Texas A&M honors former head coach Rob Childress' No. 29 jersey

Congratulations, Chief!

During Saturday’s inaugural First Pitch Game at Blue Bell Park, it was revealed that Texas A&M baseball is honoring Rob Childress’ No. 29 jersey.

“Whenever you talk to anyone around Texas A&M or anyone who played for Rob Childress — or ‘Chief’ as they call him — it’s nothing but the utmost respect for him,” A&M head coach Michael Earley said. “I actually met Rob about two weeks on the job (as an assistant) at Texas A&M. He introduced himself to me and gave me a ton of advice on things about A&M and told me how great it was, which I thought was super cool and professional for someone to be able to do that.

“How people speak about that man here and how the guys who played for him and how much they love him, I thought there was no one more deserving to have their jersey hanging on the wall at Blue Bell Park.”

While not officially “retired” due to university policy, Childress’ No. 29 is now displayed alongside Tom Chandler’s No. 26 and Mark Johnson’s No. 7 on Olsen Field’s left-field wall.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

Additionally, Texas A&M director of baseball operations Jason Hutchins said he would not issue No. 29, just as No. 26 and No. 7 have been held out of circulation since Childress chose to honor Chandler and Johnson during the 2007 season.

“It really means everything to me, just from the standpoint of what Coach Childress did,” Hutchins said. “He embodied what Texas A&M is — rough, tough, real stuff. He raised great players and produced great teams at the same time.”

Childress, 56, ranked third in program history with 622 wins during a 16-season tenure in College Station that began in 2006. Only Johnson (876) and Chandler (655) had more, and they now have company on Olsen Field’s left field wall.

From 1959 to 2021, that trio guided the Maroon & White to Omaha on five occasions.

Further, Chandler was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991. Johnson followed in 2012.

A similar honor likely (and rightfully) awaits Childress.

The Big 12’s Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2011, Childress’ Aggies won six conference titles, reached two Men’s College World Series (2011, 2017), and hosted six NCAA Regionals and two Super Regionals in Bryan-College Station over the course of 16 seasons.

He also oversaw Aggie baseball through A&M's move from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference and a massive renovation to Olsen Field.

During the Childress era, 84 players signed with MLB organizations, 15 of which reached the big leagues. Nine Aggies — Brooks Raley, Michael Wacha, Ross Stripling, AJ Minter, Michael Helman, Stephen Kolek, Braden Shewmake, Zach DeLoach and Bryce Miller — appeared in at least one MLB game in 2024.

Since 2021, Childress has been on Will Bolt’s staff at Nebraska as the Director of Player Development before becoming the Cornhuskers’ pitching coach in June of 2023, a title he also held before coming to Aggieland in 2005.