Transfers, IG captions, and Venmo requests: A&M community reacts to underhanded end of Schlossnagle era

On Monday, the Aggies came within one run of their first College World Series title. On Tuesday, A&M Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle did the unthinkable.

Less than a day after he had the Aggies on the brink of immortality and passionately pledged his commitment to the team, he abruptly joined forces with their most hated rival, taking three prominent assistant coaches with him to become the head coach at Texas. Judas himself would shiver at the thought of such treachery.

UT wasted no time showing off their shiny new toys. Schlossnagle’s X profile was covered in Longhorn branding within hours of the news of his departure on Tuesday afternoon. His profile location changed from College Station to Austin within the timeframe of the two-hour drive between the cities.

• Texas A&M head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle leaving for Texas, reports say

Texas held Schlossnagle’s opening press conference at 11 a.m. sharp Wednesday morning. They pulled out all the stops, with a name-plated No. 22 jersey, giant lightbulb letters reading, “COACH SCHLOSS,” and all the ceremonial hubris that has become synonymous with the UT ethos.

It’s also worth noting that all of this fanfare was executed insanely fast for a hire that allegedly wasn’t discussed during A&M’s run in Omaha. If Schlossnagle wasn’t offered this job until this week, the work ethic of the Texas athletics staff clearly shined executing on such a tight deadline.

For everyone involved with the A&M baseball team at any level, the last 48 hours have been a speedrun through the five stages of grief.

Several of the Aggies’ top players from the past season have entered the transfer portal, including Jace LaViolette, Gavin Grahovac, Kaeden Kent and Hayden Schott. It’s unclear whether or not they intend to follow their former coach across the aisle, but it would be safe to assume they will each be heavily courted by Bennedict Arnold in his new burnt orange cap.

Several other players have zagged the other way, doubling down on their commitment to the Aggies.

Sophomore pitcher Joshua Stewart quoted the Aggie Honor Code in his Instagram caption, taking a clear shot at his former coach’s ethics.

Sophomore pitcher Shane Sdao took a similar approach, quoting the six core values of Texas A&M.

Possibly the most direct shot at Schlossnagle from a player came from junior Travis Chestnut, who spoke with The Bryan-College Station Eagle’s Travis Brown, saying the following:

The A&M student body and fanbase have also fired less-than-flattering shots at their former coach.

On Wednesday night, Aggie fans on X discovered that Schlossnagle’s Venmo account was public and active, leading many to spam his account with requests for money. The messages accompanying these requests included varying levels of pettiness.

It’s still unclear what the future holds for A&M baseball. The coaching staff is gutted, and many players seem to have also jumped ship. Teams with 50+ win seasons typically don’t enter full-scale rebuilds just days after the last out is called, but that’s the state of college athletics right now.

Texas got one over on A&M; there’s no way around that. They have the biggest national brand—and more importantly, the deepest pockets—in college baseball, and that’s something worth celebrating when it lands a splash hire like this.

On the other side of that coin, the Longhorns better hope they stay at the top of the food chain, because their new leader will be the first one out the door if he sees even a speck of greener grass. That’s something you can trust about him.