Braden Montgomery Ready To Make Texas A&M Debut On Opening Day

Texas A&M Aggies newcomer Braden Montgomery is ready to become a fixture in SEC baseball.

How will Braden Montgomery be used in Texas A&M's lineup this season? For now, Jim Schlossnagle is letting things pan out naturally. 

The No. 8 Aggies open the season Friday night at Blue Bell Park against McNeese. Montgomery, the highly-touted transfer from Standford, is expected to be in the starting lineup whether as a utility player or in the outfield. 

Schlossnagle, entering his third season with the program, mentioned that things are natural for a player like Montgomery. He doesn't need to see him toss balls in right field at practice to know he has a cannon and he doesn't need an extensive amount of reps to comprehend he's an asset to the Aggies' success.

"The thing with Braden, he's so smart and mature, that you can trust him, which is a favorite kind of player to coach, you can trust. Hey, man, how do you feel today? Like this is your decision. Do you want to do X or do you want to do Y? And you kind of let him make that call."

Ethan Mito/Texas A&M Athletics

Montgomery was a member of the Cardinal roster that bested A&M in the Stanford Regional to advance to supers. A week later, his four hits factored into the Cardinal punching their ticket back to the College World Series. 

A native of Madison, Miss., Montgomery hit .364 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI in 64 games. On the mound, the right-hander made 10 appearances, striking out 19 batters in 14 innings.

Schlossnagle said Montgomery would be available to pitch, but he'd have to earn his spot in the rotation or out of the pen.

"When he gets his opportunities, he needs to do well with them," said Scholssnagle. "And if he does, then we'll build on that. But he's very talented. He really views himself as a legitimate pitcher, and he certainly ended our season last year, which I remind him a lot of.

"His breaking ball is better. He has some other serviceable pitches outside of his fastball, so we'll see, but we'll look to get him in there when we can." 

Montgomery headlines an A&M roster built to win a title, along with sophomore sensation Jace LaViolette. The duo were consensus preseason All-Americans and made the preseason All-SEC team. 

A switch-hitter by trade, Schlossnagle said part of the recruiting process this offseason was adding a right-handed bat to a lineup full of lefties. Comfortable on the left side of the plate, the Aggies coach praised Montgomery's growth on the right side since he arrived in College Station. 

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"I can't tell you the difference between the two," said Schlossnagle. "He's had great moments on both sides of the plate, so the season will tell us how improved he is."

The Aggies open their three-game series against the Cowboys Friday starting at 6 p.m. A&M will start three left-handers to begin the season with Ryan Prager on the mound for the series opener.