Also included above is a TexAgs Live segment with Ryan Brauninger and Richard Zane from Friday morning, previewing this weekend’s series vs. Oklahoma.
Who: No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners (15-2, 0-0 in SEC)
Where: Kimrey Family Stadium - Norman, OK
When:
Friday: 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
Saturday: 4 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
Sunday: 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
Pitching matchups
Friday: LHP Shane Sdao (3-0, 2.49 ERA) vs. LHP Cameron Johnson (3-0, 2.11 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Weston Moss (2-1, 5.21 ERA) vs. RHP LJ Mercurius (4-0, 0.39 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Aiden Sims (3-0, 1.59 ERA) vs. LHP Cord Rager (2-1, 3.50 ERA)
Scouting Oklahoma
Skip Johnson clubs are synonymous with pitching, and the Sooner skipper has a couple of great ones headlining his starting rotation in 2026. Cameron Johnson, a 6-foot-6 left-hander, is Oklahoma’s Friday night arm and has pitched his way into MLB.com’s top 100 draft prospects with 32 strikeouts in 21.1 innings through his first four starts of the year. As stout as Johnson has been, Saturday starter LJ Mercurius has been even better. The UNLV transfer’s ERA is a microscopic 0.39, and his WHIP is a minuscule 0.64. Opponents are hitting .118 against the right-hander as Mercurius has fanned 34 in 23.1 innings. Then there is freshman left-hander Cord Rager, who has a sub-1.00 WHIP in his first four collegiate starts.
The cliche of “great pitching beats great hitting” will certainly be put to the test this weekend.
Oklahoma’s team speed is a big component of what the Sooners try to do offensively. As a group, they have successfully swiped 56 of their 61 stolen-base attempts. Camden Johnson, a transfer infielder from Wichita State, leads the way with 16 thefts, and outfielder/backstop Brendan Brock has 10. Through 16 games, Aggie pitching has excelled at minimizing free passes, and continuing to do so in Norman will be paramount.
At the plate, Brock — a transfer from Southwestern Illinois CC who was drafted in the 14th round by Milwaukee in July — leads the way with four home runs and 21 RBI with a 1.131 OPS. Canadian catcher Deiten Lachance is Oklahoma’s leader in average at .404 and a team-best eight doubles, while outfielder Trey Gambill is tops among qualified hitters in on-base percentage and OPS at .552 and 1.157, respectively. Then there is shortstop Jaxon Willits, who is hitting .306 with five doubles, two triples, a home run and 16 RBIs. Willits was identified by Michael Earley on Thursday’s edition of TexAgs Live as the Sooner that has impressed him the most during his pre-series scouting.
No doubt, Skip Johnson has the pieces to contend for an SEC title and even more. There is no easing into the 10-week gauntlet for the Maroon & White.
| Hitting | Avg. | Runs/Game | Slugging % | On-Base % | K/Game |
| Texas A&M | .344 | 10.06 | .612 | .474 | 6.63 |
| Oklahoma | .310 | 9.29 | .511 | .452 | 7.59 |
| Pitching | ERA | WHIP | BB/Game | Opp. Avg. | K/Game | Fielding % |
| Texas A&M | 2.95 | 0.99 | 1.44 | .220 | 8.31 | .984 |
| Oklahoma | 2.96 | 1.08 | 3.18 | .196 | 10.71 | .975 |
Texas A&M storylines to watch
The Aggies are getting healthy, and just in time. On Thursday’s initial availability report, infielder Chris Hacopian was unlisted (meaning he should be in the lineup on Friday night), and designated hitter Wesley Jordan was listed as “probable” (likely to play, barring any setbacks). While the offense has been good in their absence — a credit to guys like Jake Duer, Blake Binderup and Sawyer Farr — the 12th Man has only seen the lineup at full strength twice in 16 games.
Getting Hacopian and Jordan back in action lengthens the lineup. It also gives Earley options later in ballgames as he can pick and choose who and when to deploy certain weapons. Need a big swing? Binderup has homered thrice in his last eight ABs. How about a game-changing speedster in the late innings? Travis Chestnut is as quick as they come in the SEC. Want to play matchup with the Sooner bullpen? Farr’s switch-hitting ability allows you that luxury.
And yes, if Jordan is indeed good to go, expect him to DH over Binderup.
Even with two of their biggest bats on the shelf for much of the non-conference slate, the Aggies still rank fifth in the conference in runs per game. Led by Caden Sorrell, a heating-up Gavin Grahovac and the professional approach of Duer, A&M’s club OPS (1.086) is second behind Georgia (1.219), which will come to Blue Bell Park next weekend. Of course, they’ll face the best pitching staff they’ve seen all season (by leaps and bounds), so infusing the likes of Hacopian and Jordan should provide an added and needed boost to a unit that has lived up to its potent billing thus far.
Meanwhile, the Aggie pitching staff has excelled at limiting free passes and, in turn, minimized opposing offenses outside of the one-game blip in Arlington. A&M ranks fifth in the conference in ERA, second in WHIP at 0.99 and first in walks per nine innings. Shane Sdao’s always-in-attack mentality manifests itself differently amongst his cohorts, but it’s extremely similar. Look no further than Weston Moss’ “pissed off” performance vs. Oakland as the right-hander channeled the anger from a few less-than-stellar starts and rode that emotion into a quality outing last week. The rotation of Sdao, Moss and Aiden Sims has been one of the bigger pleasant surprises for those of us outside the program, but Earley and Jason Kelly aren’t shocked by those three.
Quality starting pitching will give A&M’s offense plenty of chances to win ballgames this weekend, and a rested and reliable bullpen will be willing and waiting to resume their suffocation of opponents late in games. Juan Vargas (9.1 IP) and Clayton Freshcorn (8.2 IP) still have pristine ERAs, and all four of A&M’s top relievers have sub-1.00 WHIPs — Vargas (0.43), Freshocorn (0.69), Ethan Darden (0.60) and Josh Stewart (0.95).
The baseball cliches ring true, and the Aggies have pitched well, played mostly clean defense and gotten timely hitting through their first 16 games. Continuing to do so will help the win column grow.
What’s at stake this weekend
A&M has handled its business up to this point. Sitting at 15-1, the Maroon & White appear to be a much more confident bunch than the one that got swept by a different Crimson club to open conference play 364 days ago.
But is it false confidence? Or are the Aggies truly the drastically improved team they need to be?
While the whole truth will be revealed over the next 30 conference games, last year’s A&M squad is the perfect cautionary tale of what can happen when you dig an early hole.
By handling their business over the first four weeks, the Aggies have earned this momentum, but as any baseball fan knows, that can come to a crashing halt at a moment’s notice.
Going into Norman and winning a series over a top-10 club would vindicate this fast start while accelerating the Ags up the field in a crowded SEC race.
