Texas A&M Baseball

Earley adds Nolan Cain as assistant baseball coach

Michael Earley has announced another significant addition to his coaching staff, as Nolan Cain will return to A&M after spending the last two seasons in Austin. During the course of his career, Cain has helped recruit and/or coach 20 players taken in the top three rounds of the MLB Draft since 2016.
By Richard Zane
June 19, 2026
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29 Comments
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Well, howdy...again.

On Friday, Texas A&M head baseball coach Michael Earley announced the return of Nolan Cain to the program.

D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers was first to report the news, with TexAgs baseball analyst Ryan Brauninger confirming the move.

Beginning his second stint with the Maroon & White, Cain will serve in multiple roles and is known as one of the premier recruiters in the country.

Having previously stopped in Aggieland from 2022-24, he has inked eight top-10 prep classes during his time at LSU (2017-21), A&M and Texas (2025-26). Six of those classes have ranked among the nation's top five, not to mention D1Baseball's top-rated transfer portal class in 2023 while in Maroon & White.

During the course of his career, Cain has helped recruit and/or coach 20 players taken in the top three rounds of the MLB Draft since 2016, headlined by first-round picks Dylan Crews, Ty Floyd, Braden Montgomery and Jace LaViolette. Gavin Grahovac, Caden Sorrell and Aiden Robbins could join that list next month.

As a player at LSU, Cain pitched on the 2009 national championship team, appearing in Game 2 of the Men's College World Series championship series.

Hired away from his alma mater by Jim Schlossnagle in June of 2021, Cain helped the A&M program reach the final four of the MCWS in 2022 before falling one win shy of claiming the national title two years later.

Infamously, he followed his now-former-boss to Texas the next day.

During Cain's short two-year stay in Austin, the Longhorns claimed the 2025 SEC regular-season crown and reached Omaha in 2026.

Having obviously crossed paths with Earley during their time as assistants at A&M, Cain fills a vacancy left by Caleb Longley's Jan. 12 resignation.

Cain now joins a staff that includes former Major Leaguer and All-American Cliff Pennington, newly hired pitching coach Barry Enright and former MCWS catcher Troy Claunch, along with director of operations Jason Hutchins, director of pitching Dylan Olsonawski and strength coach Nate Friedman.

In 2026, A&M was 41-16 overall with a third-place finish in the SEC at 18-11.

Opening Day of the 2027 season is set for Friday, Feb. 19.

29 Comments
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Jason Hutchins Cliff Pennington Nolan Cain Michael Earley Caleb Longley Nate Friedman Jim Schlossnagle Ty Floyd Dylan Crews Troy Claunch Dylan Olsonawski Aiden Robbins
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Barry Enright Jace LaViolette Braden Montgomery Gavin Grahovac Caden Sorrell Baseball Texas A&M Texas LSU 2026 2027
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Discussion from...

Earley adds Nolan Cain as assistant baseball coach

21,258 Views | 29 Replies | Last: 3 mo ago by Joe Deertay
themissinglink
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5:59p, 6/19/26
AG
I approve… just don't let him coach third base
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AgSportsFan89
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6:27p, 6/19/26
AG
Pennington to still be 3rd base coach. I like it
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Bunk Moreland
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7:03p, 6/19/26
Woah
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W
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7:25p, 6/19/26
AG
a tangled web we weave
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KaneIsAble
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7:25p, 6/19/26
AG
I'll say it - traitor
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TxAg76
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7:26p, 6/19/26
AG
I guess he doesn't wanna swing anymore?
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SECTAMU#1
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8:45p, 6/19/26
Not sure this will work our well for Earley. May be setting up Cain as the next head coach.
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Blonde Coffee Beans
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In reply to SECTAMU#1 • 9:45p, 6/19/26
SECTAMU#1 said:
Not sure this will work our well for Earley. May be setting up Cain as the next head coach.

Sounds good
"I don't care about your feelings OP. I'm not going to let fandom replace reason, thought, and history"
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Ag in ATL
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9:56p, 6/19/26
AG
Say what now?
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TAMU74
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10:25p, 6/19/26
AG
Welcome back Mr. Cain.
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SABUILDERAG
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11:11p, 6/19/26
Aggie players were being recruited to sip and sip players were being recruited to stay at sip while he was our recruiting coordinator. Not sure why you bring a guy like that back. I think Earley needs to explain. We don't need another round of treason.
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CC00
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In reply to SABUILDERAG • 12:54a, 6/20/26
AG
SABUILDERAG said:
Aggie players were being recruited to sip and sip players were being recruited to stay at sip while he was our recruiting coordinator. Not sure why you bring a guy like that back. I think Earley needs to explain. We don't need another round of treason.


I mean - Earley went to Texas too….
He only came back for a promotion.

It's possible - and I think this is correct - that "some" assistants knew and some didn't - ahead of time, that is.
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Maroon Flash
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1:10a, 6/20/26
AG
Trev and Earley know exactly what they are getting and players are excited so sounds good! Need to get behind this!
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LOYAL AG
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In reply to SABUILDERAG • 7:02a, 6/20/26
AG
SABUILDERAG said:
Aggie players were being recruited to sip and sip players were being recruited to stay at sip while he was our recruiting coordinator. Not sure why you bring a guy like that back. I think Earley needs to explain. We don't need another round of treason.


No he doesn't. This is a dirty business. Whatever answers he gave to Earley and Alberts during the interview process were enough. Nothing ever needs to be put out to the public. There's a 0% chance Cain is coming here to sabotage the A&M program from the inside. That's career suicide.
"The goal of socialism is communism." - Vladimir Lenin
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northeastag
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7:27a, 6/20/26
AG
Maybe he just finally figured out that Schloss is a POS and wanted out.

I'll admit I'm no college BB guru, but it certainly seems like Earley is putting together a good staff.

The entirety of college sports is turning into a slimy business. Tough to stay clean in that environment, but Elko and now (perhaps) Earley look like they are trying to do it.
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Gyles Marrett
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In reply to CC00 • 7:46a, 6/20/26
CC00 said:
SABUILDERAG said:
Aggie players were being recruited to sip and sip players were being recruited to stay at sip while he was our recruiting coordinator. Not sure why you bring a guy like that back. I think Earley needs to explain. We don't need another round of treason.


I mean - Earley went to Texas too….
He only came back for a promotion.

It's possible - and I think this is correct - that "some" assistants knew and some didn't - ahead of time, that is.


From what I know, Earley was not aware, I can't say with certainty Cain had no clue but I also don't know for certain he did no, but Weiner was the one that 100% knew and part of the plan to bail.

That being said I'm not going to hold a grudge against any of those assistants. POS put them in a terrible situation, do you go jobless waiting to see who will hire you or do you accept the job at Texas who even as biased as we are is a great baseball program. It was a choice they had to make in the moment for themselves and their families. None of the 3 left just desperate to leave college station.

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MidlandOil$
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8:19a, 6/20/26
WTF?
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Joker90
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9:28a, 6/20/26
Wow. I'm guessing that wasn't an active play on the polymarket and Kalshi betting scene…
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Timberwolf
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9:29a, 6/20/26
AG
Happy we took a key piece from POS and hope his career is on the downslope
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lagoag
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9:39a, 6/20/26
I'm glad he's back. Now Cain can recruit some of the tu players and give POS a taste of his own medicine.
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austinag1997
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10:03a, 6/20/26
AG
Pennington and Cain are legitimately great hires by Earley. I am impressed with those hires along with him firing JK.

Those are great coach moves.
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Domingo Backsplash
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In reply to SABUILDERAG • 8:31p, 6/20/26
SABUILDERAG said:
Aggie players were being recruited to sip and sip players were being recruited to stay at sip while he was our recruiting coordinator. Not sure why you bring a guy like that back. I think Earley needs to explain. We don't need another round of treason.


The sheer magnitude of that kind of multitasking just shows how next level Cain is at recruiting. Working for just one team must get boring.
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BadAggie
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8:49p, 6/20/26
AG
Well, good.
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Iraq2xVeteran
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10:13p, 6/20/26
AG
Welcome back to Aggieland, Nolan Cain!
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SABUILDERAG
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In reply to Gyles Marrett • 11:14p, 6/20/26
Gyles Marrett said:
CC00 said:
SABUILDERAG said:
Aggie players were being recruited to sip and sip players were being recruited to stay at sip while he was our recruiting coordinator. Not sure why you bring a guy like that back. I think Earley needs to explain. We don't need another round of treason.


I mean - Earley went to Texas too….
He only came back for a promotion.

It's possible - and I think this is correct - that "some" assistants knew and some didn't - ahead of time, that is.


From what I know, Earley was not aware, I can't say with certainty Cain had no clue but I also don't know for certain he did no, but Weiner was the one that 100% knew and part of the plan to bail.

That being said I'm not going to hold a grudge against any of those assistants. POS put them in a terrible situation, do you go jobless waiting to see who will hire you or do you accept the job at Texas who even as biased as we are is a great baseball program. It was a choice they had to make in the moment for themselves and their families. None of the 3 left just desperate to leave college station.



Cain knew. Probably before anyone else. With the recruiting that started well ahead of the postseason, he would have to know as the recruiting coordinator.

I agree that it was not an enviable position to be in, but the lack of character needed to undermine your current employer and the kids you recruited to A&M while you were still on our payroll is amazing.

I don't think he is coming to sabotage. I'm sure he loves Mike and just needed the contract to run out so he could bail on POS, but it concerns me to have a guy back in maroon that was part of trying to destroy our program.

Hoping it works out and POS is hanging out with swingers in Austin while Earley and Cain are winning in Omaha.
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Joe Deertay
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In reply to SABUILDERAG • 7:37a, 6/21/26
I was told during that situation, Cain and Earley were both caught off guard. Maybe Cain knew a little before Earley, but Schloss***** thought 60% of our talent would follow him. I was also told that Cain had turned down a HC job because of our deep run, schloss held their jobs over their heads.. and they did what they had to do
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LB12MEEN
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8:13a, 6/21/26
AG
Cain recently coached at both A&M and Texas. And he's made clear the one he prefers. He has returned to Big Brother.
Gig ‘Em Baby!
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AGDAD14
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11:58a, 6/22/26
He will return home to LSU in a couple of years taking a few coaches and players with him.
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Joe Deertay
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In reply to AGDAD14 • 12:22p, 6/22/26
And hopefully he will be wearing a natty ring with the Aggie logo on it!
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