Texas A&M baseball makes first major coaching hire for 2026 season
News: Michael Earley is hiring former Texas A&M shortstop and long-time Major Leaguer Cliff Pennington as an assistant coach. He will oversee the infield defense as well as coach third base on offense.
Pennington spent the last 4 seasons as an assistant at Dallas Baptist. pic.twitter.com/EjrfyGGNHX — Ryan Brauninger (@R_Brauninger) June 4, 2025
Texas A&M head baseball coach Michael Earley has officially replaced former infield coach Will Fox with a former Aggie star and elite assistant coach from Dallas Baptist. With A&M choosing to retain Coach Earley, all eyes were on what changes would happen, especially within the coaching staff, after a disappointing 2025 baseball season.
On Wednesday afternoon, Ryan Brauninger of TexAgs reported that A&M is hiring former Texas A&M All-American shortstop Cliff Pennington. After an excellent career in Aggieland, Pennington spent 11 years in Major League Baseball before joining the A&M coaching staff under Rob Childress in 2019. He later took a position at Dallas Baptist as their recruiting coordinator and assistant coach, where he earned the 2024 Conference USA Assistant Coach of the Year award.
This hire is universally seen as an elite move and should help reduce errors. He will oversee the infield defense and serve as the third base coach. It's a great start toward making the necessary changes, and we expect a few more before it's all said and done.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on X: @whosnextsports1.
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