UT head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle apologizes to reporter, addresses rumors in opening press conference

After news broke yesterday that then-Texas A&M head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle had accepted an offer to become the head coach at the University of Texas, the parties wasted no time in making it official.

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An introductory press conference was held for the new coach Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. Here’s a few things we learned in Austin:

“Character and integrity”

Before introducing Coach Schlossnagle, UT Board of Regents Chair Kevin Eltife said that his school was excited to welcome a coach with a track record of success at previous stops, but Schlossnagle’s honesty was the biggest driving force of the hire. He used the words “character and integrity” to describe the coach and the way he manages a program.

UT BoR chair Kevin Eltife: "We want leaders of character and integrity who know how to win in a way that makes Longhorn nation proud, which is the reason we are so proud to be here today to welcome Coach Schlossnagle as our new head coach of UT baseball. His record speaks for…

— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) June 26, 2024

The timing of the hire

The timing of the hire has been an area of speculation over the last day, as the move was made official less than 24 hours after Schlossnagle’s Aggies competed in a winner-take-all Game 3 of the College World Series, a game in which the Aggies lost in nail-biting fashion by a score of 6-5.

According to Schlossnagle, he was not contacted regarding the Texas job at any point throughout the 2024 baseball season, including the team’s trip to Omaha.

Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte—whom Schlossnagle considers a very close friend—said he waited at Snook Cemetery outside of College Station as the Aggies’ flight returned from Nebraska. From there, the AD met with the coach at his home, and the job was offered and accepted from there.

This story contradicts reports from other sources. Last night, D1Baseball.com Managing Editor Kendall Rogers said a deal between Schlossnagle and Texas was in place as far back as after the Aggies’ series against Georgia on the weekend of April 26—long before the Aggies’ or Longhorns’ seasons had ended, or then-UT head coach David Pierce was even fired.

One interesting note is that I was told by multiple sources today that this deal -- at least at the highest level -- was done between A&M's series with Georgia and before the Regional round. It's truly a fascinating search/hire to unpack. I'll have more.

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 26, 2024

TexAgs analyst Ryan Brauninger also suggested that the two parties had been in contact earlier than they suggested during Wednesday’s press conference.

I’ve been pretty well involved in the baseball circle in the state of Texas now for over a decade.

I received phone calls and texts at the first of June from both agents and coaching connections that were guaranteeing this was already done. It emanated from the Texas NIL side.

— Ryan Brauninger (@R_Brauninger) June 26, 2024

Schlossnagle apologizes to Richard Zane

One of the biggest storylines following the College World Series Final was Schlossnagle’s hostile response to a question asked in the postgame press conference by TexAgs reporter Richard Zane.

Zane asked Schlossnagle to address rumors of his interest in a “specific job opening,” and Schlossnagle replied by calling Zane “selfish” for asking the question and claiming that he took the A&M job with the intent of never taking a job again, a stance he said hadn’t waivered from following the loss.

I asked Jim Schlossnagle the question postgame. Here is the transcript of the question and his response.@TexAgs | #MCWS pic.twitter.com/atg5dUvLpx

— Richard Zane (@RichardZane32) June 25, 2024

When news broke of his departure to Texas, he apologized to Zane by name in the opening presser. He said the question angered him, because he was distracted thinking about the A&M players after the difficult loss.

“I want to publicly apologize to Richard Zane…he’s a young reporter and he asked the question that was an obvious question.

I wish I could have answered that better. In the moment, all I could think about was our players and I really wasn’t in the mood tot all about myself or… pic.twitter.com/xoEXX309c8

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) June 26, 2024

When were the A&M players notified?

When asked about how the move was handled with A&M’s players, Schlossnagle said that he was still in the process of speaking with them, and there were some that he was unable to contact under NCAA policies. Schlossnagle also compared his departure to current A&M football coach Mike Elko’s departure from Duke last fall, saying he didn’t believe Elko “sat down with the Duke team.”

One of the latter players he mentioned appeared to be senior Ryan Targac, who said on X (formerly Twitter) that he wasn’t made aware of the coaching move until around the time that it was officially announced.

I found out on twitter probably two hours after I posted this. I had no clue

— Ryan Targac (@RyanTargac) June 26, 2024

As of Wednesday afternoon, several notable members of the 2024 A&M team have entered the transfer portal, including Jace LaViolette, Kaeden Kent, Hayden Schott and Gavin Grahovac.