Aggies Tabbed No. 4 in Preseason Rankings by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
Dec 20, 2022 | Baseball
TUCSON, Ariz. – The first preseason rankings of the 2023 season is out with the Texas A&M Aggies tabbed as the No. 4 team in the nation entering the year, according to a release from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Tuesday morning.
The high praise is of little surprise considering the Aggies return 13 letter winners from last year's team that claimed the SEC West title and advanced the College World Series for the seventh time in program history. Included in those returners is the bulk of the Aggie lineup, including Jack Moss who was named a preseason second team all-American by the same publication on Monday.
Other returning pieces to the lineup include all-SEC performers Austin Bost (.360/.451/.572, 10 HR, 45 RBI) and Ryan Targac (.294/.430/.569, 15 HR, 58 RBI), along with outfielders Brett Minnich (.306/.409/.453, 7 HR, 51 RBI) and Jordan Thompson (.258/.400/.475, 6 HR, 31 RBI) and infielder Trevor Werner (.256/.357/.489, 7 HR, 29 RBI).
Additionally, on the mound the Aggies bring back rotation frontman Nathan Dettmer (6-3, 4.99 ERA, 82 K) and Chris Cortez (6-3, 4.91 ERA, 32 K), an SEC all-freshman choice in 2022, and lefty Will Johnston (3-1, 3.25 ERA, 49 K, 4 SV), among others.
The Aggies open up the season in the Collegiate Baseball poll right where it left off in 2022, ranked fourth after their run to Omaha. It marks the sixth time in the past seven years the publication has had the Aggies named in its season-opening rankings.
Included on the 2023 schedule for Texas A&M are nine opponents ranked in the top 25, with five being ranked in the top 10 to open the season.
The Aggies are slated to kick off on February 17 when the Aggies host Seattle U for a 3-game series at Blue Bell Park.
