NBC 5 Sports Director Newy Scruggs talks about the mark Jim Schlossnagle left at TCU and looks ahead to the future of the Horned Frogs’ baseball program.
After 18 seasons, longtime TCU baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle is headed to College Station.
Texas A&M University announced Wednesday morning that they lured the 50-year-old coach away from Fort Worth and named him the 20th head baseball coach in Aggie history.
"When we started our coaching search, we made sure we covered all of our bases within Texas and across the country by reaching far and wide to find the right fit for Texas A&M baseball," Texas A&M Director of Athletics, Ross Bjork said in a statement. "As our search progressed, it became abundantly clear that Jim Schlossnagle had the experience, recruiting prowess, player development background, and baseball knowledge to deliver a championship-caliber program for Aggie baseball.
Bjork went on to say that Schlossnagle "owns the best winning percentage of any college baseball program in Texas over the last 10 years and his track record of success on a national stage speaks for itself. Texas A&M deserves to have the very best of the best, and we have hit a proverbial 'grand slam' with Coach Schlossnagle."
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"We are excited to welcome Coach Schlossnagle, Jackson, and Kati to Aggieland and Texas A&M." -- Ross Bjork
"I am extremely excited to get things started in Aggieland, and I am humbled by this incredible opportunity," Schlossnagle said in a statement released by Texas A&M. "With the resources and facilities available at this world-class university, the foundation is here to win championships and make the 12th Man a regular visitor to Omaha."
Over the last 18 seasons at TCU, Schlossnagle led the Horned Frogs to five College World Series including four consecutive CWS trips from 2014-17. TCU was one of just three schools to appear in five of the last 10 College World Series. The Horned Frogs posted an 11-10 mark in Omaha, including being one of the last four teams standing in 2010 and 2017, the Aggies said.
In a statement Wednesday morning, TCU thanked Schlossnagle for the unprecedented contributions he'd made to the Horned Frogs program.
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"We are incredibly appreciative of the tremendous efforts and contributions from Coach Jim Schlossnagle over the course of his 18-year tenure here at TCU. He has helped elevate the profile of our baseball program to unprecedented heights, and we have been fortunate to experience a tremendous amount of success under his leadership. We thank him for his devotion to TCU and sincerely wish him and his family the best going forward," said Jeremiah Donati, TCU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Though they have a strong internal candidate to replace Schlossnagle in assistant coach Kirk Saarloos, TCU said they'll conduct a national search for Schlossnagle's replacement.
"We now turn our attention to the opportunity in front of us and will begin a national search for the next leader of our baseball team at TCU. We have an elite program with high expectations. Our student-athletes, fans and community deserve the best possible head coach and staff to lead this program forward and we are committed to delivering that to them," Donati said.
Over his 20 seasons, Schlossnagle has amassed an 811-393 (.674) mark. He leaves Fort Worth as TCU's all-time winningest coach with a 734-346 (.680) record.
This season the Frogs finished 41-16, tied for the Big 12 title, and won the conference tournament before being eliminated in the Fort Worth Regional on June 6 with losses to Oregon and Dallas Baptist.
