All-SEC Aggies: Texas A&M represented by four first-team selections

All-Conference Aggies.

Seven members of the 2024 Fightin’ Texas Aggie baseball team have been chosen as All-SEC selections.

Jackson Appel, Evan Aschenbeck, Jace LaViolette and Braden Montgomery earned first-team honors, while Ryan Prager was a second-team pick.

Further, Gavin Grahovac and Caden Sorrell were an All-Freshman pick, while both LaViolette and Montgomery earned all-defensive team nods.

First-Team

Jackson Appel - Catcher - Senior from Houston, Texas
2024 Stats: 52 games, .332/.554/.423, 38 R, 61 H, 9 HR, 36 RBI

A transfer from Penn, the Ivy Leaguer has an argument that A&M’s “big three” is truly a “big four.” The Aggie backstop often batted with the bases empty, which led to him driving in just 36 RBIs despite hitting a team-leading .332. Appel’s season highlights include a 3-for-5 night at Texas that included a two-run blast to down the Horns, 9-2, and a walk-off homer against UTSA to cap a three-homer night. No stranger to all-conference honors, the Houston Memorial product was a 2022 All-Ivy League second-teamer before earning the first-team nod in 2023.

Evan Aschenbeck - Relief Pitcher - Senior from Brenham, Texas
2024 Stats: 24 appearances, 5-1, 7 saves, 1.80 ERA, 55.0 IP, 13 R, 11 ER, 7 BB, 64 K

The Brenham Bell Cow bolstered the A&M bullpen all season long. Aschenbeck is a Stopper of the Year candidate, and for good reason. Among qualifiers (1.0 IP per team game played), Aschenbeck led the Aggies in ERA (1.80) and WHIP (0.87). Described by Jim Schlossnagle as A&M’s “all-time pitcher,” when Aschenbeck entered the contest, it meant the ballgame was usually over for A&M’s opponent. Of the 24 games he pitched in, the Aggies won 21 of them. All-American honors should follow for one of the nation’s top relievers.

Jace LaViolette - Outfielder - Sophomore from Katy, Texas
2024 Stats: 55 games, .324/.817/.454, 77 R, 69 H, 28 HR, 72 RBI

• 2024 SEC All-Defensive Team

All hail, Lord Tubbington! After an incredible All-SEC freshman campaign in 2023, LaViolette eclipsed his home run total by slugging 28 in 55 regular-season contests this spring. Launching 21 a year ago, he is the first Aggie to enjoy back-to-back 20 home run seasons. With 49 career longballs, he is one round-tripper away from being the third Aggie to reach the 50-homer plateau. Further, LaViolette made the move from left field to center, where he boasts a perfect fielding percentage on 131 attempts with one outfield assist.

Braden Montgomery - Outfielder - Junior from Madison, Mississippi
2024 Stats: 55 games, .325/.769/.463, 61 R, 69 H, 26 HR, 80 RBI

• 2024 SEC All-Defensive Team

It’s safe to say he lived up to the hype. No stranger to all-conference or even All-American honors, Montgomery shined in his first (and likely only) season in Maroon & White. He leads (fourth nationally) the SEC in RBIs with 80 and fifth in the SEC (seventh nationally) in home runs with 26. Montgomery’s best series of the year was a 7-for-14 explosion with four home runs vs. Auburn, for which he was named the SEC’s Player of the Week. The Stanford transfer came to A&M with high expectations, and after an impressive year in Aggieland, he will likely become just the eighth A&M position player to become a first-rounder when the 2024 MLB Draft begins on July 14.

Second-Team

Ryan Prager - Starting Pitcher - Redshirt Sophomore from Dallas, Texas
2024 Stats: 14 starts, 8-1, 2.47 ERA, 76.2 IP, 25 R, 21 ER, 13 BB, 104 K

The epitome of an ace, Prager returned from Tommy John surgery and blossomed under first-year pitching coach Max Weiner. As A&M’s Friday night guy, No. 18 pieced together a brilliant regular season with an 8-1 record and an impressive 2.47 ERA in 14 starts. Inside the friendly confines of Blue Bell Park, the lefty owns an unblemished 6-0 record with a teeny tiny 0.92 home ERA. With 104 strikeouts, he is the first Aggie to reach the century mark since 2021. Prager’s season standouts include a complete-game shutout on April 12 in a 15-0 Aggie run-rule of Vanderbilt and matching All-SEC first-teamer Hagen Smith frame-for-frame on May 16, which earned him his only SEC Pitcher of the Week accolade of 2024.

Freshman All-SEC Team

Gavin Grahovac - Third Baseman - Freshman from Orange, California
2024 Stats: 54 games, .322/.634/.417, 72 R, 73 R, 19 HR, 59 RBI

• 2024 SEC Freshman of the Year

A big season for an even bigger fish, Grahovac is the second Aggie to win SEC Freshman of the Year, joining Braden Shewmake in 2017. A two-time SEC Freshman of the Week (April 15 & April 22), he belted 19 home runs and is one big postseason swing away from completing the first-ever 20-homer trio in A&M history. A productive leadoff man with plenty of pop, Grahovac’s 72 runs rank second on the club behind only LaViolette. He is also an imposing 6-foot-2, 220-pound force that will likely man the hot corner for the Maroon & White until the time comes for his name to be selected in the early stages of the 2026 MLB Draft.

Caden Sorrell - Outfielder - Freshman from Highland Village, Texas
2024 Stats: 49 games, .293/.594/.392, 36 R, 39 H, 8 HR, 33 RBI

Entering the starting lineup for good in the series finale vs. Mississippi State on March 23, Sorrell bolstered A&M’s outfield defense as well as the bottom third of the lineup. Making numerous impressive grabs in left, Sorrell’s crowning achievement was his home run robbery of Parker Noland at South Carolina topped the SportsCenter Top 10 on April 6. The Marcus Marauder was also named the SEC’s Freshman of the Week on April 29, following a solid 7-for-13 week against Houston and Georgia.

2024 All-SEC Team

First-Team
C: Jackson Appel, Texas A&M
1B: Jac Caglianone, Florida
2B: Christian Moore, Tennessee
3B: Charlie Condon, Georgia
SS: Justin Lebron, Alabama*
SS: David Mershon, Mississippi State*
OF: Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M
OF: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
OF: Dylan Dreiling, Tennessee
SP: Hagen Smith, Arkansas
SP: Khal Stephen, Mississippi State
RP: Evan Aschenbeck, Texas A&M
DH/UT: Ike Irish, Auburn*
DH/UT: Nick Lopez, Kentucky*

Second-Team
C: Cole Messina, South Carolina
1B: Blake Burke, Tennessee
2B: Peyton Stovall, Arkansas
3B: Tommy White, LSU
SS: Wehiwa Aloy, Arkansas
OF: Kavares Tears, Tennessee
OF: Ryan Waldschmidt, Kentucky
OF: Dakota Jordan, Mississippi State
SP: Ryan Prager, Texas A&M
SP: Luke Holman, LSU
RP: Griffin Herring, LSU
DH/UT: Andrew Fischer, Ole Miss

Freshman All-SEC Team
Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M
Gabe Gaeckle, Arkansas
Justin Lebron, Alabama
Dean Curley, Tennessee
Tre Phelps, Georgia
Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M
Zane Adams, Alabama
Steven Milam, LSU
Ashton Larson, LSU
Cade Belyeu, Auburn
Liam Peterson, Florida
Nolan Souza, Arkansas

SEC All-Defensive Team
C: Fernando Gonzalez, Georgia
1B: Blake Burke, Tennessee
2B: Emilien Pitre, Kentucky
3B: Jared Sprague-Lott, Arkansas*
3B: Mitchell Daly, Kentucky*
SS: Justin Lebron, Alabama
OF: Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M
OF: Kavares Tears, Tennessee
OF: Peyton Holt, Arkansas*
OF: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
P: Mason Moore, Kentucky

Player of the Year: Charlie Condon, Georgia
Pitcher of the Year: Hagen Smith, Arkansas
Freshman of the Year: Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Drew Beam, Tennessee
Coach of the Year: Nick Mingione, Kentucky

* - Ties (not broken)