Texas A&M: The 2025 Newcomers
- Shelbie Warr
- Jan 28
- 10 min read
By Shelbie Warr
There are a lot of big names on this year's Texas A&M squad returning from the trip to the MCWS Final last season. Everyone knows how good guys like Jace LaViolette, Gavin Grahovac, and Ryan Prager are.
However, new head coach Michael Earley and his staff have assembled a strong class of additions through the transfer portal and the high school ranks- along with three redshirt freshmen from 2024- to form the preseason No. 1 team. The class of new additions, including both transfers and freshmen, ranks No. 2 in the nation according to D1 Baseball. The Transfer Class
Jamal George is a junior utility player from Puerto Rico, who attended the International Baseball Academy and then went to Alabama State, where he played for two seasons. In 2023, he was the SWAC Freshman of the Year and was a Freshman All-American. He played primarily at catcher or as the designated hitter for the Hornets. George finished his time at Alabama State with 15 homers, 22 doubles, and 69 runs batted in over two seasons.
Jacob Galloway is a junior catcher from Camarillo, California. He comes to Texas A&M from USC, where he spent two seasons. In 2023, he played in 24 games- 19 of those being starts. Galloway had a homer, a triple, and five doubles in his first season. His sophomore campaign brought 57 starts in 58 games in which he hit six home runs, 17 doubles, and 40 runs batted in. He also led the Pac-12 with seven sac flies in 2024.
Senior INF/OF Gavin Kash hails from Sour Lake, Texas, coming to A&M after a year at Texas and 2 years at Texas Tech. While he wasn't well-known at Texas, he burst onto the scene at Tech- starting 64 games as a sophomore in 2023, hitting 26 home runs and racking up 84 RBIs while batting a strong .327 on the year. In his junior year, he led the Red Raiders with 71 hits, adding 15 homers and 51 RBI to his career totals. He seems to be one of the top candidates to start in the outfield for the Aggies this season.
Another rumored, honestly pretty much guaranteed, starter is former Penn superstar Wyatt Henseler. The do-it-all infielder was a teammate of last season's lightning-rod catcher Jackson Appel in 2023 at Penn. Hailing from Emmaus, Pennsylvania, Henseler burst onto the scene in his sophomore season with the Quakers and didn't look back. He started every game for the Quakers from 2022 to 2024 and has etched his name into the Penn Baseball and Ivy League Baseball record books in multiple spots. He set the Ivy League record for home runs in a single season with 22 in 2024, as well as the record for career home runs with 54, the RBI record with 189, and the total base record with 560. He established program records in career hits with 232, runs with 181, doubles with 50, total bases (560), RBIs (189), and home runs (54) as well as single-season marks with 72 hits, 22 home runs, and 64 runs scored in 2024.
It is safe to say that the Aggies are over the moon that 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year, Wyatt Henseler, chose to stay with his commitment after the rough departure of former head coach Jim Schlossnagle. His tweet, shown above, that confirmed his decision was met with thunderous approval from those in maroon and white.
Ben Royo, a junior infielder from Corpus Christi, comes to Aggieland from Rice. While his sophomore season wasn't his best, his freshman season in 2023 should give Aggie fans reason to be excited for him to be a part of the team. He received All-Freshman Team honors from C-USA after leading the team with 13 home runs. It will be interesting to see where he fits into the puzzle in Aggieland this year.
Matt Bergevin is a senior infielder from Tempe, Arizona and is widely considered to be the top candidate for the Aggies' first base spot. He started his career at Concordia Portland in 2021, where he started all 17 games the team played- leading the team with a .333 batting average. Bergevin then headed to Fairfield where he played from 2022 to 2024, hitting 37 homers, 42 doubles, and 147 RBIs. In the 2024 season, he reached base safely in 50 of the 55 games he appeared in. He has bought in big time to the spirit of Aggieland, quickly becoming a social media favorite ahead of the 2025 season.
Sophomore catcher Bear Harrison comes to Aggieland from St. Mary's where he started 42 games behind the dish for the Gaels in 2024- a true anchor at the position for them. He batted .322 on the season with eight doubles, eight homers, and 36 RBI. He seems to be the favorite at the catcher position going into the season, though fellow transfer Jacob Galloway will likely see playing time too.
Myles Patton, a junior LHP from Long Beach State, was a big-time pickup for the Texas A&M pitching staff for 2025. He looks to join a weekend rotation that is headlined by redshirt junior Ryan Prager and, likely, junior Justin Lamkin. In Patton's sophomore season with the Dirtbags- cut short by injuries in May- he struck out 11.53 per nine innings and held opponents to a .216 batting average. He seems to be getting better each year he plays collegiate ball, so he should be a huge contributor for Texas A&M on the mound this year.
Another pitcher who joins the Aggies from the transfer portal is sophomore RHP Clayton Freshcorn. Coming from McClennan where he appeared 16 times- 10 of those starts- he seems to bolster the Aggie bullpen. He posted a 2.36 ERA, recording 79 strikeouts in 61 innings of work.
Junior RHP Grant Cunningham followed his former head coach Jason Kelly to Aggieland. Kelly is now the pitching coach and associate head coach for the Aggies and Cunningham joins the ranks of the Aggie bullpen. As a freshman in 2023, he posted a 4.56 ERA in 53.1 innings of work with 39 strikeouts. In 2024, he finished with a 2.86 ERA and a team-high 56 strikeouts in 50.1 innings of work, limiting opposing batters to a .222 batting average. Look for him and Freshcorn to be big parts of the bullpen with the loss of Shane Sdao for the season after an injury during the Aggies' 2024 post-season run.
A name all of the Aggie faithful should know is Kyrin LeBlanc- a junior RHP from Cisco College. He has been nicknamed "Mr. Triple Digits" with a fastball that tops out at 102 miles per hour. Many of those who have followed the program are calling him this season's Chris Cortez- someone who was a big part of the Aggies' postseason run last year. LeBlanc posted 15.54 strikeouts per nine last season for Cisco in 17 appearances on the mound. If he can control that fastball, he could be a lethal weapon out of the bullpen for Texas A&M in 2025.
The Freshman Class
The first freshman on the list may sound familiar to many Aggies who have been around a bit as his father- Terrence Kiel Sr.- played football for Texas A&M from 1999-2002 before going on to play for the Chargers in the NFL from 2003-2006. Terrence Kiel II is ready to make a name for himself in maroon and white, though, and has already begun doing so after flashing his speed during fall ball against UH. The tweet and attached video below show just a snippet of what Kiel has to offer as an INF/OF for the Aggies.
Kiel hails from Atlanta, Georgia where he attended Pace Academy, earning a .474 batting average, 140 hits, 140 runs, 100 steals, and 90 RBI in his high school career. He played football in addition to baseball and shined there as well- setting a school record with 40 touchdowns to go along with 1,501 receiving yards, 1,133 rushing yards, 57 tackles, and six interceptions. He has chosen baseball over following his father's football footsteps, and it seems to be paying off as he is the No. 38 ranked freshman in college baseball according to D1 Baseball.
Sawyer Farr hails from Fort Worth, Texas where he attended Boswell High School, playing football and baseball. He was ranked as the No. 3 shortstop in this freshman class across the state and has been compared to Braden Shewmake by Perfect Game USA- a name that many Aggies are very familiar with, as he played in maroon and white from 2017-2019 before being drafted in the 2019 MLB Draft. He's got the talent to warrant playing time in 2025- ranked as the No. 33 freshman in the nation by D1 Baseball- but it may come at a premium with some of the talented upper-classmen Texas A&M has around the infield.
Aiden Sims is a RHP out of Forney High School in Texas who has been committed to the Aggies since September of 2022. He posted a sub-one ERA during the 2024 season and could bolster the A&M bullpen if he ends up pitching this season and not taking a redshirt.
Gavin Lyons comes out of Connecticut as the No. 1 player in the state, a commitment that flipped from Texas after the coaching change. He finished his high school career with a perfect 30-0 record as a pitcher, as well as playing some corner infield and outfield. He helped his team win the NEPSAC New England Small School championship each of his three years at Hamden Hall. Those numbers are staggering, and one would think the coaching staff at A&M would want to get involved quickly.
Caden McCoy is a LHP out of Indiana. He is another player who has been committed to the Ags since 2022 and stuck it out through the coaching change. He comes from an athletic family in which his brother played football at Ball State and his father played baseball at Indiana University. This is another pitcher that could redshirt this season.
Sam Erickson, a freshman OF from Flower Mound, Texas who won a state title in 2023 and was named MVP of that title run, has shown in fall ball that he has some pop in his bat. He has been committed to A&M since 2021, choosing to keep his commitment after the coaching change. While the strong bat is exciting, he won't start this season over LaViolette, Kash, and Sorrell, but he could see playing time as the next man up on the depth chart around there. Look for him to make a splash on weeknight games throughout the season, proving his worth as a depth piece as the Ags push toward the postseason.
Houston Tomlinson comes from Spring, Texas. He is an RHP with a lot of upside. His fastball has hit up to 97 MPH as he works to make a strong impression that could lead to playing time in 2025. With the number of pitchers on the roster with college experience, I would not be surprised to see Tomlinson redshirt this season.
Blayne Lyne is a 6 foot, 6 inch RHP from Corpus Christi, Texas who helped lead his high school- London High- to a state runner-up spot in 2021, a title in 2022, and semifinalist appearances in 2023 and 2024. In his senior season, he racked up 114 strikeouts. While the Aggies have quite a few pitchers on the roster, you can't dismiss Lyne's size and talent. It may be just enough to get him some playing time this season.
Breaking up the string of freshman pitchers is OF Nathan Tobin from Haslet, Texas. In his career at V.R. Eaton High School, he recorded a .330 batting average, a .534 on-base percentage, and a 1.045 OPS. He also drew 36 walks and stole 32 bases in 33 attempts. He was ranked as the No. 10 outfielder in the state coming out of high school and has been committed to Texas A&M since 2022. His high school numbers are strong and could put him in a position to see some playing time in 2025.
A catcher out of Bridgeport, Texas, Hayden Crites was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year twice, Offensive Player of the Year once, and holds Paradise High School's single-season home run record. In 2024, he held a .988 fielding percentage behind the plate with 221 putouts and 27 assists. He hit .305 with 25 hits, two home runs and 14 RBIs. He'll be third in the catcher rotation, behind two other newcomers that were mentioned earlier due to the departure of starter Jackson Appel to the MLB ranks, but don't count him out; he's got talent and could see some limited playing time in 2025.
A Bryan, Texas native, and a fourth-generation Aggie, LHP Rylan Hill is living his dream wearing maroon and white on the diamond. He's been committed since 2022 and was tabbed as the No. 106 player in the state for the 2024 class. He joins redshirt sophomore Blake Binderup as a "hometown kid" on the roster and promises to be a fan favorite among those who follow high school ball on that notion alone.
The Redshirt Freshmen
The first of three redshirt freshmen on this year's squad, Ty Baker is a RHP from Houston, Texas. He helped lead Second Baptist Academy to a state title in 2022 and was MVP in the quarterfinals that year. A second-generation Aggie, he will likely join the bullpen to bolster the pitching staff.
Jackson Brasseux, a LHP from Paris, Texas, has already been tabbed by head coach Michael Earley as a breakout player ahead of the 2025 season- saying he was up to 95/96 this fall. Coming out of high school, he was ranked as the No. 158 overall prospect and the No. 24 left-handed pitcher in the nation, as well as the No. 15 overall prospect in the state and the No. 3 left-handed pitcher. He missed most of his senior year due to an injury but seems to be fully healthy at this point and ready for a big year ahead.
Austin Vargas- the third and final redshirt freshman on the roster- is one of the biggest, and I mean that literally. Standing at 6 foot, 8 inches, the LHP hasn't seen in-game action since his junior year of high school due to an injury. Before that injury though, Vargas was on fire. He finished his junior year with a 7-1 record, 48 innings pitched, striking out 104- a single-season record for his school- with opponents batting .133 against him. He also broke the single-game strikeout record for his high school with 17 in one game. If Vargas can get anywhere close to that level at Texas A&M, look out college baseball world- the Aggies are coming.
There are 22 newcomers and 3 redshirt freshmen on this team, meaning the complexion of Texas A&M baseball has changed on the back end. However, with the returners added on top of these guys, this team is dangerous and looking to avenge a loss in Game 3 of the MCWS final that left them just short of a title.
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