A&M ace Ryan Prager: 'Everybody on this team wants to be here'

After a breakout performance in Omaha, 2024 All-American Ryan Prager joined Wednesday’s edition of TexAgs Radio to talk about what was a 72-hour run of ups and downs. Prager focused on the historic season and the continued support of the 12th man.

It’s been 72 hours. I mean, I just got back from Omaha, trying to balance celebrating everything we’ve accomplished and all our guys, and also, the weird thing about college baseball is you come home, and within two days of a normal season, guys are sometimes all over the place.

We have guys who are in New York for part of the MLB draft and guys who are already gone to play baseball this summer, so it was a balancing act between being with those guys and saying goodbye to them. Then you also have to hear news that puts everyone on hold for the next few days.

I think during the MCWS it was great to hear the 12th man there. Winning and winning both games was what was really important and really cool because we were able to do something that no Texas A&M team had ever done before.

I think that’s what’s been really special. It impacted a lot of guys in this time of uncertainty and chaos and everything else. We were able to rally around each other and say, “Hey, we still had a really, really good year. We did something really special. »

A few of us, a few pitchers, me, Brad Rudy, Justin LamkinAnd Shane Sdao, went to eat as soon as we got back and everything started to continue. It’s cool to go sit in a restaurant here in College Station, and people come up to you while you’re eating and say, “Thank you.” Thank you for a great season and it was a joy to watch.

When people go out of their way to do that, right here…like I understand it in Omaha, like you’re kind of the star there, but for it to happen here on a regular day, it shows how much of an impact we have and how special it was. They come out and show their appreciation, and we’re just happy that they’re here to be with us.

After Kentucky left, we were like, ‘Hey, we’re planning on staying here for a while, so take care of what you need to do with the trainer or just from a throwing standpoint to be ready to go Saturday,’ and I kind of just said, ‘OK, I’m going to make it work.’ So I handled the first few days normally and threw a little light bullpen a day early and I felt good, I felt good, and at that point you’re almost done.

You can’t say no to a start in Omaha in the final, so it was good. Once we got going, the adrenaline took over, and then I really had to give it everything I had. It was the last one of the year, unless something unforeseen happens in that third game, but it was one of those games like, “It’s a finals game in Omaha.” » We could feel ourselves at 20% and we were going to launch.

We had talked before, and if we had tied it in the ninth inning of Game 3, I would have walked, and then I think we would have gone to Evan Aschenbeck If we needed to get out of an inning or a jam, the time wouldn’t have been extended, but there would have been a few balls there.

I mean, there’s always a belief. It was funny, like we were going to cast a spell before the game, and it was like, “Who was your pick to click?” » Throughout the week, mine was Ted Burton because he had been absolutely brilliant all week. He came in and I was like, “Okay, cool. We’re going to continue playing here in 10 minutes. »

That’s kind of the culture of the group we had this year. We never ran out of anything. Whether it was really good or really bad, we were the same group of guys. It was no different if we were down 6-1 or up 6-1. It’s like the same group, and that’s what’s really special.

I got messages from Dylan Rock, Kole Kaler, Trevor Werner, Troy Claunch and all those guys, and it was really cool. In my messages with Kole, he congratulated us on a great season, and I told him we were going to win it and that they were part of it. I think they thought it, but the fact that we actually told them that was really cool. They were convinced.

One thing people need to know is that everyone on this team wants to be here. I think it’s sometimes difficult to ask 19 or 20 year olds to make a decision when they have careers beyond college and baseball. Sometimes they have to do what’s best for them.

For me, I want to be here. If professional baseball and that dream doesn’t come true at this point, Texas A&M is where I want to be. I think in three years, being an Aggie and seeing everything Texas A&M has done for me, I don’t want to give it up.

I think with everything the guys have said, there’s so much uncertainty right now, and there’s so much that can happen in the next 48 hours with everything. I know everyone’s “Plan A” right now is Texas A&M. It’s at the forefront of everyone’s minds because of what the school has done for everyone and because of the fans. I think everyone feels what this place is, and that fits with what all of our guys are.

I was shocked and at a loss for words. I think over the course of the year, guys speculated that the Texas job would probably be open and the first name that would come to mind would probably be Coach Schlossnagle. When you speculate, it never really hits you, but when it’s real, it’s like, ‘Wow.’

Some of the players who are here have had three coaching changes. By Rob Childress at Schlossnagle. Then there was Nate Yeskie and Max Weiner. Then, all the staff remains to be determined. This is kind of the hardest part. There have been so many changes in the last two years. I think it gets easier each time, but I wonder, “Why does this keep happening?” »

I haven’t seen any distractions from the coaches, at least on the pitching side. I thought Max was convinced by us all the time. We didn’t really interact with Schlossnagle, so nothing stood out to me. I think when you’re in Omaha and rumors are flying around, it can definitely mess with someone’s mind. I don’t know if it would have changed anything, but it’s still cool to know that we accomplished that, and it’s an attitude towards the players.

Some of the guys were talking about it. Everybody that’s here is an Aggie. If you go, ‘Maybe you’re still an Aggie, but depending on what happens, is that going to be thrown away?’ and nobody wants to throw that away. If you’re an Aggie for a year or two years, you want to be an Aggie for life. That’s what’s really special about Aggie sports and Texas A&M in general.

I was with Josh Stewart when he did that Instagram post. He told me what he was going to say in his caption, and I was like, “Alright. This is sick.” and then he posted it. 30 minutes later, he was like, “Okay, this has 10,000 likes,” and “I got 5,000 followers in three hours.” It’s like, “Wow.” Then to see Shane Sdao do it was awesome, and I was with Brad Rudis last night when he did it. It was really special.

I think the rivalry is there. I think it just added fuel to the fire. It’s going to be really exciting. I think a lot of people are already looking forward to this series. I knew they were looking forward to the football game, but now they’re looking forward to the baseball series.

My last home game wasn’t really great. It was against Oregon, so I didn’t really enjoy that one. The two games in Omaha were really cool. What our fans did there made it feel like a home game. Walking off that field, I felt like I was playing at home because of the amount of fans there and how excited they were.

After Kentucky, I looked around after the game ended without a hit, and I think that was the loudest time any of my own fans had encouraged me to give up a hit. I definitely did a good job hosting Omaha. You’re in a bigger stadium on a bigger stage, and it’s hard to enjoy it.

One memory I have at home is the weekend at Vanderbilt. The crowd was great and we played really well, but also, Hayden Schott started the Rattlin’ Bog, which brought a new level of fun to the program. It was like, ‘Okay, this is going to be one of the best years of your life.’

We talked to Trev Alberts the other day and he just wanted to let us know that he was working hard and he was looking for the best guy for A&M baseball. He wasn’t going to try to get the flashiest guy, but he was going to find the right person for Aggie baseball. A&M has a personality that they need, and it’s not just anyone.

When someone arrives, it’s always a meeting to see where everyone is at. Whether you have position players who are thinking about doing something else or pitchers who don’t really know what to do, there has to be transparency.

From there, we have 15 newcomers who are supposed to be here July 1st. It takes a lot of work to find solutions and bring in older players to help us. Now we have to find position coaches and all the logistics side.

I think if the right guy comes in, most of the team will stay. I think it’s hard for some guys who think they need someone to help them get where they want to go, and that’s fair.

I think if the right guy is here with the right people around him, I think a lot of Aggies want to be Aggies.

Jason Hutchins is a Swiss Army knife out there. He does everything. Being the only guy out there with an office right now and always on the go, I’ve messaged him if he needs help at camp to let me know, but he doesn’t tell me if he needs help. He just does it.

He can be angry and complain, but if you look at Hutchin, you can never tell. He loves it, and he loves this place. He really loves camp and helping the kids. He does it all and he deserves credit for a lot of what he does here.

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A&M ace Ryan Prager: ‘Everybody on this team wants to be here’

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