Texas A&M is officially eliminated from the NCAA Tournament after falling to USC 7-1 in the College Station Regional Final on Monday night, ending the season at 41-16. While junior closer Clayton Freshcorn made his first start of the season, he was clearly left in the game too long after allowing a three-run home run that virtually ended the game, and the Aggies’ bounce-back season.
For second-year coach Michael Earley, his future is likely secure after leading the Aggies to the postseason, but the way the Aggies lost over the last two games is an indictment of his decision-making. Star hitters Gavin Grahovac, Caden Sorrell, and Chris Hacopian all struggled in the final two games, which falls back on Earley, who also serves as the program’s hitting coach.
Still, it’s clear as day that the Aggies need to make a change on the staff, as second-year pitching coach Jason Kelly should be directly blamed for the lack of development on the starting staff and several bullpen players, and while you cannot blame Kelly for injury issues that plagued the pitching depth early in the season, the performances, outside of sophomore Aiden Sims, did not match the talent level.
The best examples of this are junior LHP Shane Sdao, who, after returning from injury, finished the year with a 6.85 ERA, while Weston Moss, despite his career performance on Saturday, ended with a 5.46 ERA and allowed a combined 33 home runs.
Yes, Clayton Freshcorn’s 2.27 ERA and 51 strikeouts were impressive, and his Monday performance deserves immense praise, but one successful pitcher should not be enough to justify Kelly’s retention. If Michael Earley is serious about making it back to the NCAA Tournament and advancing past the Regional Round, changes are needed.
Texas A&M’s top four pitchers (Shane Sdao, Weston Moss, Aiden Sims, Gavin Lyons) allowed a combined 173 runs, 291 hits, and 78 walks this season.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M should not retain a key staff member heading into 2027
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
