The Teams: Tarleton State (25-19, 15-9 WAC) vs. Texas A&M (38-6, 15-6 SEC)Where: College Station, TexasBallpark: Blue Bell ParkDay and Time: Tuesday at 6 p.m.Streaming Platform: SECN+ About the Matchup Game Notes• The inaugural meeting between the Aggies and the Texans took place in 1998, resulting in A&M’s first win over Tarleton State with a 9-4 final.• The overall record favors the Maroon and White at 5-0. •. In the 2023 season, the Texans fell one run short with a 6-5 final score. • Tarleton State is coming into the matchup after a series sweep at Sacramento State.• Texas A&M is coming off of a weekend series against Georgia, where the Aggies took the first pair of games but fell short at the plate to see a 5-4 ending in favor of the Bulldogs.• The Purple and White head into the midweek battle with their best overall record through 44 games since the 2018 season when the Texans went 29-15 and their best Division l conference record in program history at 15-9 with six conference games remaining.
Quick Hits
• Grant Garza and Reese Bassinger are ranked amongst the top 25 in the nation for best ERA. Garza is placed 10th in the nation with a 1.91 ERA. Bassinger falls in 27th with an ERA of 2.54. Tarleton State is the only team within the WAC to have multiple arms in the within the top 50.
• Garza is also in a three-way tie for second most wins without a loss in the nation at 8-0. He is also tied for 29th in the nation in WHIP at 1.00.
• Ike Shirey is in second in the WAC for stolen bases with 43. Tyson Drake follows closely behind with 42 stolen bags.
• The Texans welcome a new head coach in the 2024 season, Fuller Smith. Smith is accompanied by Nick Zaleski, RD Spiehs and Cody Semler in their inaugural year with the Texan Baseball program.
• In his first season with the Purple and White, Coach Smith is on track to share a seat at the table with some of the best season records of previous coaches in their first year at Tarleton State at 25-19. Lee Driggers amassed 37 wins in his inaugural season at Tarleton State. Bill Clay and Trey Felan secured 31 wins each in their first season, while Jack Allen tallied 29 and Bryan Conger finished with 28.
• Right handed pitcher, Will Stevens was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 15th round of the MLB Draft in 2023. Stevens takes the slot as the ninth Texan in program history to be selected in the MLB’s first year player draft.
Fuller Smith Era
On June 8, 2023, Fuller Smith was named the newest leader of Tarleton State’s Baseball program. The Alabama, native, has had a hand in the success of various programs, several of which the Texans will face in conference play. In the previous season, Smith wrapped up his three-year stint as an assistant coach for Sam Houston State University. Prior to his time in Huntsville, Smith spent six seasons at UT Arlington as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. The 2008 Ole Miss graduate has a plethora of experience that will be a core source of success for the Purple and White this season. The Fuller Smith Era (on the field) will officially commence with the weekend series against the SLU Lions.
First Power 5 Victory
With a 6-2 win over Baylor in Waco, Texas, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, Tarleton baseball picked up its first win over a Power 5 team in program history. The Texans took struck first in the first inning and never gave the lead up. Piercen McElyea played a big part in the win, striking out a season-high 10 in 5.0 innings of work, walking none. McElyea threw a first pitch strike to 18 of 23 batters he faced. In the 2024 season, the Purple and White will face the Bears in Waco on May 7, and the A&M Aggies in College Station, Texas, on April 30.
In the Box
A handful of returners have put up some impressive stats in the 2024 season and have proven to be a leading force for the Texans at the plate. Tyson Drake leads the team in several categories including runs (50), home runs (8), and slugging percentage (.548) and is tied for most triples (2) and sits in third in hits (47). Trace Morrison is tied for fourth in doubles (11) and fifth in RBI (26) and is one of five Texans that have tripled this season. Kooper Shook is tied for fifth in doubles (8) and has one homer on the season and a .377 on-base percentage. Cole Miears is tied for most hits (49) and the highest batting average at .327. Miears also has five home runs, six doubles, 34 RBI, and is sitting at a .467 slugging percentage and .485 on-base percentage. Mason Hammonds has also found his stride in the box as one of the Purple and White’s leaders in doubles (11). Hammonds has four home runs on the season, is fourth in hits (45) and has tallied 26 RBI on the season. Cris Enriquezleads the team in RBI (41) and is sitting at .308 at the plate. Enriquez has 45 hits, 10 doubles, one triple, and four homers on the season. He has a .473 slugging percentage and a .387 on-base percentage.
Strength in Numbers
With a 40-man roster in the 2024 season, the Texans have a great balance of experience within the program. The Tarleton State roster is made up of nine freshman, five sophomores, 15 juniors, and 10 seniors. Out of the 25 upperclassmen on the team, only nine are new to Texan Nation.
Next Up
Following the midweek meeting with the Aggies, the Texans will take on Sam Houston for a weekend series beginning Friday.
Recognition
To kick off the season, Senior, Zach Poe found his name on the 2024 Preseason All-WAC Team. The Madisonville, Texas, native is a strong arm for the Texans leading the team with the best ERA and WHIP. The right-handed pitcher also leads the team in appearances for the third consecutive season with 23, all out of the bullpen. The most recent recognition for the Texans came on Feb. 26 with Brandon Howell taking the WAC Player of the Week title. In the home opener for the Purple and White, Howell had one of his best collegiate career games with two home runs, one tying the game for the home team and the second winning the game with a walk-off grand slam. Howell also received The Grove Student Athlete of the Month for the month of February. He also took the Purple Thursday Special Performance of the Month for February.
Broadcasting On the Worldwide Leader
Part of the latest renovations to the Tarleton Baseball Complex and Tarleton Softball Complex included the capability to match ESPN standards of multiple camera angles on the broadcast. With that, Tarleton will stream select 2024 baseball and softball home games on ESPN+. All games that are not broadcasted
on ESPN+ will be broadcasted on WAC International.
WAC Preseason Poll
Tarleton was chosen to finish 9th out of 11 schools in the WAC preseason poll. The poll was released on February 6. The Texans received 34 total votes and slotted in ahead of Stephen F. Austin and Utah Tech. Grand Canyon was picked to win the league, followed by Utah Valley and California Baptist. The Purple and White are currently in 6th.
Hometown hero
Trace Morrison is a Stephenville, Texas, native, that has made a large impact on the Texan Baseball program. The sophomore made some stellar contributions on the field in his first season with Tarleton State. In the 2024 season, Morrison is batting .292 with 25 runs on 45 hits, nine doubles, one triple, one home run and 24 RBI.
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