Jim Schlossnagle Shares Thoughts on Future of Texas vs. Texas A&M Baseball Rivalry

The former Texas A&M head coach will have to face his new rival in Austin and College Station for the upcoming season, a reality he says he's preparing his team for.

Jun 9, 2024; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle celebrates after sweeping Oregon in the Bryan-College Station Super Regional series at Olsen Field, Blue Bell Park Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

With the Longhorns set to join the SEC on Monday, fans have been preparing themselves to relive one of the most anticipated in-state and now conference rivalries: Texas vs. Texas A&M.

And with Jim Schlossnagle recently taking the position of head baseball coach for the Longhorns, leaving behind three seasons with the Aggies, even more emotions have been swirling around the two teams. It didn't help that Texas A&M lost to Tennessee in the College World Series national championship game the same day, a feat that would have brought the Aggies their first championship in program history.

In his introductory press conference as a member of the Texas staff, Schlossnagle was interviewed about his mindset going into the rivalry games, as the opponents are set to face each other in Austin and College Station.

"It's already awesome. The midweek games we got to play this year were awesome. The Regional, phenomenal," Schlossnagle said. "I can't even imagine what a three-game SEC series will be like."

The Longhorns played against the Aggies during a Tuesday matchup back in March and met again during the NCAA College Station Regional, where Texas was unable to overcome Schlossnagle's squad. UFCU Disch-Falk Field saw its fifth-highest crowd attendance during the team's first matchup of the 2024 season with 8,060 guests, and the numbers will surely increase with the rising stakes this year.

"I'm sure A&M is going to attract an awesome coach and coaches. There are great players and the fan base... especially Section 203. I'm sure they have a lot of really interesting things planned," Schlossnagle said.

While the official baseball schedule for the 2024-2025 season has yet to be published, Schlossnagle hinted that his first appearance against his former team would be in Austin and his second would be in College Station, having to face the consequences of a bitter Aggie crowd.

"I didn't do this to spite anybody, I did this for reasons I talked about when you go into an SEC environment, it's already crazy," Schlossnagle said. "It's just further evidence that we'll have to be prepared, not physically, but mentally to be able to handle that. My job as the coach is to help our players handle that, all it does is prepare us for a National Championship."

Within his three years as the Aggies head coach, Schlossnagle took Texas A&M to two College World Series appearances, previously sending the TCU Horned Frogs to five during his 18-year run with the program. Former Texas head coach David Pierce took the Longhorns on three trips to Omaha, most recently in 2022, but fell short this season with a loss to both Texas A&M and Louisiana.

All eyes will be on Schlossnagle as the two teams revive their battered history with new motives and a new opportunity to become national champions.