HOOVER, Ala. — There was some overlap.
From 2017 until 2021, Michael Earley was an assistant at Arizona State.
Curiously, a football coach who once passionately ranted, “You play to win the game,” also resided in Tempe around that time.
Any chance encounters aren’t why Earley — now in his second season as Texas A&M’s head coach — is evoking the Hermism ahead of the 2026 SEC Baseball Tournament.
Rather, Earley’s club likely needs to win at least one.
“We’re playing to win every single game,” the Aggie skipper told TexAgs Live on Monday. “When we play Friday, we’re going to do everything in our power to win that game, and if we do, we’re going to wake up Saturday and do the same thing.
“You can’t send that message of ‘this isn’t important.’ I’ve seen kind of where we’re at. It’s really important. We really, really want to win.”
No. 3 seed A&M faces No. 6 seed Auburn at approximately 7 p.m. CT on Friday at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
For the Maroon & White, it’s a golden opportunity to further cement their standing in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
At 39-13 overall and 18-11 in conference, A&M is ranked No. 10 nationally, but with an RPI of No. 12, DSR of No. 7 and KPI of No. 9, the Aggies appear on the cut line of being a top-eight national seed when the field of 64 is revealed on Monday.
A win, maybe two, in Hoover would bolster those metrics even further as Florida, Florida State and Southern Miss have enhanced their respective resumes at the SEC, ACC and Sun Belt tournaments.
In D1Baseball’s May 21 Field of 64 projections, the Aggies were the No. 8 national seed. Staying there would mean home-field advantage in the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament.
The case to play to win the game is simple.
The knock against A&M is its 216th-ranked non-conference strength of schedule. Finding additional success against more SEC opponents in a single-elimination format should help negate that concern for the NCAA Selection Committee.
“Last year, we started off with no bye. Now, we’ve got the double,” Earley said Wednesday. “It is different for us than the teams that are already playing, but you just got to play good baseball.”
Auburn has already shown the Aggies what will happen if they don’t.
In a May 2 doubleheader, the Tigers run-ruled A&M before winning a game of inches at Blue Bell Park to snap a streak of five straight series wins.
Also thought to be a top-eight national seed, War Eagle defeated LSU on Wednesday evening, 3-1.
“We’re playing the game,” outfielder Jake Duer said. “It doesn’t really matter who we’re playing. We’re just excited. Whoever we’re playing, we’re going to win it.”
That would grant them another lap in Hoover and possibly a shot at a second SEC Tournament title.
Failing to do so might get them passed over come Monday.
