Texas A&M baseball headed to Stanford as No. 2 seed in NCAA Tournament

Load up the whammy wagon, Texas A&M is on the road (again) to Omaha.

For the second time in as many years under Jim Schlossnagle, the Aggies are headed to the NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 2 seed in the 2023 Stanford Regional.

Hosted by Stanford University (38-16, 23-7 Pac-12), the four-team double-elimination format begins Friday with 3-seed Cal State Fullerton (31-22, 20-10 Big West) and 4-seed San Jose State (31-25, 18-11 MWC) also making their way to Klein Field at Sunken Diamond.

The Aggies (36-25, 14-16 SEC) will take on the Titans first. Game time is to be determined. 

This marks the 37th appearance in the Big Dance for A&M, having advanced to the College World Series seven times, most recently in 2022 when the Aggies reached the bracket-1 final against Oklahoma.

Despite underachieving relative to preseason expectations, the Maroon & White gritted their way through a demanding conference schedule and sealed their fate with a series victory at Mississippi State in the final week of the regular season.

Since then, they’ve emerged as one of the hottest teams in the nation.

Texas A&M made a bold-faced statement last week by becoming the only double-digit seed (10) to ever make the Southeastern Conference Tournament title game due in large part to dominating — albeit unexpected — performances on the mound. Reinvigorated with a renewed sense of confidence, it’s safe to say the Aggies are as lethal as any No. 2 seed can be.

Hosting their sixth straight regional, Stanford (#8 national seed) is fresh off a 12-4 run-rule upset loss to Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals this past Friday. The Cardinal have made two CWS runs under six-year head coach David Esquer and are back-to-back Pac-12 regular season champs. Stanford last encountered the Aggies in the 1997 NCAA West Regional in Palo Alto and came away with a 3-1 elimination victory. 

Cal State Fullerton has participated in the CWS 18 times, securing four titles since 1979. Second-year skipper Jason Dietrich seems on track to returning the program back to prominence as the Titans ended 31-22 for their highest-place finish since 2018 when they made their last regional appearance.

The Aggies and Titans will meet for the 13th time on Friday, last seeing one another in a non-conference weekend series 10 years ago in Fullerton. Though, it’s not their first time battling in the postseason. Cal State Fullerton defeated the Aggies 6-3 in the 1988 NCAA South Regional in Starkville, Miss. 

San Jose State is currently riding high. Over the weekend, they claimed their first Mountain West Championship in program history and are advancing to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2002. 

The 2023 Stanford Regional is paired with the Coral Gables Regional, which includes Miami, Maine, Texas and Louisiana. Between both, the winners will compete for a trip to Omaha in a best-of-three super regional round beginning June 9.