Texas A&M's Nico Partida Awarded For Outstanding Freshman Season

When Gavin Grahovac returned to the diamond for the Texas A&M Aggies after missing nearly the entire 2025 season, many believed he would assume his duties he previously occupied at third base during A&M's College World Series run in 2024.

But when Grahovac was moved to first base and freshman Nico Partida was listed as the starting third baseman, it had to raise a few eyebrows of the 12th Man, but they had no choice but to see what the kid had in terms of talent.

And boy, did the Manvel native ever show it.

Nico Partida Named Freshman All-American By NCBWA

Texas A&M Aggies first baseman Blake Binderup celebrates at home plate with Bear Harrison (16), Boston Kellner (6), and Nico Partida (2). | 12thMan.com

After his freshman campaign saw him bat a .306 average with 12 home runs and 43 RBI, Partida was gifted with Freshman All-American honors by the National College Baseball Writers Association.

It didn't take long for Partida to make his mark in Aggieland, homering in the very first game his college career during the season opener against Tennessee Tech before putting together his first multi-homer game in the series opener against the Missouri Tigers a month and a half later.

While the two-way player never got any time on the mound in the 2026 season, he did show that he was deserving of his spot at the "hot corner," with only six errors committed the entire season.

Partida was also a force for the Aggies during their shortened series with the Texas Longhorns, going three-for-seven with a home run on the weekend as the Ags took two on their in-state rivals.

A lower body injury suffered during the series against the Auburn Tigers did result in Partida missing seven games worth of action, but his bat was still a valued part of the A&M starting lineup, going two-for-four with an RBI in A&M's blowout of Texas State in the College Station Regional.

Partida is the seventh player out of College Station to earn the honors from the publication and joins Michael Wacha and Braden Shewmake as the only first-teamers, the other two achieving the feat in 2010 and 2017, respectively.

With the efforts of freshman like Partida, as well as outfielder Jorian Wilson and shortstop Boston Kellner, the Aggies were able to mount a third-place finish in the SEC, earning them the No. 12 national seed and a regional hosting, which unfortunately ended in back-to-back losses to the USC Trojans, ending A&M's Omaha run before it could even begin.

But with the freshman trifecta set to return for next year, don't expect a drop off from the Maroon and White on the diamond.

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