Texas A&M All-American pitcher Ryan Prager turns down Los Angeles Angels, returns to Aggies

All-American LHP Ryan Prager has opted to return to Texas A&M in 2025 despite being selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the third-round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Selected No. 81 overall, the value of Prager’s selection was $948.60k, but will now suit up in College Station for at least one more season under new head coach Michael Earley.

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This past season, Prager made 19 appearances, amassing 97.2 innings pitched. He tallied 124 strikeouts while holding opposing hitters to a .226 batting average. He finished the season with a 2.95 ERA and a 9-1 record.

For his efforts in 2024, Prager was named an All-SEC Second-Team selection and a D1Baseball Second-Team All-American.

He did not participate in the 2023 season after suffering a UCL injury. He used his redshirt that season. However, during his debut campaign with the Aggies in 2022, Prager appeared in 10 games with nine starts. He struck out 37 batters in 37.2 innings of work to go along with a 5.02 ERA.

The Aggies pitcher also played high school baseball at Hillcrest High School (TX), where he was the No. 340 overall prospect and No. 40 LHP in the 2021 recruiting cycle, according to Perfect Game.

A lot has changed in College Station since Prager opted to enter the draft. Shortly following the Aggies’ trip to the 2024 College World Series final, former head coach Jim Schlossnagle moved across the state to become the head coach of the Texas Longhorns.

Nearly entire core of Texas A&M’s CWS squad either entered the transfer portal or were already in the draft once the news hit that Schlossnagle would be leaving. Upon Earley’s hire, most have since returned the program and Prager may be the most notable of all.

For Earley, he has spent the last three seasons serving as Texas A&M’s hitting coach. During that time he’s seen the Aggies compile a 135-62 record including a trip to the 2024 College World Series, where they came up just short in three games to SEC rival Tennessee. They finished with a 53-15 overall record and went 19-11 in the SEC last season.

Now, Earley will be tasked with continuing his success as a player development coach while also taking the reins of the entire Aggies baseball program. With Prager at his disposal, the standard will remain the same in College Station during his first year as head coach.