Jim Schlossnagle ready to host A&M's second regional in three years

No. 3 seed Texas A&M and Grambling State will kick off the 2024 Bryan-College Station Regional on Friday afternoon. Ahead of what could be a rainy but exciting weekend, head skipper joined Thursday's edition of TexAgs Radio to offer his thoughts on the competition. 

Key notes from Jim Schlossnagle interview

• I am finishing up Texas prep/video right now. It’s going to be a good one. You have two really good teams coming in. Grambling State has not had a great overall year, but they were awesome in the conference tournament. 
   
• I’m assuming this right-hander, Mason Martinez, who is 12-2, will pitch against us. He has a good feel for the ball. We will have to show patience and not have an ego at the plate. It's different pitching than we have seen all year.
   
• Texas has a couple of really good pitchers. They are right there with us in terms of power.
   
• Louisiana, everyone here in Aggieland knows Matt Deggs well and the aggression they play with on offense. They may have the deepest pitching staff along with us. Right now, I am just praying for the rain to stay away so we can have great crowds. 
   
• When you host a regional, you want all the games to be fun and have a great atmosphere. Hopefully, the rain won't mess with us too badly. We have been sitting around since last week. The guys are ready to go. 
   
• If you have had a bad year, conference tournaments help. I have been there. You get hot, and you start feeling good about yourself. It’s a new season. On the flip side, this season, you go 0-2 in conference tournaments, and you get rest and reset. That bad taste in your mouth goes away, and you start a whole new season. 
   
• This is tournament baseball. We will see high seeds not make it out of a regional, and low seeds play their way to Omaha. That’s what makes baseball frustrating and beautiful. You have to play well. If you don't, your season is over.
   
• It’s a different feeling. It’s triple the work for coaches because you prepare for three teams, and you may not even play one of them. For the players, during a three-game series, you know how the weekend will go, and you just have to win two. In a regional, you have to win three.
   
• I want to get to the point where we don't have regionals. We have 32 best 2-out-of-3 series. You seed the entire NCAA Tournament No. 1 through No. 64. The next weekend is a 2-out-of-3 series, and that's how you get to Omaha. You play three games every weekend. I think it would be better for our sport to do it that way. The regional hosts double. That grows the game. 
   
• It’s been talked about for years. I don't know that it has a lot of movement right now. We see a big change coming, but we don't know what that will look like. There will be a real push to add to the NCAA Tournament. 
   
• You want to stay in the winners’ bracket as long as you can. My goal is to win the tournament, not win a game. You have to take risks. Some of that will depend on the pitcher you are facing. With them well rested, hopefully, you can have guys pitch more than what they are used to. 
   
• There are no run rules in the postseason. You have to play all nine innings, good or bad. That plays a role. 
   
• I am able to share my rotation. I don't know if I want to yet. I don't want to give it out Grambling State is able to share. We will find out at these press conferences later this afternoon. I am sure it will be out there before the day is over. I am not playing any reindeer games. 
   
• Knock on wood, the guys are good. The biggest health positive is Jackson Appel. He has a spring in his step.
   
• Guys like Justin Lamkin, Shane Sdao, and even Ryan Prager do not have as physical bodies as some other guys. We need to get them bigger and stronger. The rest did them well. Evan Aschenbeck needs to be rested cause he will probably pitch a lot. 
   
• I have zero concerns about the younger players because of the league we play in. I told them the second night we lost in Hoover, “Every SEC is prepared to handle any possible thing you through at them. There is no pitcher you will face. There is no pressure. There is no anything you are not prepared for.” They are not playing their tenth game. I have full confidence in all of our players, even the young ones. 
   
• It looks like we are good to go for our game, or at least good enough to get it started tomorrow. It will be one of those weekends where you are fighting the weather. 
   
• There are many times I wish I would have been a basketball coach. You get to wear cool gear like coach Buzz Williams. I am not a three-piece suit guy, but the Peter Millar look is electric.