People keep talking about how talented our team is. I just don't see it. Jace and Hensler look like talented players. Kent is a gamer. May not be the most talented but is good. Kiel has talent but is still finding himself at the plate. Even though he has a great average, he is mostly a contact hitter using his speed to reach base. He's really good in the field and will develop into a great player. Weekend starting pitching has been real good to great. The rest of the team is just blah.

Or @$$es that push people beyond their comfort level.

Great2BeAnAGGIE said:

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He makes the lineup card.
He chose to place players in positions they really never played.
He makes the call on our offensive strategy.
He chose his assistant coaches.
He is solely responsible for an embarrassing drop from a unanimous #1 preseason ranking to unranked 0-4 in conference play in historic fashion.

I would love for the season to turn around but since he has never been a head coach before all I can do is wish. All I see right now is random decisions hoping he gets lucky.

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Sad but true. I am giving Earley not more excuses. He knew what kind of season he needed to have. Entire team is crapping all over the bed that Earley made.

And some of the baseball calls are a bit baffling to me at times. Sorry, but Earley owns this even if his players are choking, too. Something is SERIOUSLY off with this team.

Fairview20 said:

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Jace and Hensler were All Americans last season

Kash was an All Big 12 player at Tech for Two years

Kent is an above average SEC SS

Schott lead last season's team in BA

Kiel and Farr were highly touted prospects who were legit draft risks before deciding to go to school

Galloway and Harrison were thought of at the time as nice transfers. Harrison was on the All freshman team at his prior school. I realize that means nothing in relation to the SEC, but we have had several transfers over the last few years like Ali, Appel, Schott, Rock, etc come from small time conferences and tear it up here. So that was the expectation for those guys, even if it was unfair to them.

This team is too talented to be playing as poorly as they are.

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Part of the issue is perception. I'm going off of what I see. Kiel and Farr were "highly touted". But seeing them play, Kiel is way ahead of Farr and Farr has a way to go to be a major contributor. Reminds me of Kent as a freshman. Galloway and Harrison were "thought of at the time". But seeing them play, they are just guys. Nothing special. Schott is playing on 1 leg. I have no answer on Kash, but seeing him play every day, I just don't see it. I hope he can play like he used to but the bat is just not there. He should have been at first base from game 1 though.

That is part of the issue IMO. In the past we saw recruits/transfers regularly exceed expectations because our development was elite. This year all of our new guys outside of Hensler and Kiel have been disappointments

this team may not be as good as many thought it would be on paper but to be this bad. well that falls squarely in the lap of the coaches. they have zero answers.

has any team gone from unanimous preseason number 1 to losing record in any sport in the last 50 years?

We aren't set back 10 years, that is rubbish.

Money whip a bad ass coach and we are good to go. He will bring players.

at the time we over looked that the team basically held us and the AD hostage with coaching demands and NIL.
That was some weak sht.

and the baseball program has to let any players walk that say:

I'm leaving if Earley isn't brought back in 2026

W said:

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part of it is the transfer players

they're just not good -- outside of Henseler

so the middle of the order is incredibly weak 4-5-6

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this is what I've been saying. Appel and Burton were really good.

So, are we clear now that this abomination isn't a scapegoat issue? You do not have this type of implosion with the type of coach we need.

OA_02 said:

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I have never understood folks who rationalize poor performance of our head coaches. Rob was the beneficiary of that for years. The head coach of Aggie baseball is a job - a great one at that. Coaches are paid for performance. Why isn't it like any other job where poor performers are let go? It's crazy that people think otherwise.

Boosters paid a lot, I'm presuming, to get this team in place. Are there key injuries? Sure. Was everyone wrong thinking this was an elite team going into the season? Absolutely not. However, look at the play on the field. Outside of starting pitching, what has this team done well? The answer is nothing. Maybe the injuries should ratchet expectations down some to hosting a regional instead of being a top 8 seed? We aren't anywhere close to that. This is truly the worst coached team I have ever seen in any of the big 3 sports in my lifetime. You have to go back to Aggie basketball in the late 90's to get anywhere close and those teams didn't have nearly the talent that this team does.

If Earley turns this around, he gets full credit for a Lazurus type turn around. If things continue on this path, he should be let go by the end of April.

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. People want to latch onto the preseason number one and ignore that 3 important pieces if that ranking have played very little or not at all. And one is hobbled. Is Earley a great coach? I don't know. Can he get the most out of this team? I don't know. But right now, I don't think we have the horses.

Coaches should be given a chance to succeed or fail. In general, I think three years. That's a decent body of work. A current example is Brent Venables at OU. Three years and almost nothing. The die is cast for me and Brent. Coaches are 100% responsible for the product on the field. At this point for coach Early and year one, this is a massive failure. Losing to Vandy and Bama is one thing. Losing at home to historical cupcakes is another. Should happen very rarely.

BTHOBadDecisions said:

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It's a truly unfortunate situation. This program not only had exceptional talent this year, but was also built for sustained success in the years to come. Yet, for reasons unclear, the coaching staff chose to abandon a proven formula in favor of their own approach to playing and recruiting.

The consequences go far beyond just this season. Future recruiting classes have already taken a hit. A clear example is the noticeable drop-off in the 2026 recruiting class after POS's departure. Strong recruiters understand how to retain top talentsomething this staff has clearly failed to prioritize. Not being able to capitalize on 2024 success is indefensible.

Even if they somehow manage to pull off a winning season, the deeper issues with recruiting and culture will remain. Rather than securing high school prospects who genuinely want to be here and buy into the program's long-term vision, the staff is now forced to rely heavily on NIL deals and the transfer portal to patch over their poor decisions.

But there's a fundamental difference between a high school recruit who is committed to the school's future and a transfer chasing NIL money. These represent two vastly different mindsetsand two different cultures. One builds identity, stability, and cohesion over time. The other is transactional, temporary, and ultimately unsustainable.

Meanwhile, the head coach has become a punchline in and around the areadespite having a winning team, blind support from boosters, and top-tier talent. Failing to capitalize on that momentum during the offseason falls squarely on him. His questionable in-game decisions and offseason training program are already raising concern, and as pressure builds, those mistakes are likely to get worse. Think it's bad now? Just wait until the Austin series.

It's also completely unfair to expect the fanbase to blindly support him and cover for his inefficiencies by throwing money at NIL deals to hide his failures. Not only is that an irresponsible approach, but it's also unstableespecially considering how frequently the NCAA has changed NIL rules over the past three years. This is not a long-term solution.

We can't keep giving the athletics department a free pass with zero accountability. The fact that the university handed out a four-year guaranteed contract to an unproven coachwith no performance benchmarks or meaningful oversightis a slap in the face to a passionate fanbase and a sign that the school doesn't truly respect the sport or its supporters.

This short-sighted strategy, lack of leadership, and failure to build a winning culture will have lasting consequences. The responsibility lies entirely with the staffnot the playersand unless changes are made quickly, the damage could define the program's trajectory for years to come.

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Can't disagree with much of this. I'm not sure what strategy we have in the game much less building and sustaining a dominant SEC program. It's not all Earley, but he's supposed to captain the ship, and it just seems all he's managed to do is run it into a reef.

I've debated with myself as to post my opinion about the HC. While he may be a successful coach somewhere else in the future, I don't believe he can or will be here, with this team. His relationship with this team is based on his tenure as an assistant coach, who did not have responsibility to hold players accountable. He has been their friend and confident and "pal".
My analogy in the business world would be a member of a crew who has been buddies with all the crew members is suddenly made supervisor of the crew and now has the ultimate responsibility for holding everyone accountable. Hard to make that transition successfully without losing credibility or team members.
He should be able to learn from this situation and become successful at his next stop.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter the situation, the why, the past, the why nots, and the unfortunate coincidences. The buck ultimately stops with the coach. No matter how good of a guy/girl they are, how good intentioned, and how successful they may be later in their career. But at this very moment they have to find an answer. And we haven't found it.

Guys, agh hem, we lost to Texas State. Not only lost but our pitching looked like 10u softball level bad. "Rebuilding year". Is the best we can hope for.

For now... we don't need a new coach, we need a shrink. This isn't a physical problem, it's mental.

Gyles Marrett said:

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Texas_Ag11 said:

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Weird take. I might agree with you that we should not have been the #1 team in the country. But to say a team that is .500 at this point and putting up an o-fer in SEC play is scapegoating our coach is a little odd. We are bad, bad. Not just losing Grahovac bad. We weren't a good hitting team with him on the team. I think the wheels are about to really come off at this point. This team is lost, uncomfortable and mental. Problem is, we have a first year head coach that appears the same.

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It's weird to think our biggest issue is replacing two very high likely 1st round MLB draft picks with guys that went 0-9 with 8k's? lol Never said Earely has been great. But give me those 9 AB's with a healthy Grahovac and Sorrell and we very likely have a very different situation currently.

I swear a huge percentage of people on here don't understand baseball.

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We didn't replace the other players that left. As a coach you always have to have the next man ready as shown in the last three years with injury . You replaced sorrel with someone not expected to play that leads the team in avg
This goes way beyond two injuries. We don't have the team ready. Approach at the plate,fielding leadership or lack there of by anyone. We saw a problem opening weekend and it is getting worse

Exactly. It's hard to even identify what the core philosophy isoffensively or otherwise. There's no situational awareness, no consistency, and no sign of in-game adjustments. It's like we're just hoping something clicks instead of having a plan to execute.

You're rightit's not all on Earley. But when you're the head coach of this program, its players and last year's marvelous accomplishment, the standard is higher. You don't get credit just for inheriting talent and last year's record; you're judged on how you develop it, manage it, and build a culture around it. Right now, he's in over his head. And the longer this goes without accountability, the harder it's going to be to right the shipif it's even possible at this point.

Completely agree with a lot of thisespecially the part about the atmosphere being gone before the season even started. Last year's team felt different. They had swagger, chemistry, and were clearly having fun while competing. That vibe's been completely stripped away, and it shows in the body language, the dugout energy, and the results on the field.

As for the head coach situation, you nailed it. The blame doesn't stop with Earleyit extends all the way up. The AD had a responsibility to lock down a successful program and build on momentum after 2023, and instead they played it safe and cheap. We were burned by Jimbo, sure, but failing to invest anything meaningful into baseball at such a crucial turning point is a massive misstep. If just a fraction of the football budget had gone toward securing the right staff and upgrading the facilities, we might not be watching the program slide backwards like this.

Letting the players drive the hire out of emotion was another short-sighted move. They needed leadershipnot validation. It's not fair to put a young, unproven coach in a position where he has to learn on the fly in the SEC. Experience matters, and when you don't have it, every mistake gets amplified tenfold.

And speaking of leadershipwhere was the offseason program? What we got was a lot of word salad: buzzwords about culture, development, and accountabilitybut no visible results. No momentum in recruiting, no signs of team cohesion, and clearly no offensive development. The best programs treat the offseason as the foundation. We treated it like a press conference.

Now we're watching the cost of those decisions play out in real timeand it's painful.

Gyles Marrett said:

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It's easy to blame him. He's been far from perfect. I've criticized several decisions myself.

But the simple reality is injury and not having the depth many thought is by FAR the bigger issue.

The players that played in place of Grahovac and Sorrell last night went 0-9 with 8K's. You can't lose two of your best bats and replace it with that and expect to win much is the reality. At some point somebody filling in has to step up or that the status quo of outcomes is not going to change.

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I can see giving Earley one more year depending on how this turns out and the coaching market. But if I'm Trev I'm already getting a list ready and thinking of a strategy. It's not any disrespect to Earley, it's just A&M wants a winning program and Earley is looking too green as a head coach. Giving him one more year would allow you to have all the evidence you need if there's no improvement.

BTHOBadDecisions said:

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Exactly. It's hard to even identify what the core philosophy isoffensively or otherwise. There's no situational awareness, no consistency, and no sign of in-game adjustments. It's like we're just hoping something clicks instead of having a plan to execute.

You're rightit's not all on Earley. But when you're the head coach of this program, its players and last year's marvelous accomplishment, the standard is higher. You don't get credit just for inheriting talent and last year's record; you're judged on how you develop it, manage it, and build a culture around it. Right now, he's in over his head. And the longer this goes without accountability, the harder it's going to be to right the shipif it's even possible at this point.

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maybe last year was blind luck with our slugging/hitting, with the benefit to being under the direction of schloss with in-game decisions and keeping the kids' psychology right.

people seem to forget last year that our boys had a hard time finishing after the Georgia game (from a hitting standpoint). game management and pitching is what finished out the year and (if memory serves) our slugging, OBP and extra base hits dropped off substantially.

Quote:

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people seem to forget last year that our boys had a hard time finishing after the Georgia game (from a hitting standpoint). game management and pitching is what finished out the year and (if memory serves) our slugging, OBP and extra base hits dropped off substantially.

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A lot of people have forgotten that.

StinkyPinky said:

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I agree coaching definitely plays into it and should should be held to significant accountability. But it is also fair to say we are a different team offensively. The top 10 offensive players in 2024 in order….

Schott
Appel
Kent
Montgomery
Violence
Grahovac
Ali
Burton
Sorrell
Chestnutt

We have only 3 of those players that are actively participating (lost 70%). That is an entire different scenario than having a returning offense

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This is why you won't likely see us firing Earley. This much changeover is real. Sure, we return that roster and have these results, no doubt it would be on the coaches. But that is a big turnover...I'm not so sure that POS is having that great of a year with this team either...

Also, let's see if Sorrell is healthy when he is back and has some time to acclimate, plus getting Stewart back, and this could really help the team.

When you look at that 24 line up, you see that while you have some mashers, you had a lot of guys who were just really good at getting timely hits. Guys like Appel ands Ali would get a big single or double at big moments. Most of our guys just aren't doing that. Give me Burton and Chestnut too. Hopefully these new guys can start doing this more frequently. Again, baseball is streaky. Things can turn on a dime so hopefully we have a couple of guys step up quickly here and get some momentum going...

Sgt. Schultz said:

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There probably is some truth to the analogy that Earley was "a nice guy and confidant" to the mean head coach that was Schloss, who always rode the players. Similar to the XO to the CO in Navy parlance.

Potentially, you could game out a situation where if/when Earley raises hell and goes ape **** on the players, they can basically can laugh and say "**** you, you have this job because of us going to bat for you with Trev." That makes for a bad situation.

Truth be told, it would have likely been a better thing for Earley to have been a HC somewhere else and then potentially hire him a few years down the road. Obviously, that's not what happened.

Where we do we go from here? Hopefully the players pull their head out of their ass and start performing like they are paid to perform.

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I don't understand why we didn't get Vaughn with Earley as the Asst HC.

It seems there is a clear Yogi Berra consensus on this forum regarding who is to blame for the team's current record:
Eighty percent of the blame is on Earley; the other eighty percent of the blame is on the players.

We still lost some top fish verballed to A&M that switched to tu and think playing well for them.

How is recruiting going for next 1-2 years (anyone truly know verbals/ranking/ptichers)? tu is cleaning up (w most of the SEC behind them), but I don't know how Earley/staff are doing on that front (haven't seen A&M listed anywhere officially on that front). If they are doing poorly, then better think of replacing sooner than later as cannot get too far behind in SEC without a pipeline of HS talent (if the bet was this year doing well would have the kids coming, that's a strategic error).