Home run king Daylan Holt says it’s ‘fun’ to watch A&M’s record chase

Texas A&M Hall of Famer Daylan Holt owns the program’s single-season and career home run records, but he could soon have company. On Friday morning, the Aggie legend joined TexAgs Radio to reminisce on the 1999 season, discuss his interaction with Jace LaViolette and more.

Key notes from Daylan Holt interview

• Life is definitely busy. Right now, we’re in Georgetown, and my youngest son is playing varsity baseball. They’re in the playoff against Tomball in round four. My oldest is playing in the Division II super regionals right now against Angelo State. We’re trying to figure out where we’re going to be, when we’re going to be there and if we can make both games. It’s a crazy time right now. I cherish this every summer.
   
• I watch a lot of Texas A&M games. Every time they’re playing on ESPN, SEC Network or SEC Network+, we’re able to watch. This is what I call my March Madness. I can turn on the TV at 9 a.m. and start watching the SEC Baseball Tournament. Next week will be the regionals, and the super regionals right after. I’ve been able to watch quite a few games.
   
• I got to go down to the Vanderbilt game on Friday. We had a 1999 reunion, and that was a fun time. It was also a butt-whooping. We run-ruled them in seven innings. I wasn’t expecting that. It is a really good team.
   
• I thought they did a really good job in the Arkansas series. Against Ole Miss, it was a little disappointing. I thought they could’ve done better up there. The way that baseball is, it’s monotonous. Every single day, you have to stay even. You can’t ride the highs and lows of the rollercoaster. Look at some of the stuff that’s going on. You see guys hitting the ball hard, just right at somebody. Braden Montgomery hit five or six balls this week right on a line, and it has been a one-hop to the second baseman or into the shift. You’re seeing a lot of that. You have to ride that out and just keep doing what we’re doing.
   
• I was down for that Vandy game, and we went down to the locker room after. I got to talk to Jace LaViolette for a brief second. That’s basically my only interaction with him so far. It was pretty neat for me. Being the old guy, I can remember being there in 1999 when the 1978 team walked in. You’re like, “Oh my gosh, these guys are old.” That was me. I congratulated him on the season he’s having and last year as well. I told him he’s going to walk into the career home run record, and I wished him luck on the single-season record. It’s a difficult task, and when you start to think about it, I hit 34 in 70 games. That’s one every other game. LaViolette has 28 in 57 games. He’s right at it. It’s very much a possibility, and it might just be a matter of how far they go.
   
• The record is always fun. I joke around about it with my friends, but at the same time, it has been 25 years. Records are made to be broken. The way the team is and with Montgomery and Gavin Grahovac, it’s a fun team to watch. That’s what I like about it. You have three guys with over 20 home runs right now. I’m not sure what happened to BBCOR, but they’re making those bats look stupid with how big and strong they are. It’s fun to watch.
   
• Craig Kuzmic hit 27 or 28 home runs. I was able to tie that against Texas in 1999, and right after that, it was two in the regionals and two in the super regionals. Kuzmic did it the year before, so it was always a competition. He was awesome, and that’s how I hope to be. If LaViolette breaks it or when he breaks it, it will be fun, and hopefully, I can time it right to be at one of the games where he does that. It would be cool. It would be really fun.
   
• I remember playing at Southwest Texas, and I can remember thinking how nice the stadium was. I remember that I liked hitting at that ballpark. Some of the stuff you can remember like it was yesterday, and some of the stuff you have no clue about. We had a 1999 reunion Zoom call during COVID-19 to relive that season. I was amazed at all the stuff the guys were talking about because I had no clue that any of that happened.
   
• In 1999, I can remember beating Clemson like it was yesterday. It was hot as all get out, and Steve Scarborough’s entire body cramped up. They had him on IVs, and they could barely get him in the game. I remember that like yesterday, but Scarborough barely remembers it.
   
• We were facing Clemson’s closer, but he hadn’t given up a home run all season long. Scarborough comes up. Bomb. I’m like, “Oh crap, here we go. We’ve got a chance.” Chad Hudson came up right behind him and lined out. Steven Truitt comes up and hits another home run. We just erupted. We were the visitors in that game. We tied the game and went ahead but still had to shut them down to win. We had Casey Fossum come back on a day’s rest to get the final three outs to clinch it for us. It was crazy. Talk about Olsen Magic. It was epic.
   
• Scarborough was more of a doubles hitter, too. Truitt hit more home runs than Scarborough did. I have no idea how Scarborough got the nickname “Screech.” He went to Duncanville. I would play summer ball with him. I’d be the youngest, and they’d be the oldest. Towards the end of our high school career, we all played with the Dallas Mustangs together, and six of those guys came to A&M together. When I went on my recruiting visit, I felt at home because I was comfortable with everybody. That was the “Saved By The Bell” days.
   
• Anytime we see somebody from the 1998 or 1999 teams, we go right back to who we were during that time period. It’s automatic vibes. We start asking about kids and family, but then we go back to, “Do you remember when?” We have a text message group, and we razz guys. Chris Russ is the biggest culprit, but he’s also an easy target.
   
• Jim Schlossnagle is amazing, and it goes to his recruiting. The other big part is who he has around him with Michael Earley and Jason Hutchins, which, to me, is important because it connects everybody from the older days. Even with getting Max Weiner from the Mariners, Schlossnagle surrounds himself with very good coaches who help him. He also gets the right player. To get Montgomery out of the transfer portal, you’re like, “Holy crap.” There are like three kids from California that he was able to get as well. It shows that he knows what he’s doing in the new age of college baseball and recruiting at the Division I level. He knows how to put it all together, and it’s an amazing job that he has done. It’s a fun thing. When we were there, A&M was going to the Men’s College World Series every eight or 10 years. Now, they’re getting back more often. That’s what you need to go on a championship run. Having guys that are used to playing in Omaha is important.