Podcast: Jace LaViolette discusses upcoming season

Texas A&M baseball had a tumultuous offseason. From falling one game short in the Men¡¯s College World Series to losing their head coach to in-state rival Texas, the Aggies¡¯ future was in flux in late June.

Now, just days away from Division I college baseball¡¯s Opening Day on Feb. 14, the club ¨C led by MLB Pipeline¡¯s top college Draft prospect Jace LaViolette ¨C retained most of its roster, hired former hitting coach Michael Earley as its new head coach and enters the 2025 season ranked No. 1 in the D1Baseball.com Top 25.

On the latest MLB Pipeline Podcast, LaViolette joined Jason Ratliff, Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis to discuss the upcoming season, and the Aggies¡¯ busy offseason.

¡°With [Earley] getting the job, it was a no doubter,¡± said LaViolette regarding staying at Texas A&M. ¡°It was an immediate like, ¡®All right, well, here we go. I'm coming back.¡¯ He knew that. Everybody else knew that. ... We kind of all talked together. We were like, ¡®Hey, let's go finish something that we were so close to doing last year.¡¯¡±

Along with LaViolette, southpaw Ryan Prager was one of the major returners for the Aggies. The No. 70 Draft prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Prager was a mainstay in Texas A&M¡¯s weekend rotation in 2024. His 2.95 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 97 2/3 innings caught the attention of the Angels, who selected him in the third round of the 2024 Draft. However, Los Angeles didn¡¯t meet the Texas native¡¯s asking price and he decided to return to College Station.

¡°I think that Texas A&M holds a special place in [the heart of] every single person that was on this team and that wanted to come here¡± LaViolette said on the MLB Pipeline Podcast. ¡°I think that it's a special place that nobody wanted to leave. I don't know if I had much pull for all these guys that came back, I think that they truly wanted to come back and try to win a national championship, not for themselves, but for the university.¡±

With Earley at the helm, the Aggies will kick off their season with a weekend series against Elon University. Both LaViolette and Prager ¨C who were named to USA Baseball¡¯s Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List along with sophomore Gavin Grahovac -- will look to replicate their success from 2024.

LaViolette¡¯s sophomore season was power packed to say the least. The lefty slugger laced 29 homers ¨C sixth best in Division I ¨C and posted a 1.175 OPS.

¡°I think that there's always room for improvement, but at the same time, I think that if you try and get too fine and nitpick and try and be perfect in an unperfect game, then you're just going to fail more, and you're just going to get inside your head,¡± LaViolette said. ¡°So, I think that you just kind of have to ride with what's been working, and then if it starts to not work, then you have to figure something else out.¡±

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LaViolette and the Aggies hope to ¡°ride with what¡¯s been working¡± the past few seasons as they embark on a new journey in 2025.

On the MLB Pipeline Podcast, Mayo and Callis are your tour guides through all the unfolding stories and breaking news of baseball's top prospects. Each week, you'll find out about the stars of tomorrow from the guys who know today. Download, subscribe and help others find the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes or your favorite platform.