The Longhorns' skipper coach will take on his former employer this weekend in one of the hottest tickets in college baseball.
Jim Schlossnagle turned the college baseball world upside down when he announced that he'd become the next head coach at Texas mere hours after pleading that he wouldn't leave Texas A&M following their College World Series defeat in June 2024.
Now ahead of his first meeting against his former team in College Station, Schlossnagle is ready for what may be thrown his way, where can only assume some of the displeasures he might hear from Aggies fans.
"One of my favorite things about coaching at Texas A&M was the 12th Man. They are some of the most passionate, loyal and consistent people I’ve ever been around," he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"I fully expect them to be the same this weekend for their team."
The Longhorns enter the matchup with the Aggies as one of the best teams in the country, ranking No. 2 in the land with a 27-5 record and 9-3 mark in SEC play. Texas A&M enters with momentum, as well, holding a 25-7 record (7-5 SEC) and ranking No. 18. The Aggies, however, are coming off a 9-8 loss to Texas State on Tuesday.
Schlossnagle spent three seasons in College Station and reached the pinnacle of the sport in Omaha twice - his first and last seasons in maroon.
Despite his move to Austin carrying controversy, Schlossnagle has brought with him the success that made him a national coach of the year in a storied tenure career that includes over 1,000 victories.
The Longhorns went 44-14 in the coach's first season in 2025, a considerable margin compared to Michael Early - one of Schlossnagle's former assistants - leading to Aggies to a 30-26 mark that season.
Schlossnagle has settled into his new life just as comfortably as his team has on the field.
"College Station was great. It was a different style of living, and I enjoyed the college-town aspect to it. I bought a farm outside of College Station, and I enjoyed that," Schlossnagle said. "I’ve enjoyed every place I’ve lived. Fort Worth was incredible when I was at TCU, and I am really enjoying Austin, too."
In SEC, where spring baseball is one of the biggest tickets in college sports, Coach Schloss knows that his history is just one bullet point among the many that play into this Lone Star rivalry.
"It's an honor to be a part of this rivalry, whether you're a coach or a player, and it's something you'll look back on..." Schlossnagle said about his message to the Longhorns players. "There's gonna be a lot said about all the peripheral stuff, but the game's about the players ... Fans are going to make it more than that, and that's okay, that's what fans do, and that's fine. There's storylines in all the games we play.
"If we win a game it's one win, if we lose a game it's one loss, and it's not anything more than that, but it is special. You can't look away from that, to be a part of an awesome rivalry."
For him personally, he isn't reciprocating any of what might be tossed his way by the 12th Man.
"I don’t hold any ill-will about Texas A&M at all, and I’ve never said anything negative about them. I never will," he added to the FWST. "I still talk to several people over there. Some of the players. Some of the people I met there I consider life-long friends."
"This is still Texas A&M and Texas, and I understand all of the dynamics."
It all begins Friday at Blue Bell Park with first pitch for Game 1 scheduled for 7 p.m.
