Texas A&M Aggies
Overall Rank: #29
Conference Rank: #8 SEC
Texas A&M punched their ticket to Omaha in 2017 as they went on the road in the Houston Regional and took care of the business by knocking out the Cougars on their homefield. Then, in the Super Regionals, it was a showdown with Davidson, which was the Cinderella story of the NCAA Tournament after they eliminated number two national seed North Carolina. The Aggies outlasted the Wildcats in two hard fought games and took advantage of their opportunities and advanced to the College World Series. A balanced mix of pitching and five returning starting position players should set Texas A&M for another trip to the NCAA Tournament.
2017: 41-23, 16-14
2017 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Rob Childress
Key Departed Players:
Nick Choruby, OF,.321 BA, 3 HR, 33 RBI, 11 SB
Blake Kopetsky, OF, .302 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBI
Corbin Martin, P, 3.80 ERA, 87.2 IP, 38 BB, 95 SO
Brigham Hill, P, 3.15 ERA, 100.0 IP, 31 BB, 111 SO
Key Returning Players:
Braden Shewmake 2B So. .328 BA, 11 HR, 69 RBI
Cole Bedford C, .301 BA, 3 HR, 26 RBI
Hunter Coleman C/1B, .283 BA, 5 HR, 22 RBI
Logan Foster OF, .280 BA, 6 HR, 24 RBI
George Janca, IF.261 BA, 6 HR, 30 RBI
Kaylor Chafin, P, 2.33 ERA, 77.1 IP, 72 SO, 3 SV
Cason Sherrod, P, 2.89 ERA, 43.2 IP, 38 SO
Stephen Kolek, P, 3.79 ERA, 90.1 IP, 82 SO
Landon Miner, P, 2.55 ERA, 24.2 IP, 16 SO
Mitchell Kilkenny, P, 3.67 ERA, 56.1 IP, 56 SO
John Doxakis, P, 5.44 ERA, 49.2 IP, 51 K
Projection:
Texas A&M is not going to have any problems scoring runs as Braden Shewmake is back to lead a deep lineup in 2018. Shewmake hit .328 with 11 homeruns and drove in 69 runs last season for the Aggies. George Janca, Logan Foster, Hunter Coleman, and Cole Bedford are also very capable of hitting the ball out of the ballpark as they combined for 20 homeruns and 102 runs batted in. A good target for this quartet will be 25-30 homeruns and 150-160 runs batted in. The pitching staff brings back quality depth and talent. However, there is a need to find a couple of weekend starters to replace Corbin Martin and Brigham Hill and their 187.2 innings of work. Stephen Kolek should be back in the weekend rotation and could end up as the Friday night starter. Kaylor Chaffin and Cason Sherrod are also in the conversation to take over as the ace of the staff and should get the first shot to lock down spots in the weekend rotation. Look for Texas A&M to get back to the NCAA Tournament but they will have some challenges to overcome along the way.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
