Jim Schlossnagle opens up on what it means to continue advancing in CWS in first year at Texas A&M

Jim Schlossnagle took a risk leaving TCU to become the head coach of Texas A&M. He spent 13 seasons with the Horned Frogs, making five College World Series, and is still the winningest coach in their program’s history. The move to College Station was a bold one but thus far, has paid off for Schlossnagle.

Texas A&M is now in the Final Four in Omaha after Wednesday’s win against Notre Dame. While a daunting task against Oklahoma is ahead of the Aggies, Schlossnagle knows how special it is to be this far at the College World Series

The head coach opened up about what it meant to be one of the last four teams in. Schlossnagle is responsible for half the CWS wins in Texas A&M history but reflecting on how far they have come since last season was the head coach’s main focus.

“Super proud of the kids, how far they’ve come from not just the beginning of the season, but I mean this last time last year we didn’t even have a coaching staff,” Schlossnagle said. “A third of this team wasn’t even a Texas A&M Aggie yet. We were still recruiting out of the transfer portal. You look up a year later and you’re playing, like you said we’re in the Final Four of college baseball. Great tribute to the kids. The coaching staff, administration, everybody committed to having a great program. And everybody has given themselves up for the common good.

“And this team, whether we win or lose the rest of this thing, they’re going to be remembered for a really long time and brought a lot of excitement back to Texas A&M baseball, and people are fired up.”

Jim Schlossnagle discusses Texas A&M’s past, future

Schlossnagle credited former head coach, Rob Childress, for running a solid program before he showed up in College Station. While wins may not have come while in Omaha under Childress, the current head coach thinks past success has helped this Texas A&M breakthrough.

“I know the program’s been awesome,” Schlossnagle said. “I respect how hard it is to get here. Coach Childress had a phenomenal run — 13 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. I hope I’m able to be part of that for the next 13 years. And then two trips to the colleges.”

Winning this season is the goal in front of Texas A&M but hiring somebody such as Schlossnagle is supposed to bring stability. He is used to making the College World Series on a regular basis and with the Aggies, expectations will be no different.

Schlossnagle said consistent performances like the one the Aggies had against Notre Dame will make his ball club a regular in Omaha. Being in position to contend for a national championship is the key.

“You don’t just get to throw money at something and twinkle your nose and have it happen,” Schlossnagle said. “But you just want to be in position every year. And if you’re in position every year, the way the ball bounces, you get a great pitching performance like today, who knows? You can stay here for a long time.”

Wednesday will mark another elimination game for the Aggies against Oklahoma. In order to make the championship series, Jim Schlossnagle will have to see his ball club win twice. Either way, it’s been a historic run for the Texas A&M program.