Series Preview: 2026 starts with a weekend series vs. Tennessee Tech

Also included above is a TexAgs Live segment with Ryan Brauninger, Richard Zane and Scott Clendenin from Friday morning, previewing this weekend’s series vs. Tennessee Tech.

Who: Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (37-20, 18-9 OVC in 2025)
Where: Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park – Bryan-College Station, Texas
When:

Friday: 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
Saturday: 11 a.m. CT (SEC Network+)
Sunday: 12 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)

Pitching matchups

Friday: LHP Shane Sdao (5-1, 2.96 ERA in 2024) vs. RHP Jaxson Pease (5-3, 4.64 ERA in 2025)
Saturday: RHP Weston Moss (6-3, 3.19 ERA in 2025) vs. LHP Cooper Casteel (6-5, 3.24 ERA at Lee University in 2025)
Sunday: RHP Aiden Sims (1-0, 7.62 ERA in 2025) vs. RHP Logan Moller (3-1, 4.23 ERA in 2025)

Scouting Tennessee Tech

This isn’t the Tennessee Tech team that you remember.

In fact, that club was back in 2018 when the Golden Eagles won the Oxford Regional and came within one win (in Austin, of all places) from making a Cinderella run to the Men’s College World Series.

TexAgs

Despite not reaching the NCAA Tournament since 2018, the Golden Eagles are 2-6 vs. SEC opponents since Matt Bragga’s return in 2022.

Since then, head coach Matt Bragga left Cookeville, presided over three losing seasons at Rice and returned to Tennessee Tech. During that time, the Golden Eagles have not been back to the NCAA Tournament, finishing third in the Ohio Valley Conference a year ago at 18-9 in the league. In fact, that represents the program’s best campaign since winning the OVC’s regular-season crown in, you guessed it, 2018. This year, Tennessee Tech is picked to place fifth in the 10-team conference.

Only one All-OVC returns to the 2026 roster, and that’s senior outfielder Jorsixt Jimenez. Besides being an autocorrect nightmare, Jimenez slashed .315/.423/.506 with six home runs and 35 RBI in 48 games a year ago. He’s Tennessee Tech’s top returning bat as OVC Player of the Year Mack Whitcomb transferred to Vanderbilt, and Jackson Green proved that collegiate athletes can still exhaust their eligibility, even in 2025. Of their eight qualifying hitters from 2025, only three are back (Jimenez, Eddie Garza and Owen Lee), though outfielder Landon Smelser did .309 in 42 games last spring. Lee, a redshirt sophomore infielder, had nine home runs with 37 RBI while hitting .249 as a freshman.

On the mound, Bragga has identified senior right-hander Reece McDuffie as a “player to watch” after the 5-foot-11, 200-pounder finished his third season with a 3.13 ERA to go along with an unblemished 4-0 record. Appearing in 21 games without a single start, McDuffie posted five saves (second behind Juan Vargas, who transferred to A&M). Further, he struck out 28 batters against six walks in 54.2 innings in 2025. Entrenched starter Jaxson Pease was the only Golden Eagle arm with enough innings to qualify for statistical leads, finishing his junior year 5-3 with a 4.64 ERA in 66.0 innings. Walks appear to be something of an issue for the right-hander, with 25 free passes against 52 punchouts. Of the 10 returning arms, McDuffie and Pease are two of just three who had an ERA under 5.00 in 2025.

Texas A&M storylines to watch

Familiar faces in new places, and also new faces in different places. And throw in some baby faces.

Don’t be surprised to see 2024 SEC Freshman of the Year Gavin Grahovac start at first base this weekend and moving forward. After playing over 70 games at the hot corner, the California kid has moved across the diamond, where he is getting comfortable moving around the bag and working with the bigger mitt. Shoulder surgery forced Grahovac to miss A&M’s final 50 games in 2025, but that injury dates back to his rookie campaign. Now completely healthy for the first time in his collegiate career, the 6-foot-3, 230-pounder appears poised for another big season at the plate. All he did in his only full season as an Aggie was set the program’s freshman home run record with 23 in 2024.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

In 71 career games, Gavin Grahovac owns a .980 OPS with 25 home runs and 72 RBI.

In June, Chris Hacopian made waves when he announced his transfer from Maryland to Aggieland. A shortstop and third baseman in College Park, he will begin the year at second base in College Station. Where he plays defensively should not impact his draft profile as long as he hits (see: Travis Bazzana and Christian Moore in 2024), and you can expect him to hit. In two seasons as a Terrapin, Hacopian owned a 1.079 OPS with 29 home runs and 103 RBI in 107 games while picking up Freshman All-American honors in 2024 and an All-Big Ten nod last spring. Along with Grahovac and the ever-dangerous Caden Sorrell (1.219 OPS in 26 games in 2025), the Maryland native rounds out a dangerous top three in the Aggie lineup.

As for the youngsters, A&M’s 2025 signing class was as talented a haul the program has welcomed in recent memory. That will be on display in the Opening Day lineup, especially on the left side of the infield, where true freshmen Nico Partida and Boston Kellner will start at third and short, respectively. A Pearland product, Partida is a two-way player who will see some time on the mound, but the three-time all-state selection will likely make his earliest impact at the plate. To his left, Kellner hails from Arizona and brings a fearless, bulldog mentality to the dirt. Oh, and don’t forget about Jorian Wilson. A new “Hallettsville Hammer,” he looks as if he should be suiting up for Mike Elko, but Wilson’s natural talent is exciting. When he will earn at-bats remains a question.

Speaking of questions, keep an eye on starting pitching. Gone are the security blankets of Ryan Prager and Justin Lamkin, who finished their A&M careers 12th and eighth, respectively, in strikeouts. Recall the tail end of Shane Sdao’s 2024 campaign, where the left-hander appeared to be making a monumental jump towards becoming an elite arm. Friday will be Sdao’s first start in 614 days, so can he recapture that form and solidify himself as a true SEC ace? Additionally, how does fellow Montgomery Lake Creek product Weston Moss handle the move from relief weapon to weekend starter? Can Aiden Sims, the brightest star throughout the fall and into preseason camp, maintain his run of dominance into the spring?

Will Huffman, TexAgs

Prior to this weekend, Shane Sdao has made seven collegiate starts.

There are obviously other questions to answer, too. How aggressive will the base running be under Cliff Pennington? Who will emerge in the bullpen? Can Josh Stewart beat the #12 “curse”?

We’ll get the answer to each (and more) over the next few weeks and months, but there is one big question that looms:

How will 2026 be different from 2025? Let’s find out together.

What’s at stake this weekend

Perception matters.

Maybe not to the guys inside the Aggie clubhouse, but there is a narrative to kick following last year’s struggles.

Except this isn’t last year. It’s understandable to be gun-shy after 2025, but as the cliche goes, hope springs eternal, and there are reasons for optimism. After all, that’s what Opening Day is all about.

Yes, A&M should sweep Tennessee Tech, but more important than the results will be whether the Aggies play clean baseball this weekend and show signs of answering the questions listed above.

This team is capable of doing so, and beyond that, they’re intent on doing so.

The time to start changing perceptions is now.