COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Less than a week after departing College Station for Texas, Michael Earley is set to be hired as Texas A&M's next head baseball coach, according to an official announcement from the Texas A&M athletics department.
Sunday morning, reports from Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle and Richard Zane and Billy Liucci of TexAgs emerged, pointing to the former hitting coach being selected as A&M's new head coach for the 2025 season.
"I am happy to announce that Michael Earley has been hired as our new Aggie baseball head coach," Director of Athletics Trev Alberts said in an announcement on 12thman.com. "Michael is a very talented coach and recruiter, but what stood out to me was his character and the relationships he has built with his current and former players. During our interview process he was really impressive. I think it helps that he knows our current roster, which finished second in the country, and he also knows Aggieland and the 12th Man. I am excited about the future of Aggie baseball. Please help me welcome home Michael and his family back to Aggieland."
"Michael Earley is talented, hard-working, and absolutely committed to Aggie baseball," President Mark A. Welsh III said. "Not a bad combination when you consider the huge support he has from his players. Add in the street cred he enjoys across collegiate baseball as a position coach, hitting coach and recruiter, and you realize we now have a budding superstar leading Aggie baseball. I'd like to thank Trev Alberts for the hard work leading to this hire. I'd also like to thank our incredible Aggie baseball players for contributing to this search in such a respectful and impactful way. Finally, welcome home Coach Earley. We're all behind you."
"My family and I couldn't be more excited for this opportunity," said Earley. "Thank you, General Welsh and Trev Alberts for putting your trust in me. Being a part of this University and this program are a dream come true. I will not let you down. See you in Omaha!"
Earley has been A&M's hitting coach under former head coach Jim Schlossnagle for the past three seasons. While he will be stepping into a head coach role for the first time, many current and former players have advocated for him to be hired back in the days since Trev Alberts' search for the next baseball head coach began.
Earley helped lead Texas A&M to new heights in 2024 with their best-ever NCAA tournament finish and 53 total wins, which is tied for the second-most in program history.
While details for who will make up Earley's staff for next season have not solidified, rumors point to him looking to bring Caleb Longley on as a staff member. Longley spent last season on David Pierce's staff at Texas, who was let go last week after eight seasons with the Longhorns.
Both Longley and Earley previously worked together during their time at Arizona State, where Earley built a reputation for developing impact hitters. His most notable prospect was Spencer Torkelson's rise to the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers.
"I would not be where I am at today without Coach Earley," Torkelson said. "He is the definition of a winner. His hard work and dedication to the game of baseball is contagious."
According to Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball, A&M looked to hire Tony Vitello away from national champions Tennessee in their coaching search, who reportedly has connections to Aggieland. Virginia's Brian O'Connor was also reached out to, but also chose to stay with the Cavaliers.
The news has many current players excited, with a number that were set to go on to the MLB draft making an effort to return to Aggieland for one final season, as well as others confirming on their personal social media accounts that they are committed to staying at A&M for at least one more year.
Many players that also entered the transfer portal following the news of Schlossnagle's departure have withdrawn their name, including Shortstop Ali Camarillo. D1Baseball's Kendall Rogers has pointed to other players that have entered the portal withdrawing their names with how popular the hire of Earley is among the players.
An official ceremony to welcome Earley in as the new head coach has not yet been announced as of Sunday afternoon, but can be expected to be held in the coming days.