Twenty-five games into the season, Texas A&M baseball has 24 wins and a No. 1 national ranking.
The SEC planted the top three teams in the Collegiate Baseball poll released Monday, led by A&M. No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Vanderbilt round out the top three.
Pitcher Grayson Long earned co-SEC Pitcher of the Week honors Monday for the second time in three weeks. In a 4-2 win against Alabama Friday, Long struck out 14 of the 23 batters he faced to move to 5-0 in his last five starts.
At 5-1, the Aggies lead the SEC standings. They suffered their first loss of the season Saturday, but also set an SEC record for wins in a row with 24 during their weekend series with Alabama. Now that the winning streak is over, the Aggies look to start a new one Tuesday in San Antonio against UTSA.
For UTSA (13-10), Trent Bowles is a player to watch, with 11 doubles and 10 RBIs on the season. Jesse Baker leads the team in home runs (four) and also has 13 RBIs to his name this season. Matt Hilston has the most RBIs with 16.
The Aggies (24-1) come in as the hottest team in college baseball, featuring eight players who have more than 15 RBIs, led by Mitchell Nau, Ryne Birk and Hunter Melton, who each have 18.
Always a dangerous hitter, Nick Banks comes in batting .418 with 17 RBI to his name. The lineup also features power, with four Aggie hitters having more than three home runs this season, led by Logan Taylor with five.
On the mound, freshman Brigham Hill will most likely start for the Aggies. Hill is 1-0 this year with a 1.98 ERA and 19 strikeouts in three starts. The Aggie bullpen has also been one of the best in baseball. Kyle Simonds has allowed only one run with 18 strikeouts in eight appearances this season. Ryan Hendrix has been the closer for the Aggies this season, capturing five saves and tallying 10 strikeouts.
