Texas A&M hires TCU’s Jim Schlossnagle as its next baseball coach

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.

Texas A&M fans know Jim Schlossnagle all too well from painful Aggie losses, including super regional defeats in 2015 and 2016.

Now, they’ll get to know him that much better.

The TCU coach is athletic director Ross Bjork’s choice to take over the A&M baseball program and lift it to the next level -- both in the ultracompetitive SEC and nationally. The Aggies did not renew the contract of coach Rob Childress last month after a 29-27 finish despite 13 NCAA tournament appearances. Although Childress twice took A&M to the College World Series, he failed to win a game in Omaha.

Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball was the first to report the hire Tuesday night. An announcement came Wednesday morning with a press conference scheduled for Thursday.

“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,” 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.

“He 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.”

Schlossnagle, 50, went 734-346 in 18 seasons at TCU, taking the Horned Frogs to the five College World Series. He also was on the forefront of innovations in strength and conditioning and sports psychology.

TCU went 41-16 this season, tying for the Big 12 regular season title and winning the conference tournament. But the Horned Frogs, the No. 6 national seed, were eliminated in the Fort Worth Regional with losses to Dallas Baptist and Oregon State.

Bjork, nearing his second anniversary at A&M, said he believed the baseball program needed “a new voice and new identity” when making the announcement to seek a new coach. This is his first A&M hire in a “major” sport.

Bjork has also talked about upgraded facilities at A&M.

Once Texas Tech’s Tim Tadlock signed a long-term contract extension – Red Raider officials told Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that A&M was willing to pay $1.2 million a year – then Schlossnagle became the obvious candidate for the Aggies.

Exact salary terms were not immediately available but multiple reports indicated that Schlossnagle had received a seven-year contract believed to be worth more than $1.25 million.

Just before the Big 12 tournament, Schlossnagle had told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that “I have no interest in any other job.”

But unlike previous times when lucrative jobs opened up, the denial seemed hollow and the timing appeared right for Schlossnagle to depart.

“I am extremely excited to get things started in Aggieland, and I am humbled by this incredible opportunity,” Schlossnagle said in a statement on his hiring.

“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.”

If TCU stays internally for the hire, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Kirk Saarloos would be an obvious candidate. Dallas Baptist coach Dan Heefner could also be in the picture after taking the Patriots to a super regional, although he has turned down power five jobs in the past.

TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said the school will pursue a national search for Schlossnagle’s replacement.

“We have an elite program with high expectations,” Donati said. “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.”

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