Michael Earley leaves Texas for Texas A&M, named as Aggies head coach
usatsi_23627103
After just a few days on staff at SEC rival Texas, Michael Early is an Aggie once more, as he accepted the newly vacant head coaching position. Earley has served as the team's hitting coach for the past three seasons, but the move is less straightforward than that might suggest.
It's been a whirlwind of a few days for the A&M program, but Earley specifically might take the cake as having had the craziest week; after losing a hard-fought College World Series Final, much of the team's coaching staff, most notably head coach Jim Schlossnagle, headed over to Texas.
The initial move came less than a day after Schlossnagle vehemently denied any rumors of a move to Austin, a turn of events that certainly ruffled some feathers. Earley was one of the coaches who crossed over to the Longhorns, so even though his Texas tenure, if it can be called that, was short-lived, it'll be interesting to see exactly what sort of dynamic Earley enters into when he returns to the program.
Beyond the coaching chaos, Earley steps into a strong situation, as the Aggies came just a few swings away from a National Championship this past season. Now, with the Longhorns set to join the Aggies in the SEC, expect some tension, drama, and on-field fireworks when these teams meet in 2025 and far beyond. The rivalry between these two programs was one that fans were already eager to resume, and the battles between Earley and Schlossnagle will certainly do nothing but stoke the fire even more.