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Jace LaViolette Unwavering in Support for Texas A&M Aggies Coach Michael Earley

Jace LaViolette has likely played his last game in with the Texas A&M Aggies.
DJ Burton|
Texas A&M Aggies' Jace LaViolette (17) is hit in the hands by a pitch as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies during the SEC baseball tournament at Hoover Met in Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
Texas A&M Aggies' Jace LaViolette (17) is hit in the hands by a pitch as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies during the SEC baseball tournament at Hoover Met in Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday, May 22, 2025. | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If there was one word to describe Texas A&M star junior center fielder Jace LaViolette’s SEC Tournament performance in its 4-3 loss to LSU, it would be “gritty”.

In the Aggies’ 3-2 victory over the Auburn Tigers on Thursday, the southpaw slugger took a pitch off his left hand. The impact fractured his fourth metacarpal. He would later be seen in the dugout with a soft cast on the same hand. It was perceived that LaViolette would miss the rest of the SEC Tournament, but he had other plans. The Aggies’ star would go on to record one hit and two RBI in his first designated hitter start of the season.

Jace LaViolette
Auburn Tigers' Cooper McMurray (26) encourages Texas A&M Aggies' Jace LaViolette (17) after LaViolette got hit in the hands by a pitch as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies during the SEC baseball tournament at Hoover Met in Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday, May 22, 2025. | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After the game, LaViolette spoke to the media regarding his decision to play and his time at A&M.

“I think it’s pretty clear… I’d run through a brick wall for [coach Michael Earley,]” LaViolette said. “I want to win, that’s about it. I just wanted to win.”

In Thursday’s postgame press conference, Earley confirmed that LaViolette was likely going to be out for the rest of the tournament.

”He had surgery last night at 7 p.m. and played in a game at 6:45,” Earley said Friday. “For him to do what he did today, I mean that’s just maybe the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen on a baseball field and it just shows a lot about how much that kid cares about his team.”

With Selection Monday on the horizon, the Aggies’ postseason fate will be decided. With Friday’s loss, it appears they will be on the outside looking in, meaning LaViolette took the field for the last time in the Maroon and White against the Tigers. The A&M career home run record holder is currently projected to be the seventh pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

”The past three years have undoubtedly been the best three years of my life,” LaViolette said. “I can’t speak enough about this university and what it has done for me, not only as a baseball player, but as a person.”

After former A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle departed for the Texas Longhorns’ head job, LaViolette was one of the biggest advocates for Earley to be the Fightin’ Farmers’ new skipper. After the Aggies’ disappointing season, LaViolette had a message for any players considering A&M.

“I’d die for him,” Laviolette said. “It’s not only me. There’s multiple people on this team that would kill to play one more damn game for him... There’s nobody else we’d rather play for than coach right here. It’s hard, man. You work so hard and prepare for a season like we did, and sometimes baseball is a funny game. But I’m so glad I got to play for coach Mike Earley. I couldn’t have asked to play for anybody else.”

“To the 12th Man, I just want to say thank you. I can’t imagine baseball without it.”
Jace LaViolette
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DJ Burton
DJ BURTON

DJ Burton is a journalist from Kingwood, Texas. He is a credentialed writer for Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He graduated from Texas A&M with a journalism major and a sport management minor. Before attending A&M, Burton played offensive line for two seasons at Hiram College in northeast Ohio, where he studied sport management. Burton brings experience covering football, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. He also served as a senior sports writer for A&M’s student newspaper, The Battalion.

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