A new season of Aggie baseball is almost here, as opening day for the 2024 season is Feb.16 at the World War Memorial Stadium.
The Aggies finished last season 19-28 overall and 11-17 in conference play. This season, the Aggies are reflecting, and making the necessary changes to have a winning record.
“I’d say the biggest lesson learned for our team is the amount of week-to-week consistency it takes to win in one of the top conferences in college baseball,” said Head Coach Ben Hall. “Every team is well coached and prepared.”
Consistency is something that senior outfielder Camden Jackson brings to this team. Jackson hit .309 with 22 RBI and played exceptional defense for the Aggies last season. He will be one of the leaders Coach Hall looks to throughout the season.
“I bring a lot of experience to the team. This, is a pretty old team, so we have been through a lot over these past three years,” Jackson said. “So I think we’re gonna be well prepared for this year.”
Experience will be a key factor in how well the team performs this season. The Aggies will bring back many juniors and seniors from last year’s team.
“ They have a much better understanding of what teams do and what it takes,” Hall said. “We have a veteran team, so I am expecting to look like a veteran team week in and week out.”
The Aggies hope that players like junior infielder Tre Williams and junior right-handed pitcher Ja’Heim Brown can build on their 2023 seasons and help the team make a run at the top of the CAA conference.
“We got some cool trips this year. We’re going to Florida early this year, and it will be a good experience to start the year,” Jackson said.
The Aggies are playing in the Andre Dawson Classic, which takes place in Florida on Feb. 23. It is a three-day event against three different HBCU schools. This will be the team’s first test of the year, as it is their first away game out of the state this season.
“I feel like our bullpen is a lot deeper this year and a lot more experienced,” said graduate student Avery Cain. “I’m excited for our game against Wake Forest at home and just going out there and proving everyone wrong. They have us at the bottom of the conference this year.”
The bullpen of the Aggies will play a big part in whether or not they can prove their doubters wrong. A home game on Feb. 27 against Wake Forest will be an early test for this bullpen, as Wake Forest is ranked No. 1 in college baseball heading into the season, by perfect game and D1 baseball.
This season, the Aggie baseball team will be one to keep an eye on as an entire offseason has prepared them for the challenges they will face.
“Tough, experienced, aggressive, Fun. Those are a couple of adjectives that our staff have seen through this offseason training,” Hall said.“Just want these guys to be hyper-competitive in everything they do; success will follow their mentality.”
