Ad Disclosure
Jace LaViolette explains why he’s staying at Texas A&M after transfer portal entry
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Jace LaViolette worried many Texas A&M fans when it was revealed he had entered his name into the transfer portal following Jim Schlossnagle’s departure. The Aggie faithful can exhale. LaViolette has made it clear that he isn’t going anywhere.
LaViolette was among the many Texas A&M players that entered the portal in the immediate aftermath of Schlossnagle taking the Texas job. A&M hired hitting coach Michael Earley as its new head coach, making LaViolette excited for the future of Aggie baseball.
LaViolette offered a wholehearted endorsement of the hire, sharing the emotions he felt upon learning of Trev Alberts’ decision.
“I cried when I heard Mike was our new coach,” LaViolette said Tuesday. “That’s how much this man means to me and means to this team. He’s our rock. He’s our foundation. He’s one of the reasons why we were in Omaha. He’s one of the reasons why this team was so damn good. Excuse my language, but I get fired up talking about him.
“I could run through a brick wall for that guy. I love him. I could go to war for him. Same with the whole team, it’s going to be unbelievable.”
The portal exodus shook the world of college baseball. Days after Texas A&M had played a deciding Game 3 of the College World Series finals, it appeared that LaViolette and many other key Aggies would explore playing elsewhere in 2025.
For LaViolette, his heart was always in Aggieland. Hiring Earley made his decision easy.
“I wanted to stay here. There was no place I wanted to go other than Texas A&M University,” LaViolette said. “It’s an unbelievable university, it’s an unbelievable institution. Not only that, we have the best fans in the nation. I don’t know how you could leave this place. I don’t know how you could.
“A lot of people hated me for entering the portal, but sometimes you’ve got to cover your own butt. And that’s kind of what it was all about. This is my home, my forever home. I’ll always be an Aggie at heart and I’ll always be an Aggie in real life, so I’m excited.”
Aggies slugger Jace LaViolette offered the reasons why he’s returning to Texas A&M: pic.twitter.com/7tiM2Apa46
— Brent Zwerneman (@BrentZwerneman) July 2, 2024
LaViolette can break A&M, SEC records as a junior
LaViolette could be gearing up for a special junior season in Bryan-College Station.
He has already hit 50 home runs in just two seasons. If healthy, he should rewrite the A&M career record of 56 home runs by Daylan Holt from 1998-2000, which predates the BBCOR bats era (2011-present).
LaViolette’s 29 home runs in the 2024 season are already second best in program history in a single season, and best in the BBCOR era. Holt mashed 34 homers in 1999 for the Aggie single-season record.
The SEC’s single-season home record has already been rewritten each of the past two years. Florida’s Jac Caglianone hit 33 home runs, an NCAA BBCOR-era record, in 2023. Georgia’s Charlie Condon, the 2024 Golden Spikes winner, broke those records this past season with 37 homers.
The conference home run record belongs to Eddy Furniss, who mashed 80 homers from 1995-98. Caglianone holds the BBCOR era with 75 in three seasons, a number that could still be attainable for LaViolette if he comes up short of Furniss.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
