Texas A&M's Gavin Grahovac Named D1Baseball's Preseason SEC Freshman of the Year

The Texas A&M Aggies have a star in the making on the base path in outfielder Gavin Grahovac

As Texas A&M prepares for the start of the 2024 season under third-year coach Jim Schlossnagle, expectations are high for everyone in the clubhouse. 

They're extremely potent for freshman outfielder Gavin Grahovac, who could become a fixture of the Aggies' lineup before the season's conclusion.

Grahovac was named the Preseason SEC Freshman of the Year by D1Baseball, as announced by the publication on Friday. 

Grahovac, the No. 10 outfielder nationally and No. 2 in the state of California, had a decorated career at Villa Park High School, earning 2022 and 2023 California State Player of the Year, 2022 Orange County Player of the Year and 2022 LA Times Player of the Year honors. 

A native of Orange, Grahovac lettered all four years. He hit .350 with five homers and nine doubles in his senior season. Grahovac finished his career as the program's all-time hits leader with 134.

Texas A&M Athletics

In addition to Grahovac's honors, Braden Montgomery (No. 5), Troy Wansing (No. 17), Chris Cortez (No. 35), Ryan Prager (No. 39) and Tanner Jones (No. 45) were listed as top prospects for the 2024 MLB Draft in D1Baseball’s yearly SEC Preview. For the 2025 MLB Draft, Jace LaViolette was named the top prospect in the conference, while Justin Lamkin (No. 19), Shane Sdao (No. 42) and Blake Binderup (No. 48) also made the list.

The Aggies finish the 2023 season with a 38-27 overall record. After clearing a path toward the title game in the SEC Tournament, A&M qualified as a No. 2 seed in the Stanford Regional. The Aggies finished 2-2, with both losses coming to the Cardinal in the regional final. 

A&M returns only three offensive starters in LaViolette, catcher Max Kauffer and infielder Ryan Targac. The Aggies return nine arms, including Sdao, Prager, Cortez and Wansing. 

LaViolette is coming off a dominant first-year campaign where he broke A&M's freshman home run record with 21 long balls. The 6-6 sophomore from Katy also totaled 63 RBI, second-most on the roster last season. 

Building on Strength: Jim Schlossnagle Reveals Outlook For 2024 Baseball Season

A&M opens its 2024 season with a three-game set against McNeese at Blue Bell Park starting Friday, February 16 at 6 p.m.