Texas A&M Baseball Coaching Staff

Michael Earley

Head Coach

Michael Earley was named the 21st head baseball coach in Texas A&M history on June 30, 2024, after three seasons as the hitting coach in College Station.

During his time as A&M's hitting coach, Earley helped the squad to two College World Series appearances and a national runner-up finish in 2024. In his tenure, Earley developed Texas A&M into one of the most powerful and potent offenses in the SEC. In 2024, the Maroon & White set program records for home runs with 136 and walks with a nation-leading 422.

In his three seasons, the Aggies have belted 306 homers, logged 704 extra-base hits and drawn 1,178 walks.

Under Earley’s guidance in 2024, the trio of Braden Montgomery, Gavin Grahovac and Jace LaViolette became the first group of teammates in program history to each surpass 20 home runs in a single season. LaViolette also became the first player in Texas A&M history to record back-to-back seasons with 20 or more homers.

The Aggies also had four offensive standouts earn All-America honors under Earley’s teachings in 2024, including Grahovac, LaViolette, Montgomery and Jackson Appel. Grahovac also set a new Texas A&M freshman record for homers with 23, surpassing fellow team LaViolette, who set the previous mark in 2023.

During his tenure with the Maroon & White, five position players have been drafted with more expected to be taken in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Prior to Texas A&M, Earley spent five seasons at Arizona State, including four as the hitting coach on Tracy Smith's staff where he built a reputation for developing hitters with his most notable work being the rise of Spencer Torkelson to the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. Undrafted out of high school, Torkelson was selected by the Detroit Tigers. He was the first third baseman to be selected first overall since Pat Burrell in 1998 and just the fifth third baseman to be selected first overall in MLB Draft history. It marked the first time a college position player went from being undrafted out of high school to the No. 1 overall pick since Nebraska outfielder Darin Erstad in 1995.

Jason Kelly

Associate Head Coach

Kelly will serve as the associate head coach and oversee the pitching staff, while Longley will act as the recruiting coordinator and work with the hitters. In addition, Will Fox will remain on the staff and serve as an assistant coach and Jason Hutchins will return for his 27th season as the director of operations.

In his two seasons at the helm of the Huskies, Kelly compiled a 54-51-1 record and guided the squad to its 12th NCAA Regional appearance in 2023. The 35 wins in 2023 were the most by a first-year head coach in program history. Kelly also oversaw six players drafted from his inaugural squad at Washington, while four garnered All-Pac-12 honors.

Prior to taking over the helm for the Huskies, Kelly spent 11 seasons as a pitching coach at Washington, Arizona State and LSU. In 2018, Kelly earned D1Baseball.com National Assistant Coach of the Year honors after helping the Huskies to their first trip to the College World Series.

Cliff Pennington

Assistant Coach

Head coach Michael Earley announced the addition of Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame member and 11-year MLB veteran Cliff Pennington to the baseball staff as an assistant coach.

Pennington returns to Aggieland where he lettered from 2003-05, earning All-Big 12 honors all three seasons, as well as being named an All-American in 2005. He was also a member of the Texas A&M coaching staff during the 2020 and 2021 campaigns.

Over the last four seasons, Pennington has served as the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Dallas Baptist where he has helped the Patriots to a 167-73-1 (.695) record, four NCAA Regional appearances and two Conference USA regular season titles. During his time with the Patriots, he helped develop three All-Americans in Grant Jay, Ryan Johnson and Ethan Mann, along with three conference Freshman of the Year honorees in Luke Heefner (2022), Jay (2023) and Luke Pettitte (2024).

Pennington played a pivotal role in shaping a powerful DBU offense during the 2024 campaign as it ranked inside the top 25 in home runs (115), slugging percentage (.542), doubles (134) and hits (625). He also helped guide the Patriot defense to a .982 fielding percentage, which ranked fourth nationally, and a nation-leading 56 double plays.

In 2025, the Patriots ranked inside the top 20 nationally in doubles (129), homers (100), slugging percentage (.527) and fielding percentage (.979). On the basepaths, Pennington's work has been evident as DBU swiped 412 bases in his four seasons.

Among the Texas A&M record book, Pennington ranks in the top 10 in hits (246), triples (10) and stolen bases (53). In 182 career games for the Maroon & White, he posted a .346 career batting average.

Jason Hutchins

Director of Baseball Operations

Jason Hutchins is in his 24th year as the Director of Operations for the Texas A&M baseball team as the Aggies embark on the 2022 campaign. Hutchins is responsible for organizing the day-to-day activities associated with the baseball program and is director of the Dugout Club. His baseball knowledge is a huge asset to the Aggie coaching staff.

Hutchins, who serves under his third head coach in Aggieland, is vital in the administration and teaching aspects of the Texas A&M Baseball Camp, serving as the camp director for the last 18 seasons. Additionally, Hutchins keeps close ties with former players, who are a major part of Aggie Baseball family and are often invited back to the Brazos Valley for events such as the Former Players Weekend.

Troy Claunch

Director of Hitting and Catching Development

Troy Claunch enters his first season as a graduate assistant for the Texas A&M baseball program.

Claunch, a member of the Aggies’ 2022 College World Series team, joins the staff after playing three seasons in the minor leagues as a member of the Chicago White Sox organization. In his lone season in the Maroon & White, Claunch was bestowed the honor of wearing No. 12 and went on to bat .292 with three homers, 15 doubles, 25 walks, 46 runs scored and 49 RBI. Prior to his stint with the Aggies, Claunch spent four seasons at Oregon State.

In his five-year collegiate career, Claunch appeared in 187 games and posted a .293 average with 13 homers, 28 doubles, 71 walks, 92 runs scored and 111 RBI. The Fairfield, Calif., native earned All-Pac 12 First Team honors in 2021 and was named to the Buster Posey Award Watch List during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Nate Friedman

Strength & Conditioning Coach

Friedman joins the staff in Aggieland after serving with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization as a minor league strength and conditioning coach since 2018. He filled the role of Arizona's minor league rehab strength and conditioning coordinator the last two seasons.

Friedman began working in baseball-specific strength and conditioning in 2017 as a personal training intern under Eric Cressey, a highly respected name in the strength world whose work extends to over 100 professional baseball players who train in his program during the offseason. After spending a year at Cressey Sports Performance, Friedman earned his first position in professional baseball with the Diamondbacks, working at various levels of Arizona's minor league system.