to the third team, proved to be one of the nation's premier freshmen en route to helping the Aggies secure a spot in the Staford Regional. A native of Katy, Texas, LaViolette slashed .287/.414/.632 and belted a Texas A&M single-season freshman record 21 home runs. In addition to leading the team in homers, LaViolette also topped the 2023 squad in RBI (63) and stolen bases (18).
The sophomore, who was tabbed as a Freshman All-American by four different publications and named to the USA Collegiate National Team, ranked inside the top 10 among the SEC in homers, RBI, and walks (48). In conference play, LaViolette led all players with a .835 slugging percentage.
A&M opens the 2024 campaign under third-year coach Jim Schlossnagle at Blue Bell Park for a three-game set against McNeese starting Friday, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m.