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Q: A lot has been said about our hitters and the positions they might play next year. Could you give us more insight into the pitching staff? Who’s staying and who are you hearing might be coming in? (DrDavid78)

A: There are still two big pieces to the puzzle that are in the portal: lefty Kaiden Wilson and righty Isaac Morton. Both are power arms and rising sophomores, so you'd love to have them back. But, at this point, the rotation looks like...

LHP Shane Sdao

LHP Justin Lamkin

LHP Troy Wansing

RHP Tanner Jones

But there's still some guys who could be coming in that can change that. And A&M has not given up hope on keeping Ryan Prager, though I don't think that situation will be resolved until after the MLB Draft next week.

In the bullpen, they'll have Brad Rudis back for sure. Josh Stewart seems a likely return, draft pending. Eldridge Armstrong, another big arm from the right side, is back. If you get Wilson and Morton back, then you're cooking with gas (literally and figuratively, considering they both throw in the upper 90s). But again, I think there will be some portal additions sooner rather than later to fortify the bullpen.

Q: Do you expect we'll take 25 this year? Breakdown between recruits and portal?

A: Ok, let's start thinking about it like this: the 25 no longer matters. It's dead. The only thing that matters is being at or under 85. You can take as many guys as you want in a single season as long as you're under the 85-scholarship limit.

They already have 18 commits. They're still working. And the portal will depend largely on losses and draft declarations, so we don't know yet.

When does fall practice start? (Hogtide)

A: Probably near the end of the month.

Q: Not football related...How are you and the family doing? (BVOSUX)

A: Well, I'm personally worn out. I've bounced all over the country like a pinball the last three weeks. Cody is good. My wife is suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, and it's been brutal. But our visit with my mom and dad went much better than expected, and I wouldn't doubt that part of that was because of everyone's prayers.

Right now, I just need $10,000 and a nap. Definitely the nap.

Q: Did we come out the other side looking better than we entered? (Big Smoothie)

A: I don't think they're all the way out the other side yet. I think they're going to add more. But they're already in better shape.

Q: Who do you realistically see us getting that gives us a potential top 1-3 defensive class? (Richard23)

A: Dang, that's a good question. They've still got 4-star DT DJ Sanders out there, but Texas is making a very big run because they need something positive in a huge way right now. They're going to keep after linebackers Riley Pettijohn and Keylan Moses, no matter what happens with Pettijohn's commitment tomorrow.

They've got a lot of possibilities in the secondary, starting with 5-star safety Jonah Williams. They're also in on 4-star Trey McNutt (though that's a bit of a stretch), and safeties Rashad Johnson and Rylon Dillard-Allen. They may be done at corner. They like what they've got there.

If you get Williams, you're already in the mix for a top 3 class. But I'd still like to see some more additions up front, but they're going to be very selective.

Q: our batting order is stacked. Probably the best in the nation. What does our pitching roster have to do to also be elite (portal, young development, etc)? (Jamisko11)

A: If A&M somehow gets Prager and Evan Aschenbeck back, it's done. They're elite. But getting Wilson and Morton back, in my opinion, are almost as important because of what they can do in the long term. But they do have some young arms that didn't pitch this year who could step up, and they're definitely in on some big names in the portal. I mentioned a few in Tidbits, so you can check them out there. If you're not a subscriber, now would be a good time to get in.

Q: Any chance of asking Albert's for an update on the baseball stadium and drawings?

A: I don't think so. Not right now at least.

Are you expecting anything unusual for football media days with zero u and tu joining ? (DentonAg80)

A: Some smartass questions and maybe some fawning over Texas from their local media arms, but that's about it.

Q: Did the NCAA ever approve mics for communication between coach and QB? Was wondering why football can’t do that when we saw the technology used in baseball. (tsmith3001)

A: Yes, I believe they did approve that in late May or early June.

Q: Could 2025 turn out to be THE BEST single year for all 3 Men's major sports teams? (Maroon Mudbug)

A: The potential is there. The baseball team will likely be #1 in the preseason polls (or top 3, at the least); basketball is a top 15 program right now and they addressed some key needs. Defensively, football looks stout. We just need to see more from the offense. So there's a chance. But so many things can go wrong that I don't even like pondering the possibilities.

Q: 1. What do we know about Coach Earley's baseball mind and philosophy for on-field play? (i.e. does he believe in aggressive base running, any beliefs about pitching strategy, batters working counts, etc.)

A: I think you saw his strategy on working counts -- A&M set a school record for walks last season and led the nation in that category. It's pretty simple: don't swing at balls and hit strikes. As for the rest, we'll see.

2. I saw a Brent Z article about how Ryan Targac became the first base coach during the season, which interestingly enough, was FYJ supposedly wanting to get Earley off first base and into the dugout to interact more with the players and be involved in "game-planning". The question - Do you see Targac getting into coaching and could there be some kind of assistant position at A&M for him? (wishful thinking on my part) He appears to have some natural leadership qualities and just seems to possess "the look" of a good coach in the way he interacts with the other players. (SAHeat)

A: I would like that a lot, but I think Ryan has to figure out what he wants to do first. But immediately, I think Earley has a full staff. Maybe Targac could be a GA or something like that.

Q: So, according to one of our little brother mods, UTjr went north of $1 mill in the recent wr recruit offer.

My question is about NIL in general. Is this monetary offer amount spread over many years, typically an annual amount or just depends? (geb)

A: I've seen it both ways, lump sum and spread out. I think it really varies from player to player.

Q: Looking at the first game, how do the Aggies match up with Norte Dame? It looks like many pubs have them ranked in the top 10. (RacerRod)

A: Great question. I had a pretty in-depth breakdown of them done on my Apple, and that's the one that got damaged in Omaha. But short version: good at skill positions. Solid on defense. But they are replacing three starters on the offensive line, and they have to deal with A&M's defense in game one. That could be a real problem for them.

Q: Pitcher Ty Baker did not play last year at all. I presume he was injured, can you confirm? (BC93)

A: No, I can't confirm that. A lot of freshman pitchers don't pitch if they're not 100% ready, and A&M had a lot of veteran arms. But here's another guy with a power arm, so we could see him this year.

Q: Is Schloss and/or Texas being investigated by the NCAA or SEC for tampering with atm coaches, current players or recruits leading up to Schloss leaving. Supposedly this was going on for a few months so it would seem this was a no no. Just curious. (MiltonD)

A: Well, he only left, what, 10 days ago? I've honestly lost track of time. If A&M is going to go after him and Texas, they're going to make sure they have an airtight case. Right now, they may just settle for crushing him on the field, but we've already seen that Trev Alberts does not air his dirty laundry in front of the media -- until he's ready to.

Q: What is the roster limit for baseball in 2025? We have a lot of guys returning and a lot of freshmen headed our way.

Does Schott count for roster limits since he is gettign a COVID year? (QuickDrawMcGraw77)

A: The roster limit is 40. They're fine in that respect. As for Schott, I think that Covid years do count against the number in baseball, but I'm not sure on that. Either way, they won't be in danger of going over. There's only so much space in the dugout.

Q: All 3 sports have exciting potential. I would rank them Baseball-football-basketball in order of most likely to meet expectations. Baseball is stacked. Football depends on the oline. Basketball still needs consistent shooting to give me comfort. What is your rank and why? (3s2ghill)

A: I think you have to put baseball at #1. They just came up 2 runs short of a national championship and they're better than they were two weeks ago (on paper, at least). Then I'm going to go with football. If Mike Elko is right and this is the best defense he's had at A&M -- well, he had the #3 defense overall in 2021. If you're better than that, you're shutting a lot of people down. A&M also plays the majority of its tough games at home.

And that brings us to hoops. I fully expect this will be a tournament team, and one that wins once it gets there. But to win a championship, you need more than one player who can fire up a dagger. And right now, if I'm playing A&M and the game's on the line, I'm doubling the guy wearing 4 and taking my chances with everyone else.