News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – Five members of the No. 3 Texas A&M baseball team have been named to the 2024 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings NCAA Division I Central All-Region Team, as announced Tuesday. The teams are voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the process is led by the ABCA NCAA Division I All-America & Coach of the Year Committee.
Outfielders Braden Montgomery and Jace LaViolette, third baseman Gavin Grahovac and relief pitcher Evan Aschenbeck earned a spot on the first team, while starter Ryan Prager was named to the second team. The Aggies five selections were the most among teams in the Central Region and are tied for the most in program history with the 2015 squad.
Aschenbeck has been brilliant in 28 relief appearances this season for the Maroon & White and enters the College World Series as the nation’s leader in ERA (1.66) and WHIP (0.80). The senior holds a 6-1 record on the year and has totaled an SEC-best nine saves. The lefty is limiting opponents to a .185 batting average and has totaled 72 strikeouts to only eight walks in 65 innings of work.
Nationally, Aschenbeck also ranks fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.0) and walks allowed per nine (0.80). Of his 28 appearances, 24 have been for multiple innings and 18 have been scoreless outings.
Grahovac, who was recently named an NCBWA Freshman All-American, is slashing .306/.403/.616 through 61 games this season and has belted a Texas A&M freshman single-season record 22 homers. Grahovac is tied for the team lead in hits with 79 and has driven 63 RBI, while crossing the plate 80 times. The rookie has also recorded 21 multi-hit, 17 multi-RBI and two multi-homer games.
LaViolette, a two-time ABCA/Rawlings Central All-Region selection, is in the midst of a monster sophomore campaign that has seen him belt 28 homers and drive in 77 RBI, while batting .314. The Aggie center fielder’s 28 long balls are the second most in program history and upped his career total to 49, which is third all-time in the Texas A&M record books. Nationally, LaViolette ranks sixth in homers, seventh in runs (83), 10th in homers per game (0.45), 12th in runs per game (1.34), 12th total bases (181) and 13th in RBI.
In 62 games, the sophomore has registered 22 multi-hit, 20 multi-RBI and six multi-homer performances. The lefty slugger also enters the College World Series riding a 20-game on-base streak.
Montgomery has started 61 games for the Aggies and is batting .322 to go along with 27 homers and an SEC-best 85 RBI. Among the nation, Montgomery ranks fifth in RBI, 10th in homers, 13th in RBI per game (1.39), 14th in homers per game (0.44) and 18th in total bases (173). The junior also leads the Texas A&M with 25 multi-hit and 25 multi-RBI performances.
In 17 starts this season for the Maroon & White, Prager has compiled an 8-1 record to go along with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. In 87 innings of work, the lefty has punched out 114 batters and is holding opponents to a .225 batting average. The redshirt sophomore has also tossed eight quality starts this season and logged six scoreless outings.
The Aggies are headed to the College World Series for the eighth time in program history and will face Florida Saturday at 6 p.m. from Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
The ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-America teams will be announced the morning of Friday, June 14 prior to the start of the 2024 NCAA Division I College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. First Team All-Region selections are eligible for All-America honors.
The ABCA All-America team was first recognized in 1949 and now includes nine divisions: NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II and III, Pacific Association Division, and high school. ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams were first recognized in 2007.