Baseball Hosts Fall Exhibition Contest with Rice

Texas A&M hosts the Rice Owls in its first of two fall exhibition games Friday at 6 p.m.
The scrimmage is slated for 14 innings. Admission is FREE and limited concessions will be available.
The Aggies return 15 letterwinners from last year’s squad and added 14 freshman and 15 transfers.

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M baseball begins fall exhibition action Friday night with a 14-inning scrimmage against Rice at 6 p.m. from Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.

Admission to the event is FREE, and limited concessions will be open. Friday’s matchup provides fans with their first look at the 2027 squad, which returns 15 letterwinners from last year’s team.

The Aggies return several key pieces from the 2026 squad, including Freshman All-Americans Nico Partida and Jorian Wilson. Partida slashed .306/.408/.550 last season, while Wilson posted a .283/.351/.616 slash line, as both earned All-SEC Freshman Team honors. The Maroon & White added three of D1 Baseball’s Top 50 transfer hitters in Nate Savoie (No. 3), Lane Arroyos (No. 31) and Alec Blair (No. 35).

The Texas A&M pitching staff, now under the direction of pitching coach Barry Enright, are led by junior Aiden Sims who posted an 8-1 record and 3.84 ERA across 68.0 innings last season. Another key piece of the pitching staff is senior Clayton Freshcorn, who compiled a 2.82 ERA and 12 saves across 54.1 innings of work in 2026. The Maroon & White added two of D1 Baseball’s Top 50 transfer pitchers to the staff in Wade Cooper (No. 9) and Johnny Nuanez (No. 33).

Last season, the Maroon & White appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time under the direction of head coach Michael Earley, finishing with a 41-16 overall record and an 18-11 mark in SEC play.

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Preview: Michael Earley

(It's) Very (important). I think freshmen and transfers and guys that just haven't played in our stadium in front of our crowd...I don't expect it to be, like, SEC form, but I'm never surprised by the lack of support we get. I'm sure it'll be a great crowd and bigger than most of these kids have ever played in. Again, 66 percent of our team is new. I'd be willing to believe that most of them--besides like a Jack Bell or Savoie at Clemson--this will be the biggest crowd they've ever played in front of. So it's really big for them. Learning how to control and handle it is a part of playing here.

-- Michael Earley on the importance of playing these games in front of the 12th Man

Preview: Nate Savoie

Can't beat this coaching staff. I've gotten already out of it everything that I wanted--from working with Coach (Troy) Claunch on the catching side to Coach Earley on the hitting side, it's pretty impressive. I came here to be a part of an offense that produces the way it does every year...and the ways that I can reach my potential this year. And I didn't see a better place than here.

-- Nate Savoie on why he chose A&M

Preview: Gavin Lyons

This is the first year that any coach has worked with my mechanics. I've never had a pitching coach that's tried to tweak something with me, and I've already seen significant gain. My velocity has already jumped up in the fall. I haven't thrown as hard in a while, so it's been amazing.

-- Gavin Lyons on working with new pitching coach Barry Enright