Rec said:

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fightintxaggie10 said:

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Schloss set the standard for National Championships. Like most I was ready to write off Earley earlier in the season, but I've loved the turn around. I think with a couple other pieces he could get us back on track for National Title contention. Getting to a Super would be real progress toward that goal as a program.

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Just FYI, he's never won one.

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True. Though he alone is better in winning at Omaha than all our previous coaches combined…and the hire showed what can happen with a great hire…and how it can fall apart…

I know this is not a popular opinion with some who circle this board just waiting for failure. Like vultures circling overhead.
But I am truly rooting for coach Earley.
Especially after the literal slaughtering and verbal abuse he has endured...especially on Texags.
Some of the things said on here have gotten completely out of control ...especially if produced by so-called "adults".
I hope that we can get some injured players back and that they'll perform well enough to show some folks that this is a good program in good hands.
I believe Earley can lead this program.

Rec said:

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fightintxaggie10 said:

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Schloss set the standard for National Championships. Like most I was ready to write off Earley earlier in the season, but I've loved the turn around. I think with a couple other pieces he could get us back on track for National Title contention. Getting to a Super would be real progress toward that goal as a program.

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Just FYI, he's never won one.

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Hoping he never does

CapCityAg89 said:

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I think LSU is a clear example of what can happen in baseball although there have been others. Great players don't always = great success in this sport. Even with a HOF coach much less a newbie.

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So true. Jay Johnson has won two recent CWS and his team is in 14th place this year. Is he that much worse of a coach this season?

There is an issue with either his talent assessment or his ability to get his players up to their potential

AgRyan04 said:

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There is an issue with either his talent assessment or his ability to get his players up to their potential

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I think it was assessment. Their portal guys weren't ready for SEC caliber of play even though they were highly ranked portal players

TAMU1990 said:

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_mpaul said:

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Agryan00 said:

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He went from a disaster to possibly hosting a Super. Also not sure how you can decipher which coach accounted for what as you name Pennington. Earley has now poven himself in one season but before we do the Aggie thing and give him a big contract I would like to see him do it again. But my guess is we will pay the man.

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We already did the Aggie thing and gave him a big contract--before he even coached a game as a HC.

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I thought he was in the bottom 3 of SEC coaches. I wouldn't classify that as a big contract.

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I did not realize there was salary band for SEC coaches.


We have the coaches who have a CWS title.
Brian O Conner - $2.9M
Tim Corbin - $2.4M
Kevin OSullivan - $1.8M
Jay Johnson - $1.8M
Mike Bianco - $1.6M
Paul Maineri - $1.3M

Then the coaches that made the CWS finals.
Jim "pineapple" Schloss - $2.2M
Dave Van Horn - $1.4M
Skip Johnson - $1M

Then the coaches that took a team to the CWS
Butch Thompson - $1.3M
Nick Mingione - $0.8M

Then the coaches who were conference coach of the year and won their conference
Rob Vaughn - $0.9M (2x Big 10 Coach of the year and 3 first place)
Kerrick Jackson - $0.7M (2019 1st at Southern)

Then you have the guys with MLB experience and that won a title as an assistant
Wes Johnson - $1.3M (Won CWS as LSU pitching coach in 2023 and was hot target to become a HC)

Then you get what we have
Michael Earley - $0.9M (8 years as asst coach, no big programs willing to make him a HC other than us).

Your right he was in the bottom 3rd but we still overpaid him.

AgSnacks16 said:

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My biggest concern with Earley is that he hasn't made the leap from outstanding assistant to all around team manager.

Earley was a great hitting coach. That is the strength of this team and they have been tops in the league. The pitching has been mediocre or below average for two years. Recruiting in that area has been underwhelming (maybe some guys will develop, but the "stuff" seems to be unremarkable). Everyone has gaps, but he should hire to fill those gaps. Hoping he moves on from JK, but this seems to still be a huge gap in his management abilities.

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I disagree with limited growth on managerial abilities.

I think the lack of high level pitching has a lot to do with no pitching lab. These pitchers want these labs. We need to have this equipment up and running now. I don't want to waste another portal season because we wouldn't be using the equipment in the facility this fall. Put it in a tunnel now and reinstall it in the new facility at the Christmas break.

I've been pleasantly surprised with his year 2 adjustments. If he can replace Kelly with somebody useful, we would be absolutely miserable to play against.

Our team ERA in SEC play is better than the 1st place team. When you can hit the ball, pitching doesn't have to be perfect.

For all you useless folks calling to ditch Kelly, who are you replacing him with?

Agryan00 said:

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TAMU1990 said:

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_mpaul said:

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Agryan00 said:

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He went from a disaster to possibly hosting a Super. Also not sure how you can decipher which coach accounted for what as you name Pennington. Earley has now poven himself in one season but before we do the Aggie thing and give him a big contract I would like to see him do it again. But my guess is we will pay the man.

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We already did the Aggie thing and gave him a big contract--before he even coached a game as a HC.

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I thought he was in the bottom 3 of SEC coaches. I wouldn't classify that as a big contract.

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I did not realize there was salary band for SEC coaches.


We have the coaches who have a CWS title.
Brian O Conner - $2.9M
Tim Corbin - $2.4M
Kevin OSullivan - $1.8M
Jay Johnson - $1.8M
Mike Bianco - $1.6M
Paul Maineri - $1.3M

Then the coaches that made the CWS finals.
Jim "pineapple" Schloss - $2.2M
Dave Van Horn - $1.4M
Skip Johnson - $1M

Then the coaches that took a team to the CWS
Butch Thompson - $1.3M
Nick Mingione - $0.8M

Then the coaches who were conference coach of the year and won their conference
Rob Vaughn - $0.9M (2x Big 10 Coach of the year and 3 first place)
Kerrick Jackson - $0.7M (2019 1st at Southern)

Then you have the guys with MLB experience and that won a title as an assistant
Wes Johnson - $1.3M (Won CWS as LSU pitching coach in 2023 and was hot target to become a HC)

Then you get what we have
Michael Earley - $0.9M (8 years as asst coach, no big programs willing to make him a HC other than us).

Your right he was in the bottom 3rd but we still overpaid him.

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I will wait until this season is over before I make that assessment.

12thMan9 said:

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Our team ERA in SEC play is better than the 1st place team. When you can hit the ball, pitching doesn't have to be perfect.

For all you useless folks calling to ditch Kelly, who are you replacing him with?

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If you're taking about average runs scored per game, we're really good, right behind Georgia. If you're actually talking about ERA, we're really bad at 6.12. You can't be really bad in any primary metric and expect to win at a high level. We could replace Kelly with dozens of different people that would all be upgrades.

AggieTrainer said:

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12thMan9 said:

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Our team ERA in SEC play is better than the 1st place team. When you can hit the ball, pitching doesn't have to be perfect.

For all you useless folks calling to ditch Kelly, who are you replacing him with?

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If you're taking about average runs scored per game, we're really good, right behind Georgia. If you're actually talking about ERA, we're really bad at 6.12. You can't be really bad in any primary metric and expect to win at a high level. We could replace Kelly with dozens of different people that would all be upgrades.

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We have a better ERA than Georgia overall, but in SEC play we are worse. 6.12 to 5.35. Neither of us is good. One of the main reasons why our recruiting of pitchers out of portal suffered was lack of pitching lab. That would have gone for any coach. Until we solve that issue, not fair to judge Kelly on his recruiting and possibly coaching when we do not have the same tools as other top programs.

I'm glad you think the pitching has been good Mrs. Kelly!

Several Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools have implemented advanced, in-house pitching labs to analyze biomechanics, improve velocity, and reduce injury risks, with many incorporating technology such as high-speed cameras, force plates, and ball-tracking systems. [url=https://gamecocksonline.com/news/2024/03/25/baseball-goes-high-tech-with-video-pitching-hitting-lab/][/url]
University of South Carolina Athletics +1
As of early 2026, the following SEC schools are identified as having, or having in development, specialized pitching labs or high-tech development facilities:

• Alabama: Features a dedicated pitching lab used to develop top-tier talent.(18)
• Arkansas: Utilizes advanced technology in pitching development.(43)
• Auburn: Implements NewtForce technology for mechanical analysis.(4)
• Florida: Features a pitching lab.(14)
• Georgia: Led by coach Wes Johnson, who is known for implementing pitching labs.(69)
• LSU: Features a top-tier pitching lab led by Wes Johnson and Nate Yeskie.(112)
• Mississippi State: Implements modern, data-driven pitching labs.(15)
• Ole Miss: Features a, in-stadium pitching lab, as mentioned in this Instagram post.(36)
• South Carolina: Features a high-tech video pitching/hitting lab equipped with 16 high-speed cameras and 3D motion capture.(47)
• Tennessee: Utilizes advanced, high-tech pitching development facilities.(45)
• Texas A&M: Features a pitching lab.(64)
• Vanderbilt: Features a state-of-the-art pitching lab and is a pioneer in using technology for pitching development. (97)[url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6197518/2025/03/13/mlb-college-baseball-pitching-labs-lsu-vanderbilt/][/url]
  The New York Times +6

This is a quick search of who has labs, according to AI overview. Numbers in parenthesis are current NCAA rankings.

Ours is being constructed as we speak