Texas A&M head baseball coach MIchael Earley wasted little time in making his first move of the offseason, with multiple reports indicating pitching coach Jason Kelly will not return in 2027.

In spite of major league talent on the pitching staff such as starters Shane Sdao, Weston Moss and Aiden Sims and closer Clayton Freshcorn, A&M’s pitching was, for all intents and purposes, a disaster in 2026. Even though injuries and transfers who never pitched for the program cut into the team’s pitching depth, there was little indication of progression from any Aggie pitcher — save for Sims.

Sdao, who was considered a potential second round pick last offseason as he came off of Tommy John surgery, imploded with a 7.03 ERA and a 4-4 record. Moss, who had to great performances against Auburn and Texas State late in the season, still had an ERA of 5.46 for the season. The only pitchers to throw more than 50 innings this season and have an ERA under 5 were Sims (3.84) and Freshcorn (2.82).

For the season, the Aggies had a team ERA of 5.24 and gave up 90 home runs. Many of those home runs came with pitchers ahead in the count, but bad pitches that came right over the plate with two strikes ended up on the other side of the fence.

Even though the Aggies failed to make the NCAA Tournament last year, it was the hitting that was a disappointment, not the pitching. This year, with Earley and Troy Claunch handing the hitting coach duties, the offense exploded while the pitching staff collapsed.

Kelly was not technically fired, as his two-year, $1.4 million deal was up, but after the pitching staff’s issues this past year, his departure was almost a foregone conclusion.

Anatomy of a disaster

Category	2025	2026
Batting average against	.240	0.273
Team ERA	4.30	5.21
Home runs allowed	61	90
WHIP	1.27	1.41
Walks allowed per 9 innings	2.89	2.9
K’s per 9 innings	9.6	9.3
Hits allowed per 9 innings	8.5	9.75