It’s that time of year! The Texas Aggie baseball team is set to open up the 2026 season on Friday against Tennessee Tech at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. We’re counting down the days with our 2026 Aggie Baseball Preview Series.
Prior to the 2025 baseball season, I would often get asked on the boards or on other shows/podcasts: How could it go wrong? How could that Texas A&M team fall short of expectations?
By now, you'll know how.
Back then, though, the only predictable pothole in a season full of unpredictability was injuries. That didn't take a huge amount of intellectual foresight either. As a sports fan, you know every season is subject to health. Unfortunately for the Aggies, the baseball program has been on the wrong side of that luck going all the way back to the 2024 Bryan-College Station Super Regional, where a bad send and an awkward slide ended Braden Montgomery's A&M career. His broken ankle set off a wild string of injuries.
- Shane Sdao - Elbow
- Jace LaViolette - Hamstring
- Hayden Schott - Knee
- Caden Sorrell - Hamstring
- Gavin Grahovac - Shoulder
- Josh Stewart - Knee
- Gavin Kash - Hamstring
- Weston Moss - Illness
- Caden McCoy - Knee
- Caden Sorrell - Hand
- Jace LaViolette - Hand
- Caden McCoy - Elbow - Out for 2026
All of the above caused those players to miss varying degrees of time from the 2024 Supers against Oregon to the final game vs. LSU in the 2025 SEC Tournament. Look at those names. It's been a brutal stretch.
Avoiding similar circumstances would be a welcome event for head coach Michael Earley and his staff. The good news is that the upcoming campaign should be bolstered by a return to full fitness by a quartet of guys who missed either all or most of last year. However, it will be their return to form that will be one of the biggest factors in propelling A&M back into the national spotlight — for the right reasons.
It's common to wonder if any athlete will be the same after significant injuries. Thus, it's a fair question to suppose before any breakdown occurs. With that in mind, let's take a look at the four veterans coming back from injuries and how a progression for each would appear this spring.
LHP Shane Sdao
• The coaching staff had to do some major sweating last summer when the southpaw spurned serious overtures from professional baseball to return to Aggieland. In his career, Sdao has appeared and succeeded in just about every possible role. His unabated and fearless confidence has been a mainstay of his time on the mound as the pitch arsenal continued to mature. He has the requisite combination of mentality and stuff to lead the line of an SEC pitching staff. There will be questions surrounding endurance and durability after missing all of last season, given his slight frame (which has added weight). Pitchers also typically carry a little trepidation back into live action after an extensive hiatus due to surgery. Sdao’s mindset should help him cross that threshold fairly quickly. In terms of improvements, the only major element I'd like to see is glove-side command with the fastball late in counts. Justin Lamkin mastered it toward the tail end of his time in the Maroon & White, and it took his game to another level. Outside of that, getting back to his old self in terms of shape and analytics, which would find Sdao in the top half of starters in the league.
RHP Josh Stewart
• Coming off an exceptional run of appearances at the Men's College World Series in 2024, Stewart appeared once last season. A couple of hitters into an outing against Cal Poly on a bitterly cold, wet and rainy day at Blue Bell Park, the veteran right-hander slipped awkwardly off the rubber when delivering a pitch. He exited the game and had season-ending surgery shortly after to repair a torn ligament in his knee. The Aggies struggled to finish games on the mound in his absence. Therefore, his re-emergence in Jason Kelly's bullpen will be key to locking down the late innings. Stewart doesn't fake the funk. He throws an elite sweeper. He knows it. The opposition knows it. There's very much a "Here it is. Hit it" thought process to his attack. Because of that, Stewart finding something to his arm side from either a command or shape perspective would be massive. Typically, his fastball creates more mental deception as hitters sit on that aforementioned sweeper. Having a pitch that goes the opposite way could really put people in a pretzel.
INF Gavin Grahovac
• The California native was the 2024 SEC Freshman of the Year after a record-setting first season in Aggieland, in which he played through a banged-up shoulder that was receiving serious treatment during that campaign. Grahovac sat out the ensuing fall while rehabbing a small operation to fix a problem in his wrist and was hopeful that the rest would allow his previous shoulder issues to subside. That hope proved to be ill-placed as Grahovac only lasted a couple of weeks before succumbing to the injury last February and undergoing surgery. The rehab process was arduous, but it has been abundantly clear through late fall and early spring workouts that the talented infielder is getting back to his old self — regularly charting exit velocities over 110 mph. Grahovac has also been splitting his defensive time between his old spot at third base and a new position across the diamond at first. His athleticism and acumen have greatly aided in the transition. We'll see how it translates to game action, but he doesn't seem out of place with the big glove on at all. In the batter's box, it will come down to pitch recognition and swing decisions as it often does with Grahovac. An uptick in out-of-zone slider takes through the first few weeks of the season would be an encouraging sign.
OF Caden Sorrell
• The Aggies were scuffling in a major way last season while Sorrell was on the shelf with that nagging hamstring pull that occurred in the preseason. There was a distinct turnaround once he returned after conference play began, and he swiftly reminded folks that he's one of the better overall players in the SEC. He slugged 12 home runs and had an OPS of 1.219 in only 26 games. On top of that, he put together a highlight reel of catches in the outfield that matched what he did with the leather as a freshman. Sorrell has been as consistent (if not more so) than anyone on the roster. His only major hurdle will be controlling his aggressiveness in the batter's box. Because he's so talented, he can make contact with a ton of pitches. However, just because you can hit it doesn't mean you should. It's similar to Grahovac above, but not altogether the same. Sorrell doesn't have as much chase to his game. He just needs to continue to work on the balance of being patient and aggressive. His willingness to be in ambush mode early in counts means opposing pitchers will want to be careful. Sorrell doesn't need to be in a hurry to move the baseball. His natural ability is plenty trustworthy.
