As the late D’Angelo once said, “Like the rails that cross the trains, like the blood in your veins, I will never betray my heart.” Sure, he was talking about the complex idea of passion and the persistence of his love for another, but, then again, loyalty to No. 25 Texas A&M baseball is more like this short verse from a neo-soul song than one might think, especially on Valentine’s weekend.
From the piercing horn of the Wellborn locomotives to the rousing yells of the Aggie faithful, Olsen Field has been a powerhouse of competitive baseball as the Maroon and White have made it to Omaha, Nebraska, twice in the last four years.
But the honeymoon stage only lasts so long.
After being just a few outs away from the 2024 national championship, A&M had a down year in head coach Michael Earley’s rookie season, to say the least. But with some counseling, coastal star power and returning leadership, Tennessee Tech may be the first victim on the A&M revenge tour starting on Friday, Feb. 13.
Rails that cross the College Station trains
On the note of loud noise coming from the Wellborn tracks, don’t be fooled into thinking every one of them is a train — a few of them might be emanating from the bat of a handful of dynamic junior sluggers.
Returning to Blue Bell Park are a couple of Preseason All-SECers, junior infielder Gavin Grahovac and junior outfielder Caden Sorrell. As key pieces of the Aggies’ 2024 playoff run, the pair has accounted for 48 home runs in its four injury-filled seasons.
But now at full health, Grahovac and Sorrell will be the leaders on offense for A&M as Tennessee Tech is slated to start its most battle-tested starter, senior right-handed pitcher Jaxon Pease. His junior season saw him post a 5-3 record in 14 starts, but his 4.64 ERA may spell doom as the Aggies have more than just homegrown talent.
Returning to his home state of Texas is senior INF Jake Duer, who led FAU in batting average with a whopping .428 before an injury derailed what would have been a legendary season. A fellow transfer, and perhaps A&M’s most impactful newcomer, is junior INF Chris Hacopian. A 2025 Second Team All-Big 10 selection, the former Maryland Terrapin started all 52 games, batting .375 with 12 doubles, 14 home runs and 61 RBIs. The addition of both of those strong bats is a necessary step in replacing former star center fielder Jace LaViolette, who holds the record for most home runs in an A&M career.
Maroon blood in your veins
In America, it’s the land of second chances and, at A&M, it’s a chance to be part of something bigger than yourself. So when graduate student RHP Josh Stewart traded his burnt orange in for maroon and white, it was a combination of the two.
Chosen as the 12th Man for 2026, Stewart has embodied the Spirit of Aggieland, battling a season-ending injury in his first appearance in 2025 after posting a 3.00 ERA in the Aggies’ most recent College World Series run. Additionally, when a surprise coaching change occurred the day after coming a game short of the championship, Stewart was undeterred, reaffirming his commitment to A&M in a simple Instagram caption: “An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do. Thank God for Aggie Baseball.”
Redshirt junior left-handed pitcher Shane Sdao’s story is quite similar to Stewart’s, as the promise of his 2025 campaign was also lost to injury. However, that has not diminished his resolve, as he is in a prime position to be an all-conference starter in his return to the mound after compiling a 5-1 record and 2.96 ERA in his sophomore season.
But as D’Angelo demonstrated in his appearance in the legendary album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”, sometimes the greatest artists turn down the spotlight for a feature role every once in a while — enter the closing role. Junior RHP MJ Bollinger was another Owl poached from the American Athletic Conference, where he served as FAU’s closer with 11 saves and a 2.01 ERA in 28 relief appearances.
A betrayal of heart
The transfer portal and search for the big stage play no favorites, especially in the case of junior RHP Juan Vargas. After leading Tennessee Tech with eight saves in 2025, the young Panameño decided to take his talents to the next level in the Southeastern Conference with A&M.
The Aggie’s bullpen and starting rotation will be operating under a microscope, as it has already lost sophomore LHP Caden McCoy and experience is a fleeting resource. Even so, the batting order has just the right amount of gunpowder to spark a maroon and white explosion of offense.
Sophomore OF Terrence Kiel II will be breaking baseballs — and perhaps rival fans’ hearts — while love is in the air this Valentine’s weekend, as he will be dead set on building off his stellar, 45 RBI rookie campaign.
Kiel will be an integral part of an experienced corps of returning bats such as senior INF Ben Royo and junior catcher Bear Harrison, who combined for 20 homers and 67 RBIs in 2025. Outside of prolific returners, freshmen and transfers will be the arrows to Cupid’s bow of baseball romance.
One mo’gin
Similar to a vocal artist’s outward expression to the “one who got away,” Aggie fans, too, are calling out to what once was. Like a lost love, A&M has found itself adrift in a sea of broken dreams, clinging to a raft born from a broken heart ravaged by a championship loss and a subsequent disastrous season.
But that’s the beauty of the diamond’s mystique: It hides its volatile nature in a trance, one that has been rocking the very souls of baseball fans everywhere since Amherst College defeated Williams College, 73-32, in 1859.
But as with flowers on a special day — or a sandwich for those easier to please — baseball, like love, can find itself reenergized with the right combination of effort, buy-in and of course, unity between two parties.
So perhaps the rift between Omaha and A&M will not perpetuate, not without a fight from the latter, longing to hold its one true love tight one mo’gin that will begin this Friday at 6 p.m.
