COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M might have had its best weekend in athletics in quite a while, undoubtedly putting a big smile on the face of new Athletic Director Trev Alberts.
What undoubtedly grabbed the most attention in headlines was the Aggie baseball team's sweep of sixth ranked Vanderbilt at home, outscoring the Commodores 36-6 over their three-game series that included two shutouts, one of which was called after seven innings in a 15-0 run-rule win.
Those results, combined with formerly top-ranked Arkansas and Clemson--who were ranked ahead of A&M--dropping two out of three in their weekend series against Alabama and NC State respectively, left little doubt as to who should ascend to the top spot in the country in the national rankings.
The energy was supplemented by fans that showed up as well, as Olsen Field recorded its second-largest all-time weekend attendance at 22,489. Saturday's matchup also recorded the largest crowd since the 2012 redevelopment at 8,075, which also goes down in the record books as the sixth largest in program history.
It was also announced Monday that Chris Cortez and Gavin Grahovac earned Co-Pitcher of the Week and Freshman of the Week awards from the SEC office. The two awards are the third and fourth of the year respectively for A&M. Their top-ranked status in the country is the first time they've been at the top since 2016.
The Aggies will welcome Air Force to College Station on Tuesday before packing up and heading on the road to Tuscaloosa for a three-game series against Alabama.
On the court, the 11th ranked women's tennis team swept No. 29 Alabama on Sunday to clinch their third straight SEC regular season title. It's the first time a three-peat has been achieved since joining the SEC in 2012.
"It has not been easy in the previous years, but we are a very resilient group and we've done nothing but get better every day," said Head Coach Mark Weaver. "We are truly playing the best tennis we've played all season and are headed in the right direction.
On the links, the Aggie women's golf team also will be aiming to continue their successes through a second straight SEC championship. They will face off against Mississippi State in a rematch of last year's championship starting on Tuesday at 9 a.m. central.
Back on the diamond, the 11th ranked Aggie softball team was able to even the series score against 13th ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa 17-6 after a 2-0 loss the day prior. They will look to get the final series win to continue ascending the collegiate softball rankings Monday night in the third and final match of the series.
On the football recruiting trail, A&M picked up two big commits in the 2025 class in Marcus Garcia and Husan Longstreet. Garcia, an offensive lineman and track athlete from Denton, had scholarship offers from schools such as Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Ole Miss and Texas Tech.
As for Longstreet, the Aggies got the California native's commit over Auburn, who made a late recruiting push to win him over, but ultimately chose A&M over the likes of Ole Miss, Oregon, Louisville, and the aforementioned Tigers.
Many more moves are likely coming, as eyes are now on the spring transfer portal window. Teams will be looking to supplement talent with what's become available from other conferences, as inter-conference transfers are not allowed during the spring. As of publish time, only Youngstown State transfer Alex Howard has announced that he will be re-entering the portal.
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