Resume Check: Looking ahead to South Carolina baseball’s next opponent, the Texas A&M Aggies

South Carolina baseball lost their fourth SEC series in a row this weekend as USC fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs two games to one, including a rough 2-hit shutout on Sunday. Then, the Gamecocks bounced back a bit with a 13-3 mid-week victory over the USC-Upstate Spartans. Paul Mainieri’s team now owns a 20-14 overall record and a 2-10 mark in SEC conference play.

With the team’s postseason hopes dwindling with each disappointing weekend, South Carolina hopes to begin righting the ship this weekend. A talented opponent awaits them. The Gamecocks will travel to College Station, Texas to take on the Texas A&M Aggies.

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Resume Check: Texas A&M Aggies

Record: 17-15 (3-9 in SEC)
D1Baseball Ranking: N/A
Last Week: 14-1 mid-week win over Sam Houston State in Huntsville, 2-1 series win over Tennessee in Knoxville

One of the oddest teams of the 2025 college baseball season has been the Texas A&M Aggies. Viewed by many as the top team in the country this preseason, Michael Early’s group has been extremely disappointing. Barely hovering above .500 on the season, the Aggies are 3-9 in SEC play. However, they are coming off a road series win over the No. 1 team in the country, the Tennessee Volunteers, and a lopsided mid-week win on the road over San Houston State.

With all the preseason hype around A&M, the SEC coaches picked them as the league’s favorite to win the conference. The coaches gave them 10 of 16 first-place votes. Five offensive Aggies (Jace LaViolette, Gavin Grahovac, Hayden Schott, Wyatt Henseler, and Caden Sorrell) earned preseason All-SEC honors, and starting pitcher Ryan Prager joined them. LaViolette and Prager also received some preseason SEC Player of the Year and SEC Pitcher of the Year love from various outlets.

The results on the field haven’t matched the preseason hullabaloo.

Hurting the offense, Grahovac is out for the year with a shoulder injury, and Sorrell has missed significant time, too. Schott has struggled. LaViolette and Henseler have been great, and the team has gotten major contributions from Bear Harrison, Ben Royo, and Terrence Kiel.

A&M ranks last in the SEC in batting average and on-base percentage, and partnering that with the league’s second-worst numbers in steals and fielding percentage, it’s easy to see why the Aggies have struggled to string together many wins.

On the mound, the numbers are better but not near the top of the SEC. The staff doesn’t strike out many opposing batters (second-lowest total in the league) but limits walks (lowest total in the league) to help offset that issue.

Prager has been good, and Justin Lamkin and Myles Patton hold very similar statistical resumes. The three starters all have ERAs between 3.50 and 4.00 and WHIPs between 1.10 and 1.20. All three of the talented arms struggled in the Kentucky series, though, meaning their production has been much better this year as the one bad series skews the numbers.

Like most collegiate bullpens, the relievers in maroon and white have been a mixed bag. A&M’s top option–right-hander Weston Moss–has been elite as he’s given up just two extra-base hits in 28.2 innings. Grant Cunningham also has been good out of the ‘pen. After that, things can get uncomfortable.

South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri hasn’t revealed his starting rotation for this weekend. Last series, Jake McCoy, Jarvis Evans, and Brandon Stone got the starts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively. However, the results weren’t great. A USC team desperate for some wins might make some changes. Veteran starter Dylan Eskew could return from injury this weekend, as well.

The South Carolina Gamecocks and Texas A&M Aggies will play a Thursday, Friday, Saturday series. Thursday’s game one is slated to begin at 8:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU. It will stream on the ESPN app. First pitch for Friday’s game two will be at 7:00 p.m. The series finale on Saturday then will start at 3:00 p.m. Neither game two nor game three will broadcast on traditional television. Both Friday and Saturday’s games will stream on SEC Network+.

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