By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Less than 24 hours after Jim Schlossnagle implied that he would continue to coach a Texas A&M Aggies program that reached the Men’s College World Series championship game, he was announced on Tuesday night as baseball coach of the University of Texas Longhorns, the Aggies’ traditional in-state rival.
“What a home run hire,” Texas president Jay Hartzell said in a statement. “Coach Schlossnagle is the best in the business, his long list of accomplishments is incredible, and his track record of building great programs is well documented.
“We are the premier baseball program in the country with legendary coaches, our six national championships and record 38 College World Series appearances, so it’s certainly fitting that we hired a coach of his caliber to lead us.”
Schlossnagle has spent the last three seasons coaching the Aggies, taking them to unprecedented heights. The former longtime coach of the TCU Horned Frogs led A&M to the MCWS in 2022 and again last week. The 2022 team went 2-2 in Omaha.
This time, the Aggies were loaded with talent, and even with injuries to a couple of key players, they made a spirited run to the finals against the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers. No. 3 A&M finished 53-15 on the season, 9-2 in the NCAA tournament and 4-2 in the MCWS.
On Monday, in Austin, as the MCWS in Omaha was preparing for the championship showdown, Texas officials acknowledged that they had parted ways with eight-year coach David Pierce. By Monday night, Tennessee held off A&M 6-5 in an emotional winner-take-all contest.
In postgame interviews, a question to Schlossnagle about his “future in Aggieland” sparked an emotional response.
The question went like this: “With respect to the difficult outcome tonight, with the rumors circulating today about a specific job opening, what do you have to say about your future in Aggieland?”
“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s pretty selfish of you to ask that question, to be honest with you,” Schlossnagle responded. “But … I left my family to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again, and that hasn’t changed in my mind. That’s unfair to talk about something like that.
“That’d be like you asking (Braden) Montgomery if he’s going to sign in the (Major League Baseball) draft. But, I understand you got to ask the question. But, I gave up a big part of my life to come take this job, and I’ve poured every ounce of my soul in this job. And I’ve given this job every single ounce I could possibly give it. So, write that.”
In a statement from Schlossnagle published Tuesday night by ESPN reporter Dave Wilson, he thanked Texas A&M administrators and the fans “for an incredible experience during my time at Texas A&M.”
“Although I know many will be upset with my decision, I chose to make a change to join a longtime friend to continue my career as a college baseball coach,” the coach said. “The run to the (national title) game was truly a remarkable one this year, and I will savor the memories and true friendships I have made there for a lifetime.”
In Austin, Schlossnagle will be reunited with Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, who was athletic director at TCU when Schlossnagle coached the Horned Frogs.
Schlossnagle’s key staffers at A&M will follow him to Texas, including assistants Nolan Cain, Michael Earley and Max Weiner.
This move seems very suspicious to me. It sounds like he had this in the works early in the season and had already started recruiting players to be Longhorns while he was still an Aggie.
It seems like strange things like this happen at Texas A&M more than at other schools, doesn’t it?