The Aggies hope to build off a historic 50 win season and make a run to Omaha as baseball kicks off this weekend.
Here’s a look at three players who have potential to give big contributions this season.
Tyler Ivey
Freshman Tyler Ivey is one of many recruits coming in and has a chance to contribute to a stacked pitching staff at A&M. Ivey is a graduate of Rockwall-Heath High School, where he won 12-5A Pitcher of the Year honors for three seasons and first team all-state in 2015, the year he went 10-1 with a 0.27 ERA. Head coach Rob Childress was not shy in expressing Ivey’s performance throughout the battle for the Omaha Cup early in the spring, saying Ivey was dominant throughout the series. With the season about to kick off, look for Ivey to see precious time on the mound early in the season.
Ronnie Gideon
The departures of seniors Blake Allemand and Logan Nottebrok at the end of last season created a need for a new look at the left side of the infield, and the Aggies spent the fall and early spring trying new players at those positions to fill the void. One of those guys is junior Ronnie Gideon, who played in 44 games with starts at third base and designated hitter. Gideon hit .349 in 21 SEC games with a home run and 17 RBI. Gideon will have to prove he has the offensive consistency to be an everyday starter, and that starts with cutting down his strikeout numbers.
Mark Ecker
The junior reliever enters the 2016 season on the Stopper of the Year Award Preseason Watch List, presented by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Ecker established himself as the primary closer for the Aggies last season, notching a team-high eight saves while posting a 2.45 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 33 innings. Ecker has the opportunity to become the anchor of an already loaded pitching staff and the centerpiece to a dominant back end of the bullpen for the Aggies.