Jim Schlossnagle, who simply led Texas A&M to its first Males’s School World Sequence championship sequence, is leaving to turn into the following baseball coach at rival Texas.
Schlossnagle agreed to a cope with the Longhorns simply sooner or later after a 6-5 loss to Tennessee in Sport 3 ended the Aggies’ season only one win shy of their first nationwide championship. The loss shall be compounded by Schlossnagle’s defection to the Aggies’ bitter rival as they reunite as convention foes this 12 months within the SEC.
“What a house run rent,” Texas president Jay Hartzell mentioned in saying the rent Tuesday night time. “Coach Schlossnagle is the perfect within the enterprise, his lengthy record of accomplishments is unbelievable, and his observe file of constructing nice applications is properly documented. We’re the premier baseball program within the nation with legendary coaches, our six nationwide championships and file 38 School World Sequence appearances, so it is definitely becoming that we employed a coach of his caliber to guide us.”
Schlossnagle went 135-62 in his three seasons with Texas A&M, together with two MCWS visits and a 53-15 file this season, which tied for the second-most wins in program historical past.
“After our baseball workforce arrived again in School Station earlier at this time, Jim knowledgeable me of his want to depart Texas A&M,” Aggies athletic director Trev Alberts mentioned in an announcement. “Whereas we’re definitely dissatisfied, we’re grateful for his contributions in serving to our baseball program attain unprecedented heights. Baseball success is vital to everybody related to Texas A&M, we is not going to cease in our pursuit of excellence and our dedication to baseball is not going to waiver.”
In an announcement, Schlossnagle thanked Texas A&M president Gen. Mark A. Walsh III, Alberts and the followers “for an unbelievable expertise throughout my time at Texas A&M.”
“Though I do know many shall be upset with my resolution, I selected to make a change to hitch a longtime good friend to proceed my profession as a school baseball coach,” Schlossnagle continued. “The run to the Nationwide Championship recreation was actually a exceptional one this 12 months, and I’ll savor the recollections and true friendships I’ve made there for a lifetime.”
In Austin, Schlossnagle reunites with Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, who was his boss at TCU the place Schlossnagle coached the Horned Frogs from 2004 to 2021.
“I’ve identified Coach Schlossnagle for a very long time, and there isn’t any higher coach, program builder, and chief within the recreation, and the perfect half is he is an excellent higher particular person,” Del Conte mentioned. “Once we had been in search of our subsequent baseball coach, we knew Schloss can be the right alternative, and we’re past thrilled that he is becoming a member of our Longhorn household. He is a man who clearly is aware of our state so properly, could be very accustomed to our program’s wealthy and proud historical past and every little thing Texas Baseball is all about, and completely checks all of the packing containers for this crucial place.
“He actually understands each degree of constructing a workforce, develops and will get the perfect out of his gamers and coaches, recruits with the perfect of them and is completely dialed into the holistic progress of the student-athletes in his program. Our gamers, our employees, the UT group and Longhorn Nation will completely love him.”
On Monday, hours earlier than the Aggies and Volunteers threw the primary pitch within the closing MCWS recreation, Texas introduced that Del Conte and David Pierce had made a mutual resolution to half methods. Pierce was 297-162 in eight seasons at Texas, together with a 36-24 file this season.
Texas had lengthy been rumored to have curiosity in Schlossnagle as a result of his file at TCU and Texas A&M and the connection he had with Del Conte.
Schlossnagle informed ESPN final month that he knew what was coming with the warmth across the rivalry.
“That is like nuclear stuff,” Schlossnagle mentioned. “However there is not a second in my day the place I take into consideration what Texas is doing. I feel if you happen to go have a look at common society at this time with social media, everyone does the comparability recreation. And A&M and Texas have been doing the comparability recreation for a pair hundred years.”
In 23 seasons as coach at UNLV, TCU and Texas A&M, Schlossnagle has a 945-451 profession file, with seven appearances within the MCWS. He has a 59-36 file in NCAA match video games and was named Baseball America Nationwide Coach of the 12 months in 2016.
On Monday night time, after the loss to Tennessee and with Pierce out of the image, the main target turned to Schlossnagle in his postgame information convention, and he reacted angrily to being requested about any potential curiosity within the Texas job.
“I took the job at Texas A&M to by no means take one other job once more, and that hasn’t modified in my thoughts,” Schlossnagle mentioned. “That is unfair to speak about one thing like that. … I gave up an enormous a part of my life to return take this job, and I’ve poured each ounce of my soul on this job. And I’ve given this job each single ounce I might probably give it. So write that.”