After a divisional crown and a trip to the College World Series in 2022, four members of the Texas A&M baseball team will continue their careers at the next level in Major League Baseball.
Right-handed pitcher Micah Dallas and outfielder Dylan Rock were both drafted in the eighth round of Monday’s MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays, respectively. Dallas was selected 244th overall, while Rock was taken four picks later at 248th overall.
Dallas, a Texas Tech transfer, joined the Aggies’ starting rotation this past season, posting a 7-3 record with a 5.18 ERA and 86 strikeouts, including a 3-0 showing in the postseason.
Rock, a transfer from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a cornerstone of the A&M offense, hit .318 while leading the team with 19 home runs, 67 runs batted in and a .468 on-base percentage. Rock earned All-SEC second-team honors for his performance over the season and was named a second-team All-American by D1Baseball.
On Tuesday, left-handed pitcher Joseph Menefee was drafted 603rd overall in the 20th and final round by the Cincinnati Reds. The key member of the A&M bullpen with 28 appearances sported a 6-2 record with two saves and a 5.60 ERA over the course of the season. After a slow start to the season, “Moo” developed into a reliable middle reliever in conference play.
After the conclusion of the draft, catcher Troy Claunch signed with the Chicago White Sox as an undrafted free agent. A leader on the team, the Oregon State transfer hit .292 with 49 RBIs while playing excellent defense behind the plate.
The drafting of Dallas, Rock and Menefee continues an A&M trend of having at least three players selected in each draft since 2001, the only school to do so during the 21 year span. Additionally, the Aggies have had at least two players drafted each year since 1984, the longest streak in the country.
The maroon and white’s 2023 squad will feature plenty of familiar faces, as left fielder Brett Minnich, utility player Austin Bost and third baseman Trevor Werner announced their returns to Aggieland after going undrafted. Minnich and Bost enter their senior years while Werner will be a junior. The trio will join infielder Ryan Targac, first baseman Jack Moss — both incoming juniors — and senior center fielder Jordan Thompson as returning key contributors to the A&M lineup.
This offseason has also seen heavy use of the transfer portal by head coach Jim Schlossngale and his staff, particularly to bolster the Aggies’ pitching. Most notably, A&M brings in righty Carson Lambert from the University of Southern California, who posted a 6-3 record and a 3.46 ERA for the Trojans last season, and southpaw Troy Wansing of Purdue, who sported a 4-4 record with a 5.44 ERA. Lambert enters his redshirt senior season, and Wansing will be a sophomore.
The Aggies also received a pair of experienced transfers entering their senior seasons in lefty Brandyn Garcia of Quinnipiac University, who compiled a 4-7 record in 2022 with an ERA of 7.15, and Matt Dillard of Sam Houston State University, who had a record of 5-6 with a 4.93 ERA.
Offensively, infielder Hunter Haas of Arizona State University joins the Aggies after being named a freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball News in 2021 with a .304 batting average. A&M also attracted catcher Joe Powell from Cincinnati, where he hit .326 with five home runs and 26 RBIs. Both Haas and Powell will be juniors this upcoming season.
Other transfers include Texas pitchers Joshua Stewart, a sophomore, and Jace Hutchins, a redshirt junior and College Station High alumni, and sophomore pitcher and first baseman Max Debiec from Washington.
Schlossnagle and A&M also brought in seven junior college transfers, led by sophomore infielder Travis Chestnut of Temple Junior College and junior catcher JD Gregson of Grayson College. Chestnut, along with Stewart, is currently competing for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
The Aggies will look to return to Omaha, Neb., in 2023 after reaching the CWS semifinals to cap off this past season. Thus far, A&M’s only confirmed matchups are the Shriners College Classic from March 3-5 against Louisville, Texas Tech and Michigan.