Mitchell Nau 2012-2015



Mitchell split time between DH and catcher his freshman year while appearing in 28 games hitting .217 with 13 RBIs; three of those RBIs came against Missouri in the Big 12 tournament. In 42 games during the Aggies' first season in the SEC, he hit .218 with his first two collegiate home runs. Despite his .218 batting average, when Mitchell came to the plate with the bases loaded, he hit .800 with 7 RBIs on the year. His batting average improved to .274 during the 2014 season while splitting time behind the plate with Troy Stein, and he connected for a pinch-hit three-run home run against Columbia to help the Ags win 8-7 in 11 innings. Mitchell committed himself to lose over 15 pounds during the 2014 offseason, and he took over as the primary DH for the Aggies in 2015. He currently leads the team with a .377 batting average and has connected for four home runs and 45 RBIs. After a slow start against SEC competition, Mitchell finished the regular season hitting .333 in the conference. There is a good chance with his improvement and the fact that he can play catcher that he will see some draft consideration this June.

A.J. Minter 2013-2015(?)




Alex Jordan Minter turned down a 39th round draft selection in 2012 from the Detroit Tigers to come to Texas A&M. During his freshman season, he made 26 appearances out of the bullpen as a lefty specialist compiling 13.0 innings with 16 strikeouts. He again made 26 appearances out of the bullpen in 2014, but this time he was no longer in just to face lefties. In his 24.1 innings of work, he struck out 24 batters and recorded a 3-0 record with two saves and a 1.95 ERA. Against SEC competition, A.J. did not allow a single run. He earned his first collegiate save the hard way by coming in to face Arkansas with the bases loaded and no outs to preserve a 6-5 lead; he got out of the jam by striking out the first two batters he faced. This past summer for Team USA, A.J. made nine appearances and recorded a 0.00 ERA in 12.1 innings of work. When Tyler Stubblefield went down with a knee injury before the 2015 season started, A.J. took over as the Friday starter. Before he too went down with an injury, A.J. went 2-0 with 29 strikeouts in 21.0 innings with a 0.43 ERA during his four starts. A.J. may see himself drafted in the second day rounds of the 2015 draft this summer, and, depending on where he falls, we mau not see him back for his senior season.

Nick Banks 2014-





Nick came to A&M after hitting .531 as a senior in high school. During his Freshman All-American season in 2014, Nick hit .327 with two home runs and 26 RBIs. During SEC competition, Nick upped his average to .360 to finish fourth in the SEC. During the summer, Nick joined A.J. on Team USA and hit .241 with two home runs. After a torrid start to 2015 which saw him hit over .400 up through the LSU series, Nick finished the regular season just behind Mitchell Nau with a .371 batting average. He is tied for the team lead in hits with 73, and he hit five home runs and drove in 39 runners. Nick is rated as one of the best sophomore prospects in the NCAA, and if he continues his hitting prowess, he could project as a first round draft pick in the 2016 MLB draft.

Ryan Hendrix 2014-



Ryan turned down a 17th round draft selection by the Detroit Tigers in 2013 to come play for the Aggies. In his freshman season, he made 11 appearances including one start and posted an 0-2 record with a 7.27 ERA. Ryan joined Mitchell Nau with the Matsu Miners of the Alaskan Baseball League during the summer of 2014 and was selected as the fifth best prospect in the league. That summer he went 3-2 in ten starts with a 2.82 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 51.0 innings. Ryan started off the 2015 strong out of the bullpen posting a sub 1.00 ERA before moving to the Saturday starting position. In his five starts, Ryan went 1-2 with his win coming in the series sweep over Tennessee. Ryan finished the 2015 regular season with a 4-2 record, 4.57 ERA, and 49 strikeouts in 43.1 innings of work.

Tyler Stubblefield 2014-2015(?)



Tyler followed his older brother Gandy to A&M, and they played together on the 2014 A&M squad. Tyler made 11 starts in 17 appearances on the mound and posted a 3.81 ERA with a 4-2 record. Of his four wins, none were bigger than when he pulled a Khalid Ballouli against Texas in the Houston regional to send the Aggies to the Championship game. In the first complete game of his collegiate career, Tyler allowed only four hits and two earned runs with nine strikeouts to hold off Texas 3-2. Highlights of the game, including Tyler's infamous horns down sign at the end can be seen here. After a solid summer with Mitchell and Ryan in the ABL with the Matsu Miners, Tyler locked up Pitcher of the Year and Top Pro Prospect awards for his 5-0 season while striking out 45 batters in 41.2 innings with a 1.08 ERA. Tyler was projected as the Aggies' Friday night starter entering the 2015 season, but a preseason knee injury limited Tyler to only 0.2 innings of work during the 2015 regular season. Those two outs came in the very last game of the regular season against Ole Miss. Tyler is a draft-eligible sophomore for the 2015 MLB draft, and it will be interesting to see how teams will deal with his injury and limited playing time. Tyler was previously drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 36th round of the 2013 MLB draft.

Cole Bedford 2015-



The possible future catcher for the Aggies, Cole was a redshirt during this season. Cole came from Deer Park High School where he was a Perfect Game Texas All-Region First Team honoree for 2014. The 6'0" right-handed hitter should split playing time with Michael Barash in 2016.

Matthew Collins 2015-



Matt, a product of Memorial High School, earned Perfect Game Texas All-Region First Team status his senior year. Matt also replaced current A&M red-shirt Boomer White as a tailback on the Mustang's football team. Matt was the only non-pitching freshman to make any appearances for the Aggies in 2015 as he appeared as a pinch-runner seven times while scoring twice. In his only plate appearance on the year, he struck out. Matt should compete with Nick Banks, J.B.Moss, Nick Choruby, and Boomer White for outfield playing time in 2016.

Brigham Hill 2015-



During his high school career, Brigham posted a 20-2 record. His senior year, he went 10-1 on the mound and hit .500 at the plate. For the Aggies' 2015 regular season, Brigham appeared in seven games and made three starts. He went 1-0 with a 5.30 ERA and struck out 23 batters in 18.2 innings of work. His lone win on the season came against Incarnate Word when he threw 5.1 innings of three-hit ball and recorded nine strike outs. Brigham should compete for a starting rotation position for the 2016 season.

Turner Larkins 2015-



Turner turned down a 28th round draft selection by the Milwaukee Brewers to come to A&M. He will forever be associated with Johnny Manziel as Turner was selected one spot ahead of Johnny in the draft. Turner has had the biggest impact of all the incoming freshmen for the Aggies in 2015 . For the season,Turner made 12 starts in 15 appearances and has posted a 5-1 record with a 3.96 ERA. He started the season as the regular Tuesday night starter, but briefly made starts on Sunday when A.J. Minter went down with season-ending Tommy John surgery. Turner was the pitcher of record for the Aggies' first loss of the 2015 season snapping a 24 game winning streak. Turner should compete for a weekend starting rotation spot for the 2016 season.

Where do we go from here?

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Where do we go from here?

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There's still one day left!

awesome stuff!

Thanks for sharing mr. ackar.

As a fellow Aggie sports fan & collector myself, I have thoroughly enjoyed your posts & pics.

You also gave me some leads on players that I need to add to my collection. :-)

Russ Swan was such a sweet guy. Was so sad to hear when he passed. Ever Magallanes was such a quiet guy. Very sweet too.

Hard to believe Russ and Gary Geiger are both gone.

Good memories.

Y'all are most welcome. This was a lot of fun for me, and I was able to find things I didn't know when going through looking for bio information.

If anyone needs help identifying cards or players, let me know. I may post a list next week of players (which includes Geiger) that have cards, but none of them (at least the ones I've seen) say A&M anywhere on them.

Great thread. Wow. Don't mean to pollute the thread but I found this original photo from Spring 1945 and was wondering if folks on this thread could help me identify any of the players. Thanks in advance.

If I had to guess, I think the guy on the first row, fifth from the left is Ray Katt.

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If I had to guess, I think the guy on the first row, fifth from the left is Ray Katt.

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Yes, thanks, that is Ray Katt. Haha...just noticed the little dog in the middle of the picture.

Having been caught up in all the Aggie baseball lately, reminded me of some old photos I had.. what fun times those were!

this is a large portion of the 1986 baseball team. I can remember all names except three... They were great guys.

Ever Magallanes, Gary Geiger, Pat Wernig
Blake Hutchinson, ??, ??,Maury Martin, Robi Chandler, Dale Berry, Jimmy ??, Russ Swan,
David ??, ?? (pitcher)

Since I last posted, I've managed to pick up cards for 14 new Aggies, so I thought I would gradually show those off and then post some of the better pick ups of other players already showcased.

Steve "Hoot" Johnigan 1984-1985



Steve, a native of Bryan, transferred from Bee County Junior College and made an immediate impact for the Aggies behind the plate. In 1984, he finished second on the team with a .355 average and had the game winning hit in the top of the 14th inning against Rice to propel the Aggies to the SWC championship game against Texas. After the 1985 season, Steve was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 25th round. He spent three seasons within the Indians' organization before finishing his degree at A&M while serving as a student coach. Finding his passion for coaching, Johnigan served as the assistant coach at Mississippi State University for three years. Along with former A&M graduate assistant coach Steve Smith, Johnigan made the move to Baylor where he has been for the last twenty years. Steve's .352 career batting average while at Texas A&M still ranks as 6th best overall.

Steve Smith, Graduate Assistant Coach



After a collegiate career at Baylor, and a professional career in the San Francisco Giants' organization, Steve found his way to Texas A&M as a Graduate Assistant Coach in 1988. After the 1989 season, Steve moved on to Mississippi State University as an assistant coach and helped the Bulldogs to the 1990 College World Series. At MSU, Steve was reunited with Steve Johnigan, and they spent three seasons together before Steve Smith brought Johnigan with him to Baylor for the 1995 baseball season. As the head coach for Baylor, Steve took the Bears to 13 post seasons including a 2005 trip to the College World Series. After a disappointing 2015 season, Baylor decided to part ways with Steve, but he left Baylor as the all-time wins leader in school history. With the Aggies picking up the win against Baylor last year at the Houston College Classic, the Aggies moved to 32-31 against Steve Smith's Bears.


I apologize for cluttering this thread with MSU logos...

Todd Deininger 2000-2002



Already a gold medalist for the USA Junior National Team before stepping foot on the Texas A&M campus, Todd led the A&M staff in strike outs as a freshman starter in the rotation. During one of his few relief appearances that year, he picked up a save against Texas tossing the last 1.2 innings. Todd experienced a sophomore slump in 2001, but still managed better than a strike out an inning, and he threw a two-hit shutout against Kansas State. Todd only pitched 12.1 innings his junior year, but the Chicago White Sox saw fit to take him in the 9th round of the 2002 MLB draft. Todd spent 3 years in the minor leagues mostly as a reliever.

Coby Mavroulis 2002-2005



Coby started his collegiate career off on a hot streak hitting safely in 16 of his first 18 games including a three run effort against Rice in his Aggie debut. After a back injury cut his sophomore season short, Coby came back in 2004 hitting .321 including a two out three run home run in the top of the 9th inning to beat Nebraska 7-6. As a senior, Coby finished second in home runs, one behind Cliff Pennington, and was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 21st round of the 2005 MLB draft. Despite never pitching for the Aggies, Coby was drafted as a pitcher and spent three seasons in the minors and one in the independent leagues before retiring from professional baseball. Gabe caught up with Coby in 2014 on Aggie Flashback which can be found here.

Rafael Pineda 2011-2013



After a red shirt freshman season and a stellar collegiate summer league performance, Rafael manned the Sunday starter role for the 2012 Aggies going 5-1 with a 2.71 ERA. In his very first start, Rafael took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Rafael turned down a 40th round draft selection by the Cincinnati Reds in 2012 and came back to Olsen field to post a 6-5 record with a 3.23 ERA. After the 2013 season, Rafael signed as a 30th round draft selection by the Seattle Mariners, and he has spent the last 3 seasons in their minor league season. Rafael made a brief appearance for Seattle's AAA affiliate, but he has established himself as a dependable reliever advancing through High A last season. His dad, also Rafael Pineda, has a few minor league cards from the 1980s floating around from his time spent in the Angels' organization.

Troy Stein 2011-2014



Troy made a few spot starts for the Aggies his freshman year, but his biggest accomplishment was when he hit a walk-off RBI single against Kansas in the 10th inning. He made a huge impact behind the plate in 2012 hitting .304. He upped his game against Big XII opponents that season hitting .321 including a 6 for 9 effort in the series against Texas. The move to the SEC didn't slow Troy down as he hit .317 against SEC opponents, this time going 6 for 9 in a series against Ole Miss. Troy returned in 2014 for his senior year and hit .291 for the Aggies, and he scored 4 runs in a game against Alabama, his second time to do so against an SEC opponent. He finished his collegiate career by logging more than 1,000 putouts, good enough for 5th on the Texas A&M all-time list. The Colorado Rockies took Troy in the 10th round of the 2014 MLB draft, and he has spent the last two seasons working in their minor leagues, finishing 2015 at their High A affiliate.

Jason Jester 2013-2014



Jason played at Tyler Junior College in 2010 and 2011, but he sat out the 2012 season before playing for the Aggies. During his first season with the Aggies, Jason was the primary closer racking up a 2.47 ERA with 14 saves to beat Scott Beerer's single season saves record by one. He was not able to repeat his success for the 2014 season, but by picking up 3 more saves, he moved into second place on the Aggies' all-time saves list with 17. The San Diego Padres took Jason as their 23rd round pick, and he has spent the last two season working as a closer.

Matt Kent 2012-2015



After a redshirt freshman season, Matt showed signs of things to come by only allowing 2 walks in 36.2 innings of work primarily as a reliever. Matt made 4 starts the next season posting a 2.77 ERA in 13 innings in those outings while compiling a 3.15 ERA in 45.2 innings overall on the season. Matt stepped up his game as a weekend starter in 2015 posting a 9-1 record with a 2.76 ERA. He had the best stretch of his collegiate career once the regular season ended encompassing 4 starts in the SEC tournament and NCAA Regional and Super Regional. Against Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament, Matt pitched a 4-hit 1-run complete game to secure a victory over future first-round draft pick Carson Fulmer. He followed that up with an easy 7.0 innings of shutout baseball against Texas Southern in the first game of the College Station Regional striking out 9 batters. Only 3 days later, Matt won the Regional championship game against California pitching another 7.0 innings allowing only 1 run. To cap off his collegiate career, Matt toed the rubber in game 2 of the Fort Worth Super Regional shutting out TCU over 7.2 innings, helping the Aggies to a win in 10 innings. The Boston Red Sox took Matt in the 13th round of the 2015 MLB draft, and he carried that momentum over to professional baseball beginning his career with a 7-1 record with a 1.86 ERA over 48.1 innings.

Grayson Long 2013-2015




Turning down a 39th round selection by the Seattle Mariners, Grayson made 10 starts, mostly midweek, for the Aggies yielding a 4-2 record. Grayson improved his sophomore year while starting 15 weekend games going 6-2 with a 3.12 ERA. He started off that year with a 19.1 inning scoreless streak, but he only managed 1 win during that span. For his junior year, Grayson did not lose a start until the Fort Worth Super Regional; he finished the season with a 9-1 record striking out 106 batters in 95.2 innings. His 106 strike outs that year left him 1 short of joining the Texas A&M career 200-K club. The Los Angeles Angels drafted Grayson in the 3rd round of the 2015 draft, and he enters 2016 ranked as the 6th best prospect in their organization.

Logan Taylor 2013-2015



Logan started his collegiate career as an infielder manning the hot corners during his 22 games. Logan moved to shortstop his sophomore year and hit .269 with his first collegiate homerun. He came into his own with the bat his junior year hitting .333 and tied for the team high in homeruns with 10; he also led the Aggies with 52 RBIs. Logan once again was asked to change positions as he was the everyday leftfielder for 2015. The Seattle Mariners took Logan in the 12th round of the 2015 MLB draft, and he spent his first professional season with the short-season A affiliate hitting .267 with 4 homeruns.

Ty Schlottmann 2012-2016



Ty sat out the 2012 season as a redshirt before he started his collegiate career with 8 shutout relief appearances as a lefty specialist. Ty played a more significant role in 2013 as he appeared in 24 games striking out 26 batters in 31.1 innings while maintaining a 2.59 ERA. His best weekend that season came against Mississippi State where he picked up 2 saves. Ty reverted back to the lefty specialist role last year making 32 appearances out of the pen. In 2016, Ty, along with Andrew Vinson and Kyle Simonds, will lead a deep pitching staff as a senior.

Kyle Simonds 2015-2016



Kyle came to Texas A&M last year as a junior college transfer from Hutchinson Community College where he was named the NJCAA Division I Pitcher of the Year. For the Aggies, Kyle bounced between roles as a starter and reliever when needed going 3-2 with a 2.39 ERA in 22 appearances, 5 starts. Of the 8 games the Aggies played in the NCAA regional and super regionals, Kyle appeared in 4 of them throwing 4.2 innings allowing no runs and only 3 batters to reach base. Kyle figures to be in the weekend rotation for the Aggies this year.

Corbin Martin 2015-



An Under Armour All-American in high school, Corbin joined the Aggies and made 14 appearances his freshman year. During the season, Corbin pitched 18.1 innings striking out 21 batters and finished with a 2.95 ERA. He was just as good against SEC competition as he was out-of-conference sporting a 2.70 ERA through 5 games without allowing an extra base hit. Corbin carried his success over to the Alaska Baseball League last summer where he allowed no earned runs in 16 appearances; that summer he struck out 27 batters in 21.2 innings. Look for Martin to play a big role for the Aggies in 2016.

Tyler Ivey 2016-



Part of a Top 10 ranked recruiting class, Tyler could play a role as a starter for the Aggies even as a freshman. Tyler was an All-American as an underclassman in high school and was ranked as the 22nd best junior in the state of Texas two years ago. Tyler's fastball can reach the low to mid 90s, and he had success against his fellow Aggie batters during the fall scrimmages. You can see video of Tyler's fastball and breaking pitch from 2 years ago in this clip that was created for the 2015 MLB draft here.

And now for some of the better pickups I've had over the past year:

I was able to acquire these Topps Baseball Card contracts of Doug Rau and Rick Luecken




This Leaf Buyback is the only 1/1 card that Scott Livingstone has out there (to the best of my knowledge)



I'm not sure why, but these two gold parallels of Jeff Granger and Kelly Wunsch were hard to track down



I found a copy of Eric Gonzalez's other Independent League baseball card

So apparently the image code for this card just so happens to have the F word spelled out, so I will have to re-upload it tonight and include it with tomorrow's cards.

And I found Brian Thomas' other collegiate summer league card



I was also able to greatly expand my Japanese baseball card collection for Davey Johnson, Trey Moore, Kevin Beirne, and Ryan Rupe

These are the first baseball cards of Cliff Pennington featuring him in a Texas A&M uniform.



This is Blake Stouffer's only 1/1 card in existence



I found an Alex Wilson 1/1 from 2009, and then Panini released this card last year with the same picture



I was able to fill in part of a Barret Loux rainbow as well this past year



Hopefully this Eric Gonzalez picture works this time

A.J. Minter has been busy signing autographs for Panini during the last 6 months



Ryan Hendrix has been busy too. These are his first certified autographs.



I found out that there was a guy who collected Tyler Naquin and Ross Stripling, but not because they were Aggies. He finally decided to part with his (and stop buying other) high end Naquins, so in a short while, I went from 0 1/1s to 8. Sadly, he still collects Stripling.




Somebody found out I collect Zach Jackson, so he offered me the following:




Unlike the Ruggiano and Raley jerseys, this one is certified game used from 2006. This was the Sunday throwback jersey that the Brewers used. Zach actually made his MLB debut in a similar jersey.


And last but not least, that same guy also had this lying around:




It appears to be this glove, or a similar one as seen in this photo.

Anybody ready for some Aggie Baseball?

Leading up to opening weekend, I'll share the 27 new players and students I have found cards for as well as some of the better pickups I've had over the past year.


Lanning Tucker, Student



Lanning earned his Bachelor's degree from Texas A&M in 1987, and then went on to earn his Master's degree from the United States Sports Academy. Lanning was hired out of the Academy by the Minnesota Twins where he served at various levels of their minor league system from 1992 to 1998. For the next 13 years, he served as the Head Minor League Athletic Trainer and Rehab Coordinator overseeing all of their minor league affiliates. In 2013, Lanning "got the call" to the majors where he has spent his time in the Twins' dugout as the Assistant Trainer and Rehab Coordinator. During his career, he has helped almost two dozen pitchers recover from Tommy John surgery. He also occasionally gets the opportunity to play catch with MLB players as seen here: Youtube video. He can currently be seen from time to time on the field during a major league game when needed to assess a player that was just injured.


Brent Gilbert 1989-1990




The former "Mr. Angleton High School" came to Texas A&M via Blinn Junior College after turning down a 9th round draft selection by the Toronto Blue Jays. During the 1989 season, Brent appeared in 9 games, 3 starts, compiling a 3-0 record with a 3.04 ERA. His lone save that season came against Northeast Louisiana. Brent returned for the 1990 season appearing in 12 games while starting 8. After compiling a 4-3 record that season, Brent was once again selected in the 9th round of the MLB draft, this time by the New York Yankees. He spent parts of 3 seasons within the Yankees minor league system before retiring from baseball.

Pat "Nolie" Sweet 1989-1990



A California native, Pat turned down offers from Cal State Long Beach and Pepperdine to transfer to Texas A&M from Cerritos Junior College. The 1989 team benefitted immensely from Pat as he was slotted into the Friday night starter role for the season. During the 1989 season, he led the Aggies in complete games with 6, innings pitched with 116 (which was 2nd most at the time), and placed second in wins with 10. Pat struggled his senior year posting a 6-5 record while recording only 3 complete games. After graduation, Pat appeared in 4 games for the Salt Lake City Trappers of the Pioneer League before ending his baseball career.

Blake Pyle 1988-1991



A red-shirt freshman in 1987, Blake would see action in only 9 games in 1988. He broke out in 1989 hitting .378 in 22 games including a game-winning RBI with 2 outs in the 6th inning against Arkansas helping the Ags to a 3-2 win; a win that clinched a share of the SWC regular season title. During 1990, Blake served as Team Captain while appearing in 50 games and hitting .279 while moving between first base and catcher. Blake's lone home run of the season was a 2-out, 3-run shot to in the 8th to power the Aggies past Mizzou 9-6. When playing first, Blake would routinely acknowledge the Raggies during warm-ups between innings. Blake repeated as Team Captain his senior year, playing in 58 of the Aggies' 67 games. Blake was never drafted during his time at Texas A&M.

Sittichoke "Choke" Huckuntod 1991



Choke, in no way a demeaning nickname, was an instant fan favorite at Olsen Field. The Central Missouri State transfer earned All-Southwest Conference honors during his lone season for the Aggies. During the season, fans in the upper deck tracked Choke's batting average through the Huck-o-meter which finished at .295; during SWC play though, he hit at a whopping .361 clip. Sittichoke's baseball career began at the age of 5 when his stepfather, a US serviceman, brought Choke along with his mother to the US and bought him a baseball glove. While at A&M, Choke worked on his industrial engineering degree, eventually graduating in 1992. He was one of the financial contributors for the covered batting facility that was installed at Olsen Field.

James "Jim" Nix 1992



Jim, a transfer from McLennan Community College, is mysteriously missing from the bios in the 1992 media guide. He did, however, play an important role for the 1992 team by leading the pitching staff in wins despite not starting a single game. His 11 wins during 1992 are tied with 11 other players for 12th most in a single season. During his 28 appearances, Jim notched a 2.75 ERA and converted 6 of the 9 saves the Aggies recorded that season. Jim was even better during SWC play, recording a 2.34 ERA and earning 9 of his 11 wins. During the series against the Houston Cougars, he was the winning pitcher during both games of the Saturday doubleheader. That season earned him SWC conference honors as well as 3rd team All-America. Jim was drafted in the 19th round by the Cincinnati Reds and spent 7 seasons in the minors reaching as high as AAA.

Scott Smith 1991-1993



Scott turned down a 55th round draft selection by the Houston Astros in order to attend Texas A&M where he sat out the 1991 season as a red-shirt. Scott started the 1992 season on a tear hitting .368 before a kinesiology class injury sidelined him. He came back with a two-run home run but finished the year with a .255 average. Scott rebounded his junior year and hit .290; he hit at a .371 clip in SWC play but was not one of the 7 Aggies selected for SWC honors that year. That summer he signed as a 65th round draft selection by the Seattle Mariners and spent the next 5 years playing minor league baseball. He reached as high as AA before retiring.

Chance Corgan 2005-2006



Chance started his freshman year out of the bullpen, but was moved to a starting role by year end. He finished the season 4-3 with a 4.55 ERA. After 10 more starts his sophomore season with a 4-2 record, Chance transferred to TCU where he was selected in the 5th round of the 2007 MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants. He spent 3 years in the minors and 1 season in Independent League baseball before retiring.

Kenny Shuman, Student



After acquiring his undergrad from TCU, Kenny came to Texas A&M for his MS in Sport and Fitness Administration. He joined the Independent League Fort Worth Cats in 2007, as their trainer, helping them achieve their second consecutive American Association championship. When Kenny wasn't busy with the Cats, he spent his time with the All Saint's Episcopal School in Fort Worth.

J.B. Moss 2013-2016



Mainly a defensive replacement his freshman year, J.B. appeared in 26 games but only made 12 trips to the plate. He saw more action as a sophomore making starts in left and right field with a .262 batting average. His biggest series of the season came against Northeastern where he hit his lone home run. He started his junior year off on the right foot by going 6 for 20 with 10 walks, 10 runs, and 10 RBIs through the first 7 games. All of J.B.'s starts that year came in centerfield. After starting the 2016 season in the nine hole, J.B. was quickly moved to leadoff where he finished the season hitting .318 with 6 home runs. Moss helped set the table for Boomer, Banks, Birk, and Melton as they managed to help him score 67 runs on the season which lead the SEC. J.B.'s 83 hits on the year, while 2nd on the team were good enough for 10th best in the SEC. J.B. also helped lead the Aggies in 2016 to their first SEC Tournament Championship by going 3 for 5 with 3 runs and 5 RBIs against Florida in the deciding game. Before the season was over, J.B. heard his name called by the Atlanta Braves in the 7th round of the MLB draft. He began his professional career with the Braves' Rookie team hitting .333 and was quickly promoted to their Advanced A team.

Andrew "Binky" Vinson 2013-2016



Andrew came to Texas A&M as a two-way player making a couple starts at second base while also appearing out of the bullpen. In his combined 2 starts at second base, he went 3 for 5 with a double. He earned his first win against Missouri while pitching 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. After his freshman season, Vinson never appeared off the pitching mound again. He was a workhorse from the bullpen the following year making 32 appearances while posting a 2.95 ERA. He was even better against SEC competition with 1.47 ERA over 18.1 innings with victories over Georgia, LSU, and Arkansas. Andrew made another 35 appearances his junior year which led the SEC; included in those appearances were two starts. Over 63.2 innings of work, he notched 5 wins and 64 strikeouts with a 2.12 ERA and 5 saves. Once again, Andrew was even better against the SEC posting a 1.45 ERA over 37.1 innings of work. In his biggest game of the season, Vinson helped a struggling pitching rotation catch its breath as he made an elimination game start against Coastal Carolina in the College Station regional pitching 7.2 innings of scoreless baseball to pick up the victory. After a stellar senior season, including earning the SEC Tournament win over Florida, Andrew left Texas A&M with the all-time career record in appearances with 105. He also finished 13th all-time in career ERA at 2.59. Andrew was selected in the 10th round by the Los Angeles Angels, exactly a full round after the Angels took his battery mate, Michael Barash. In his first season in the minors, Andrew split time between Rookie ball and A ball posting a 3.65 ERA.

Ryne Birk 2014-2016



As a true freshman, Ryne played in 37 games covering second base, third base, left field, and designated hitter. He hit .306 and was second on the team in both slugging (.441) and on-base percentage (.391). Off the bench that season, Ryne hit .500 scattering 6 hits over 12 at-bats; the biggest pinch-hit was a bases clearing triple against Vanderbilt helping the Ags to a 10-4 victory. Ryne saw his average slump his sophomore season, but he logged 10 home runs to tie for the team lead. The everyday second baseman had several big series against SEC competition hitting .600 against Arkansas and .429 with two home runs against South Carolina. Ryne hit .310 his junior year finishing third on the team with 7 home runs; he appeared in all 65 games for the Aggies at second base. For his success, Ryne was selected as an All-American by Baseball America and was selected in the 13th round of the MLB draft by the Houston Astros. He hit .293 with four home runs splitting time between the Astros' A- and A teams.

Mark Ecker 2014-2016





Mark made just four appearances his freshman year, but he held those opponents to a .158 batting average. He logged eight saves his sophomore season through 25 games and 33.0 innings; four of those saves came in an 11 day stretch. His biggest outing of the season came in the winner-to-Omaha rubber game against TCU when he threw 4.0 innings of shutout baseball allowing just four batters to reach base. Mark was almost untouchable his junior year. Through 25 games and 46.2 innings of work, he recorded a 0.39 ERA with 56 strikeouts. If Mark had logged just 3.1 more innings of work, he would have bested John Stilson's all-time single season ERA mark by 0.41, and, had he recorded just 15.1 more innings of work for his career, his 1.28 career ERA would be just 0.01 points behind Stilson's all-time career mark. As is, he did finish his career tied for the third most career saves with 16. After hearing his name called in the 5th round of the MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers, Mark continued his torrid season by posting a 0.98 ERA with 9 saves and 31 strikeouts over 27.2 innings split between the Tigers' A- and A teams. He is currently ranked as the Tigers' 28th best prospect by mlb.com.

Ronnie Gideon 2014-2016



Ronnie played in 21 games as a freshman, and his biggest hit happened to be the only home run he would hit that season. That home run gave the Ags the lead in the 8th innings against 5th ranked LSU to win the series. Ronnie split time at third base his sophomore season with senior Logan Nottebrok. Ronnie opened that season on a tear hitting .533 with two home runs and eleven RBIs against Holy Cross. He would go on to hit .294 with seven home runs on the year, but upped his game against SEC competition hitting at a .349 clip. Gideon transitioned into more of a DH role as a junior and smacked 5 home runs in limited playing time. Ronnie, who is actually a Junior, followed in his father's footsteps as a professional baseball player when he signed as a 23rd round draft choice by the Milwaukee Brewers. In his first 59 games with their Rookie League team, Ronnie smashed 17 home runs while hitting .321. Those stats earned him various All-Star recognitions as well as two player of the week awards.

Michael Barash 2015-2016



After skipping his high school senior baseball season, Michael enrolled at LSU and appeared in 18 games with a home run. To see more playing time, Barash made the decision to transfer to Palm Beach State Junior College for his sophomore year, and by season end had earned all-conference honors. His recruiting trip to Texas A&M in May of 2014 coincided with LSU's trip to College Station for the weekend series. After LSU Coach Paul Mainieri gave Rob Childress a stellar recommendation, Michael signed with A&M to finish out his college career. Michael anchored catching duties once Mitchell Nau made the full time move to designated hitter, and Michael responded with a .238 batting average and two home runs. His first home run as an Aggie came at Minute Maid Park against Houston in the Houston College Classic. Returning for his senior season, Michael hit .324 over 60 games, and his biggest hit came against a renewed rivalry with Texas when he sent the Ags home with a walk-off home run to lead off the ninth. That shot can be seen here: Michael was chosen by the Los Angeles Angels in the 9th round of the MLB draft, and was just announced as a non-roster invitee to the Angels Spring Training camp in Tempe, Arizona.

Boomer White 2015-2016



Boomer, who wanted to be an Aggie so bad that he was willing to sit out a full year to transfer from TCU, made an impact with the first at bat of his Aggie career. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Boomer lifted the ball over the left field wall and became an instant fan favorite. He didn't stop there during his lone season in maroon and white. Boomer went on the set an SEC record with 57 hits in league play. In doing so, he led the SEC during conference play in batting average (.467), on-base percentage (.524), and slugging percentage (.648). At the end of the season, he became the first Aggie honored with the SEC Player of the Year award. Boomer was selected in the 10th round of the MLB draft by the San Diego Padres and made the difficult decision to leave Texas A&M to pursue a pro career. Playing for the Padres short-season team, Boomer hit .231 over 61 games.

Chad Alexander?

Republic Of TEXAgS said:

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Chad Alexander?

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Despite spending 7 years in AAA, Chad never got called up to the majors. The list I provided earlier was just those Aggies that signed out of A&M and had made it to the majors at the time of that post. Stripling, Naquin, and Mengden would be added to that list now.

Jace Vines 2016



A transfer from Tyler Junior College, Jace earned NJCAA Division III Pitcher of the Year honors as a freshman. At Texas A&M, Jace started 11 games and finished the season with a 6-1 record and a 4.76 ERA. In his first start, Jace toed the rubber against Stephen F Austin as the Ags unloaded for 21 runs without hitting a single home run. After that start, he would man the Friday night starter role through the first part of the season pitching his best game the opening night of the LSU series. There he led the Aggies to a 6-1 victory while holding the Tigers to one run over six innings. A draft eligible sophomore, Jace found himself an early pick by the Kansas City Royals who took him in the 4th round. He had a rough start to his professional career and looks to improve during his first full professional season.

Nick Choruby 2014-2017



Nick followed in his father's footsteps when he joined the Texas Aggie baseball team as a freshman in 2014; his dad, Shawn, played for Coach Mark Johnson from 1984 to 1985. Nick was used as a reserve his freshman season, but helped the Aggies in the Rice Regional when he came in to pinch-run and finished the game with a hit and two runs. Nick was utilized as a reserve again his sophomore year scoring 16 runs in 52 games while only starting five. He finally broke into the starting line up on a consistent basis his junior year and responded with a .299 batting average and 13 stolen bases. His most memorable moment came in center field when his diving shoe-string catch with one out in the ninth helped preserve Kyle Simonds' no-hitter against Vanderbilt. The no-hitter was the 11th 12th 13th no-hitter in school history. The highlight catch, which found its way into ESPN's Top 10 that night, can be found here:
Nick will look to anchor a young lineup as one of a handful of seniors for the 2017 season.