Aggies Jace LaViolette & Braden Montgomery Tabbed Preseason All-Americans By Baseball America
Another day, another accolade for Texas A&M baseball stars Jace LaViolette and Braden Montgomery.
LaViolette and Montgomery were named Preseason Second Team All-Americans by Baseball America, the publication announced Monday. The selection marks the third of the spring for the Aggie duo, who has also received All-America honors from Perfect Game and D1Baseball.
LaViolette, who was selected as one of the outfielders, made his case as one of the nation's premier freshmen a season ago in helping the Aggies secure a bid in the NCAA Tournament. A native of Katy, Texas, LaViolette slashed .287/.414/.632 and belted an A&M single-season freshman record 21 home runs.
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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). During conference play, LaViolette led all SEC players with an .835 slugging percentage.
Montgomery, who garnered a spot on the roster as a utility player, joined the Aggies this offseason after helping Stanford reach back-to-back College World Series appearances. Last season, Montgomery. 364 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI in 64 games. On the mound, the Madison, Miss., product made 10 appearances and struck out 19 batters in only 14 innings of work.
Montgomery ranked inside the top 10 among Pac-12 players 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 open the 2024 campaign at Blue Bell Park at Olsen Field with a three-game series against McNeese on Friday, Feb. 16. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.