This Assistant Coach Has Made Michael Earley's Job Much Easier

The first pitch of the 2026 Texas A&M Aggies baseball season sits just a few short days away, and the Maroon and White will be doing anything to prevent the travesty that plagued them during the 2025 season.

Luckily for them, head coach Michael Earley is just as willing to make his second season at the helm more memorable than his first, and the staff he brought under his coaching wing showed that, and it has paid off better than even he anticipated.

The head coach brought on Texas A&M alum Cliff Pennington as an assistant coach, a move praised by many.

"He's Just Way Better At It"

Los Angeles Angels shortstop Cliff Pennington (7) throws to first base to get Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Marjama (not pictured) during the sixth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. | Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

When Earley was asked on The Aggie Diamond Hour about the impact that the former MLB shortstop has made, Earley had nothing but a positive report to give about the former student.

"Yeah, he's great," Earley said to Andrew Monaco. "I think that it's such a big picture with Cliff and putting our staff together, how he wanted to do it, and how him being here helps me so much to do my job more effectively where I can separate and be the head coach, run the program, everything in the program is on me."

Earley also praised Pennington's ability to wear multiple hats, such as overlooking hitting as well as base running drills.

"You can be good at a lot of things, but if you're doing too many things, you're going to be average, below average, or not good at them," said the coach. "And Cliff's ability to run the base running stuff, he's taken over that, what I used to do. He's just way better at it, and that's great. He sees the game differently than most people."

Pennington, who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily with the Oakland Athletics and the Arizona Diamondbacks, has used his professional experience to shape his coaching philosophy, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by Coach Earley.

"When you're a player like him who was a gritty player that had to be smart and have a high IQ, and you play 11 seasons in the big leagues, there's a reason (he sees the game differently)," said Earley. "The guys love him. He works super hard, and how I always judge a coach or guys that I coach with is, the standard is you have to be good at your job, but, like, how much do you care? And he cares a ton."

"That care factor, you can feel it. The players feel it. They want guys that want to make them better, and he does that every single day."

Texas A&M hosts Tennessee Tech for their opening weekend series of the 2026 season, starting Friday night at 6:00 PM from Blue Bell Park.