Texas A&M baseball: Everything to know about the Bryan-College Station Regional

Texas A&M is gearing up for the NCAA Baseball Tournament, hosting the Bryan-College Station Regional as one of the top 16 teams in the nation.

On Monday, the Aggies found out they were also one of the top 8 overall seeds for the tournament, giving A&M home field advantage through the Super Regionals should they advance. Texas A&M is the No. 3 overall seed behind only Tennessee and Kentucky, giving the SEC the top 3 seeds and 5 of the top 8 in the tournament.

In the regional, Texas A&M is joined by Grambling and Louisiana to go with in-state rival Texas. The Longhorns and Aggies have a head-to-head matchup from earlier this season, a 9-2 win for Texas A&M.

Here is how the region shapes up with everything you need to know and a key player to watch from each team:

4. Grambling — 26-26 overall, 18-8 SWAC

RPI: 235 | Quad 1: 0-3 | Quad 2: 0-4 | Quad 3: 2-4 | Quad 4: 24-14

Grambling would have been sitting at home this week if not for a dramatic conclusion to Sunday’s SWAC Tournament Championship. Trailing 5-4 entering the bottom of the 9th, the Tigers scored 2 runs to walk off Jackson State and roll into the postseason with the automatic bid.

Grambling won 4 straight elimination games in Atlanta to win the bid, including an 11-10 win over Alabama State and a 14-11 thriller against Florida A&M on Saturday.

The Tigers are led by a potent offense while averaging 8.4 runs per game, a mark that ranks in the top 30 in the country. The offense has 5 regulars to slug .500+ during the season.

Unfortunately, pitching has been an issue for Grambling. The Tigers are among the worst in the country while allowing 8.3 runs per game.

Player to watch: Kyle Walker

Walker is the unquestionable offensive leader for Grambling with a team-high .394 batting average and 1.143 OPS. He has 23 extra-base hits on the year, including 11 home runs, while slugging .627.

3. Texas — 35-22, 20-10 Big 12

RPI: 47 | Quad 1: 12-9 | Quad 2: 5-4 | Quad 3: 5-1 | Quad 4: 13-8

Texas lands in the Bryan-College Station Regional after going 0-2 at the Big 12 Tournament. Prior to the tournament, the Longhorns had won 6 straight series, including taking 2 of 3 on the road against Oklahoma. (The Sooners are hosting the Normal Regional as the No. 9 overall seed.)

Texas played 3 games against SEC teams this season, including one game against Texas A&M in Austin. The Longhorns went 0-3 in those games, including a 9-2 loss to the Aggies.

Offensively, the Longhorns averaged just over 7 runs a game and were powered by the long ball. Texas had 4 players with double-digit home runs and 8 Longhorns had at least 8+ HRs.

Texas also produced a strong pitching staff this season with 5.4 runs allowed per game.

Player to watch: OF Max Belyeu 

After making 15 appearances as a true freshman, Belyeu delivered an impressive offensive campaign to lead the Longhorns. He’s 2nd on Texas with a .349 batting average but leads the team with 18 HRs, 53 RBI and a .713 slugging percentage.

2. Louisiana — 40-18, 23-7 Sun Belt

RPI: 38 | Quad 1: 6-6 | Quad 2: 6-4 | Quad 3: 12-4 | Quad 4: 16-4

Louisiana is another team that went 0-2 in their conference tournament, going winless in their Sun Belt Tournament journey. The pitching has been hot-and-cold all season long, giving up 10+ runs 9 times, including a 10-9 loss to James Madison in the Sun Belt Tournament.

Offensively, the Ragin’ Cajuns average 7 runs a game. 3 players have at least 10 home runs and the team post a .383 OBP for the year.

Even with some of the struggles on the mound, Louisiana is still a top-20 pitching staff at just 4.8 runs allowed per game. A 3-headed monster of Andrew Herrmann, Chase Morgan and Carson Fluno gives Louisiana enough arms to get through the regional, and LP Langevin struck out 100 batters in 60 innings pitched this season.

Player to watch: INF Kyle DeBarge

Kyle DeBarge led the Cajuns as the Sun Belt’s MVP after hitting 21 HRs, slugging .723, and posting 17 doubles with 62 runs scored. DeBarge rarely strikes out with just 26 K’s to just 24 walks on the season.

1. Texas A&M — 44-13, 19-11 SEC

RPI: 2 | Quad 1: 17-13 | Quad 2: 5-0 | Quad 3: 4-0 | Quad 4: 18-0

Texas A&M went winless in 2 SEC Tournament games, falling to Mississippi State 5-3 and Tennessee 7-4 in Hoover. However, that does not diminish the outlook for the Aggies.

Texas A&M ended the season with a series win over Arkansas, including a dominant 14-4 run-rule victory in 7 innings. The Aggies also have series wins over Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt in SEC play.

The Aggies were among the most-balanced teams in the country during the regular season with 8.8 runs per game. That gives A&M a top-20 offense to go with a defense that surrendered 4.3 runs per game for a top-5 pitching staff.

Offensively, Jace LaViolette leads a trio of Aggies with 20+ HRs with 28 to go with 15 doubles, 73 RBI and 48 walks. Braden Montgomery is also a key MLB Draft prospect with a 1.193 OPS, 26 home runs and a team-high 80 RBI.

Player to watch: SP Ryan Prager

Ryan Prager has been the leader of the Aggie pitching staff all season long with a 2.51 ERA and a WHIP under 1 in 15 starts. With 106 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched, he gives A&M a true staff ace to lean on entering regionals.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.