With a lot of change going on at Ellis Field, there is one constant.
Midfielder Trinity Buchanan is back for her senior season at Texas A&M, looking to flip the script of years past.
“I think it wasn't the season we wanted, of course,” she said of 2025. “We only won five games, but I think we had a really good group of girls. It's very different this year.”
After the retirement of G Guerrieri, Bobby Shuttleworth is leading this squad into the new era.
Things look a lot different, but the goal is always the same for Buchanan and the Aggies.
“We're hungry more than ever,” Buchanan said. “And I think that the coaches believe in us, and we believe in ourselves. I think that's a big part of it.”
The turn from five wins to champions won’t be easy, with all facets of the squad needing to be dialed in.
Buchanan is joined by an array of returners, transfers and freshmen, with all of them being important to the season's success.
“I think everyone is very welcoming to each other,” Buchanan said. “Everyone is so nice, and especially the transfers that came in this year. And the team, I honestly think team chemistry is really good.”
Having a veteran presence in a new system can be important for a smooth transition.
Buchanan has all the tools to help guide this group into a new era.
“I think just keeping everyone grounded,” she said. “Keeping it positive as well, because too much negativity doesn't get us anywhere. I think learning again from each game, from our mistakes, but also the good things, and taking that with us as we move forward. And I think there's always an opportunity to get better.”
In A&M’s season opener last week, Buchanan scored her first brace as an Aggie, accounting for both goals in a 2-1 win.
Along with Sunday’s match at Baylor, she has won the captain’s armband in both of the Aggies’ early-season contests.
Even being the keynote player on this roster, she is still looking for ways to elevate her game.
“For me, I think capitalizing on my opportunities around the goal, creating opportunities for my teammates,” Buchanan said. “And being more accurate with my passing, my passing going forward, and just creating opportunities for those around me.”
A struggle last season was feeling the pressure late in games and not being able to capitalize to get ahead.
Shuttleworth’s new approach to high-stress situations is supposed to aid in that issue, and Buchanan is practicing what he’s preaching.
I think literally getting lost,” she said. “Bobby always says, ‘Get lost in the details.’ It's what my job is and what my next job is, and just being prepared and being in the moment.”
With a change in mindset this year, Buchanan and her teammates believe they can do something special.
The goal, as with everyone else in the program, is to do something that has never been done in the program's history.
Win a championship.
“This team wants to win an SEC championship,” Buchanan said. “This team wants to make it far. can do anything we tell ourselves; we just have to believe. We want to win trophies together with this group of girls. We just have to keep taking it one game at a time. Every game is not going to go our way, but we're going to learn, and we're going to move forward.”
In just two games this season, Buchanan is already showing why she is crucial for this team's success.
For Buchanan, the importance of carrying those big games, like the one at Rice, to the next is something on her mind.
“I think just taking that momentum with me,” Buchanan said. “But obviously, I can't do that without my teammates. So, just helping to create those opportunities, and also helping to capitalize on those opportunities created for me. I think just taking it one game at a time.”
With a 1-1-0 start to the season, A&M’s upcoming game against Texas State is all-important in staying ahead.
“I think we learned a lot against Baylor,” Buchanan said. “Obviously we didn’t win. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but I think that we've learned a lot, and I think they exposed us in the ways we needed, so we can move forward and get the result we want against Texas State.”
Buchanan’s return to the pitch will be on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 7:30 p.m. CT as the Aggies travel to San Marcos.
