Jace LaViolette & Texas A&M Aggies Excited to Host Texas Longhorns in College Station Regional

Jace LaViolette and the Texas A&M Aggies are excited to host their arch-rivals in College Station.

May 16, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies outfielder Jace LaViolette exits the dugout prior to his team's game against the Arkansas Razorbacks. / Matt Guzman - AllAggies on SI

The No. 3 ranked Texas A&M Aggies have high hopes after being named a host in this year's NCAA Regional Tournament thanks to their incredible near 50-win season.

One could assume that the excitement grew once they found out that their in-state rivals, the Texas Longhorns, would be making a trip over to College Station.

One player in particular looking forward to the weekend is A&M's star sophomore outfielder Jace LaViolette. LaViolette has been a vital part of the Aggies' offense since donning a maroon and white jersey, posting a .321 batting average, 28 home runs, 73 RBI, and a remarkable .796 slugging percentage this season.

After the seedings were released, LaViolette lent his thoughts on hosting the Bryan-College Station Regional, with their most well-known in-state rivals also coming to town.

Mar 3, 2024; Arlington, TX, USA; The Arizona State Sun Devils plays against the Texas A&M Aggies during the Kubota College Baseball Series - Weekend 3 at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

"That was a really cool experience right there," LaViolette said. "I didn't know who to expect in our regional, but it was good to see Texas in there. It's going to be a fun regional, especially with the other two teams. It's going to be hard, but it's going to be a lot of fun. It speaks to the season that we had. Everything starts over again so it's awesome, we can kind of let that sink in now, but after today it doesn't really mean anything. We've got to keep playing the baseball that we play and that's about it.

LaViolette also commented on the atmosphere at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park and what it means to him with such a monumental weekend approaching.

He also thinks it could play a huge role for the Aggies in the regional.

"The 12th Man is real, it's an unbelievable place to play at," Laviolette said. "It's going to be a lot of fun to play in front of the 12th Man. Especially because this is going to be my first time playing in a regional in front of the 12th Man, so I'm really excited and I'm excited for what the 12th Man is going to bring for us.

The Aggies kick off their regional hosting against the Grambling State Tigers at noon on Friday.