'Battle-tested' Aggies head to Austin for big-time Lone Star Showdown

Click HERE to view Texas A&M’s Thursday press conference.

They've met in regionals in Houston, Austin and College Station.

They even met in Omaha three years ago.

Of course, they've met on nine random Tuesdays across the last decade.

But for the first time since 2012, Texas A&M (24-16, 8-10) and top-ranked Texas (34-5, 16-2) will meet for a three-game series on the baseball diamond.

“I feel great with where we're at,” Aggie skipper Michael Earley told TexAgs Live. “I understand Texas and the rivalry, which is super important to a lot of people. It's important to us, too, but at the same time, we're playing these road games just like we played the last couple of road games, and we're pretty battle-tested.”

The 2025 Lone Star Showdown at Austin's UFCU Disch-Falk Field begins on Friday at 7 p.m. CT and will continue with 3 p.m. ballgames on Saturday and Sunday.

This is likely the most anticipated regular-season matchup in the 102-year history of the rivalry, in large part due to the events of last June.

Earley's predecessor followed his “write that” statement with next-day betrayal. Then Longhorns waxed uncomfortably about “character and integrity” while buying fiction about a cemetery in Snook.

However, what is very real is Texas' on-field success in 2025.

“They're a pretty sound ball club,” Earley said. “They're going to play clean baseball. They'll play good defense. They're a really good baseball team, and we're going to have our hands full.

“They're just like every other SEC team. You're not going to have more talent than them. You just got to go out and play better baseball.”

The Longhorns have won each of their first six SEC series and currently lead the league by three games over second-place Arkansas.

Further, the steers are 20-3 at home and have won eight straight at the Disch.

However, the Aggies have built a reputation for being road warriors and pulling off upsets in hostile environments.

“Any time you play in big games or big atmosphere or anything, it puts another notch in your belt as far as that comfort level,” Earley said. “Getting to play at a place like Arkansas really hardens you. That is a really, really tough place to play. TV doesn't do it justice. I think those guys being able to get experience right before, you couldn't have asked for a better preparation.”

Remember, three weeks ago, A&M took two of three from then-No. 1 Tennessee in Knoxville. Last week, the Ags again claimed a series at then-No. 2 Arkansas.

Victors of seven of their last eight SEC games, the Aggies are surging at the right time and suddenly find themselves among the hottest college baseball teams in the nation.

Of course, riding this streak for at least another week would, as they say, just mean more.

“It’s truly what you think of when you think of college athletics,” said Ryan Prager, who pitched vs. Texas in last year’s regional. “There’s definitely a buildup to it. There’s a little extra butterflies that roll in there, but once you start playing, it truly does just become a game.”

Jamie Maury

In three career games vs. Texas, Jace LaViolette is 2-for-10 with four runs scored and one driven in. The Aggies have won their last two meetings with the Horns.

Prager (2-2, 4.29 ERA) will get the nod on Friday night, but Texas will be without ace left-hander Jared Spencer (4-1, 3.27 ERA), who is dealing with a shoulder injury that will require season-ending surgery.

Whoever earns Friday's start (RHP Ruger Riojas) for the Burnt Orange will face the tall task of stopping A&M's red-hot offense that's led by Jace LaViolette, Bear Harrison, Wyatt Henseler and Terrence Kiel II but is getting an uptick of production from names like Blake Binderup, Kaeden Kent and Ben Royo.

Likewise, Prager and the Aggie arms will face a lineup that has remained potent despite losing Big 12 Player of the Year Max Belyeu for the season. Catcher Rylan Galvan boasts a team-best 1.257 OPS, while second baseman Ethan Mendoza (.355) and Aggie defection Kimble Schuessler (.323) are both hitting above .320.

“It’s a big rivalry, but we’re trying to play our brand of baseball and just have a good time doing it,” Henseler said. “Play loose. Just have a good time. That has been our message, and I think a lot of my teammates have echoed that throughout the past couple of weeks. We’ve played a lot of big games, it feels like, in big atmospheres, and this is just another one of those.”

A&M's offense is averaging 8.10 runs per game to Texas' 7.69. Meanwhile, Longhorn pitching owns a 3.15 staff ERA compared to the Ags' 4.30 mark.

Like they always are in an SEC series, the margins are slim.

Oh, what a meeting it should be.

“I have no care about who coaches on the other team,” Earley said. “I want to beat ‘em because I want to beat everyone, and I want to beat ‘em because it’s a frickin’ huge game.”