How to contact our sponsor:

713-898-0487

Lane@4LRoofandRemodel

4lroofandremodel.com

When Texas A&M outfield Jace LaViolette took a fastball off his left hand and screamed in pain in the fourth inning of A&M's 3-2 win over Auburn at the SEC Tournament, my first reaction -- as it was for many -- was, "that's it, he's done."

The guy had a broken hand and a dislocated knuckle. People don't come back from that in a day or a week.

Jace LaViolette is not "people".

In one of the most amazing feats of toughness I've ever seen, LaViolette had surgery on his hand Thursday night and was in the lineup, batting third, Friday evening. It was a matter of how much pain he could take, and even though he had a adjusted swing, he still drove in two of A&M's three runs against LSU.

It was, simply, amazing.

There's only two players I know of who has shown similar toughness, and he's a legend for many other reasons already. When Johnny Manziel got hurt against Auburn in 2013, he went under the bleachers of old Kyle Field with the training staff. The diagnosis (made later) was of a grade 2 shoulder separation. That's the same thing the put Conner Weigman on the shelf for a month this past season. Manziel missed one series. By the end of the season, he had a shoulder separation, a busted thumb and a leg injury, but was still a Heisman finalist.

Trevor Knight's injury three years later was similar, but gets overlooked. He missed two games, but came back to gut it out against LSU in the season finale, which turned into a shootout. In spite of barely being able to lift his arm, Knight threw three touchdown passes.

I've heard the stories of Jack Youngblood playing through the playoffs on a broken leg and a bunch of other players coming back well before they were supposed to just to help their team. But I have never heard of a hitter suffering a broken hand and not miss a game. Especially when the odds of your team making the postseason are extremely slim to begin with.

But LaViolette loved his coach, loved his teammates and his university. So he put it all on the line in a way that people will be hearing about for decades.

Jace LaViolette will leave A&M as the program's all-time leading home run hitter, as an All-American in 2024 and one of the major reasons the Aggies came within a game of winning a national title. And, when he gets discussed by A&M fans around a table or at a ballgame, those things will all be discussed.

After they discuss the broken hand.

Unless the tea leaves everyone's reading are wrong (which is possible), Michael Earley will be one and done as Texas A&M's baseball coach. And to be honest, that's sad. Earley's a good guy, beloved by his players and a man that has a genuine affection for Texas A&M -- unlike the last cretin.

But the last scumbag could coach and got the most out of his players. He did it at TCU, he did it here, and now he's doing it in Austin. Earley's not that kind of coach yet.

A&M took a flyer on Earley because the players wanted him and he campaigned hard for the job. That was a potent combination and it won out over some big names who were also interested. But, if you judge the program by its record (30-26) and it's failure to reach the postseason for just the second time this century, it's a failure.

Aggie baseball regressed in 2025. LaViolette wasn't anywhere near his 2023 form, much less his All-American 2024 form. Gavin Kash had a horrible season, as did the injured Hayden Schott. Sawyer Farr wasn't ready. Jamal George couldn't make the jump to the bigtime. There were too many square pegs in round holes for the first two months of the season with players out of position.

The pitching staff regressed. Ryan Prager started and ended the year great, but was bad in between. Myles Patton wasn't what was expected. Justin Lamkin was, and he's probably getting drafted in a spot that will have him out the door in a couple of weeks. The bullpen, minus Weston Moss, was an outright disaster -- and Earley's utilization of it was a frequent head-scratcher.

The team was also undisciplined. They made way too many errors, didn't run the bases well and were awful with runners in scoring position. A team that should have had power from top to bottom ended up last in the SEC in batting average.

The inconsistency was the most damning thing. A&M beat two of the top four national seeds and four of the top eight. That's seriously impressive. They also got swept by Mizzouri, in their only conference wins of the year. And that was a gotta have it series. At home. That's an absolute disaster.

There are excuses that can be made for Earley, of course. Gavin Grahovac missed nearly the entire season, as did closer Josh Stewart. Caden Sorrell looked like a superstar when he was healthy, but that was only for about half the season. Kash wasn't an outfielder. Troy Wansing had to retire due to injuries.

Earley's players love him. LaViolette made that clear, as did Gavin Grahovac's dad when he tweeted, "If he comes back, they come back." If A&M does fire Earley, they could lose Grahovac, Sorrell and good knows who else.

But they listened to the players once and they didn't come through. Neither did Earley. Major college baseball is a results-driven sport, and 30-26 doesn't hack it when you have the talent A&M does.

Sometimes nice guys finish last, and they get fired as a result.

Now less than 100 days from kickoff in against UTSA, college football observers are starting to rank position groups to see how they fare against competitors and FBS as a whole. The Aggies look like they're going to be on quite a few lists.

• They have one of the nation's best running back rooms, now that we know Le'Veon Moss is back.

• The offensive line, with its experience, is considered one of the SEC's best.

• The receiver corps, led by KC Concepcion and Mario Craver, is thought of highly.

• The linebackers are considered a top 10 group nationally.

But there are questions, and those questions are justified.

• Outside of Will Lee, can any cornerback cover?

• Will the safeties tackle and learn how to play a zone defense?

• Can a very different-looking defensive line be more effective than the one that proved to be overrated last year?

• And, the biggie: can Marcel Reed make a major leap from one year to the next?

Judging from his comments at the B/CS Coach's Night, Mike Elko sure thinks so. If you get an improved Reed with a strong offensive line, good receivers and elite backs, A&M's offense could be mighty dangerous.

They just need to find someone who can cover on the other side of the ball.

Is tomorrow.

My mom will go to the oncologist to determine whether the mass on her pancreas is cancer. Pancreatic cancer, along with a brain tumor, are the two ways to go out that I fear the most. And now my mom is facing what could be a potential death sentence.

I've been very fortunate to get the point in my life where I have a family of my own and still have my parents. I still have my in-laws, too, and I lucked out in that department for sure. My sister's family is healthy. Even though we had a run to urgent care tonight because Cody fell and got a concussion and Arie has to deal with tremendous pain until she can have surgery on her hip, I've got them.

But the idea that my mom could have a cancer that is a near-certain killer means that, for the first time, I'm old enough where someone I love is facing their mortality. And, with my dad slowly drifting away with dementia, it's a double-whammy.

I guess I'm not ready to be an orphan. But maybe it's time that I deal with life as an adult.