Texas A&M Coach Jim Schlossnagle Proposes Wild Change to College Baseball Postseason

If it were up to Texas A&M coach Jim Shlossnagle, the road to Omaha would look much different.
Jun 21, 2022; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle (22) celebrates the win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 21, 2022; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle (22) celebrates the win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas A&M Aggies are set to take on the Oregon Ducks in the College Station Super Regional this weekend, hoping to punch their ticket to the College World Series in Omaha.

Thus far, it has been a pretty traditional road for the Aggies as well, with Texas A&M going undefeated in their regional against Texas, Louisiana and Grambling State, with only the game against the Longhorns bringing up any cause for concern.

However, if it were up to Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle, as he explained during an appearance on Sirius XM Radio, the road to the Super Regional against the Ducks would have looked much different. He also believes his proposed idea would have a better chance at getting the eight best teams to the College World Series.

“You know, this is a topic that I’m very passionate about,” Schlossnagle said on Sirius XM. “I think we should change our format. We would either have to add a week to the season or push the College World Series back but I think the college baseball postseason should be pretty 32-best two out of threes. That way you spread the host sites, you double the host sites, that really grows the game and it mirrors the season. You have 32 best two out of three, then you have 16 best two out three. Then you have eight best two out of threes and then those are eight teams that go to Omaha."

One of the major causes for concern for Schlossnagle is that the Aggies - despite hosting vs. the Ducks - are set up as the defacto road team.

At a glance, that doesn't seem like a big deal. However, it does change the dynamic of the games quite a bit, even when looking at it from as simple as an angle as the Ducks getting to bat last in two out of the three games, despite being the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament.

"I mean, we were a national seed. We’re a host, and we were the visiting team in two of our three games," Schlossnagle said. "How that’s fair? I don’t know. So those are some conversations that I’d like to have, and when all this is over, we have our baseball committee meetings in the offseason.”

First pitch between the Aggies and Ducks is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Blue Bell Park


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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns In SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks with the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com for 247Sports. He then moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, ex Longhorns Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, FOX News and former ESPN host Will Cain, as well as countless other recruits and former players for each of the teams he has covered. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.