Jim Schlossnagle on winning a national championship: 'The 12th Man deserves it so much'

It took Jim Schlossnagle just three years to get Texas A&M where it had never gone before. The Aggies start the College World Series final against Tennessee Saturday night, marking the first time the program made it to the national championship.

Schlossnagle took over at Texas A&M after a long run at TCU, where he took the Horned Frogs to five College World Series appearances. In three seasons with the Aggies, they’ve now made it to Omaha twice and are now knocking on the door of a championship.

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As for what a title would mean for the school, Schlossnagle said it wouldn’t just be a testament to his team’s success. It would reflect the entire athletic department.

“It would be awesome,” Schlossnagle said. “I think the 12th Man deserves it so much. They’ve been so close and invested so much in athletics.

“We all know the football stories. Coach Buzz [Williams] has done an unbelievable job. Joni [Taylor], our women’s basketball coach, has incredible things moving forward. Trisha Ford in softball. We’re doing great in women’s golf. There’s so much sports that are doing awesome at A&M. It would be really cool.”

The 12th Man has made quite an impression on Schlossnagle during his time in College Station, and he worried he would get emotional when talking about what the fan base means. It adds more meaning to the championship series, which starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

“The 12th Man is so special,” Schlossnagle said. “If I start talking about it too much, I’ll start crying because they really are a unique, special group of people that are so supportive. And it would be awesome to reward that.”

Jim Schlossnagle on pitching plan: ‘If I knew, I’d tell you’

When it comes to who Texas A&M will throw in the finals against Tennessee, Schlossnagle said creativity could be key with a Best of 3 series looming. Facing a tough Volunteers team, he knows each pitch matters.

“If I knew, I’d tell you,” Schlossnagle said. “Without Sdao, we’ve had to get creative. We had to get creative in the first game with Lamkin. When Sorrell hit the home run to make it 5-0, that made the decision to get him out a little easier in the game against Florida. Because every pitch he threw, I was thinking that’s one less pitch he might be as effective within this upcoming weekend. So we’ll see how he feels. 

“We’ll see how tomorrow goes. We’ll do everything we can within reason to give ourselves the best chance to win tomorrow and then see what happens on Sunday afternoon.”