The blockbuster coaching change that sent Jim Schlossnagle from Texas A&M to Texas quickly sparked a roster exodus in College Station as numerous Aggies entered the transfer portal in the wake of their coach's exit. All-American outfielder Jace LaViolette and SEC Freshman of the Year Gavin Grahovac headline an initial wave of portal entrants, which also includes infielders Kaeden Kent and Jack Bell, designated hitter Hayden Schott, outfielder Caden Sorrell and catcher Max Kaufer, GigEm247's Carter Karels reports.
Each of the departing Aggies played key roles in Texas A&M's journey to the College World Series finals. LaViolette and Grahovac were the most outstanding of the bunch as they combined for 52 home runs on the season. They finished second and third, respectively, on the team in RBI behind only future first-round MLB Draft pick Braden Montgomery. Kent and Schott also played some of their best baseball down the stretch, catching fire in the CWS.
LaViolette batted .305 with 29 home runs and 78 RBI for the year and was Texas A&M's most prominent bat after Montgomery suffered a season-ending injury in the opening game of the Bryan-College Station Super Regional. He instantly becomes the most coveted player in the transfer portal and has early first-round draft upside.
Grahovac finished just shy of LaViolette on the team leaderboard with a .298 average, 23 home runs and 66 RBI during his remarkable debut campaign. The third baseman will also command immense interest on the transfer market as a plug-and-play star at the corner infield spot.
Kent closed the season as perhaps Texas A&M's hottest hitter as he reached base in all but two NCAA Tournament games. He posted three multi-hit games at the College World Series and has stellar baseball bloodlines as the son of former National League MVP Jeff Kent. Schott also recorded multiple knocks in three games during the Aggies' Omaha run and went 5-for-14 in the national championship series.
Sorrell put together the most modest production among qualified Texas A&M hitters, but that he still hit .275 with 11 round-trippers speaks to the team's tremendous offensive depth.
Bell and Kaufer combined for 10 starts on the year and appeared in roughly one-quarter of the Aggies' games this season. They both hit exactly .250 with a home run apiece in their reserve roles.
The Texas A&M transfers will be immediately eligible at their destination programs of choice, even if they make an intra-conference move to join Schlossnagle at Texas. The SEC permits transfers to play right away at new schools within the conference so long as they provide "written notification of transfer to the institution within their sport's regular NCAA transfer window immediately following the sport's championship segment," per bylaw 14.5.5.1.
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Schlossnagle's Longhorns figure to be a force in their debut season in the SEC and beyond, whether they land the Texas A&M transfers. The new Texas coach stands among the winningest active coaches in college baseball and is a regular in Omaha with seven career College World Series appearances.
