The 2022-23 athletic season at Texas A&M is officially over with the weekend of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. After an overall somewhat memorable year, many Aggies may soon turn the page and look ahead to next year. But there are also some highs if you try hard enough.
With that in mind, we did a short review of each scholarship sports team’s 2022-23 season and gave them a rating from 1 to 12 (#branding).
Women’s Golf: 11/12
They won the SEC, sent Texas home, and reached the NCAA semifinals. The only thing this team can do is win everything. It’s been a fantastic season for the Aggies.
Women’s Tennis: 10/12
The Ladies have been in the top 5 for most of the season, are 30-3 overall and are undefeated in the SEC regular season. Losses to Georgia State in the SEC Tournament Finals and Stanford in the NCAA Quarterfinals are the only things preventing them from earning the top marks on this list.
Women’s track and field: 10/12
Women’s track and field took shape throughout the season after finishing 10th in the SEC indoor competition. They rebounded well, finishing 14th in the NCAA indoors, then had a solid outdoor season, finishing 3rd in the SEC and 5th nationally.
Men’s golf: 9/12
It was a very solid year for men’s golf, winning four tournaments and finishing 13th in the country. I’m not going to lie, Sam Bennett winning the junior amateur championship at the Masters probably played a positive role as well.
Men’s swimming and diving: 9/12
It’s hard to argue with a top 15 finish (14th in the NCAA Tournament) and a top 4 finish in the SEC. That sums up what I know about our swimming and diving teams.
Boys Basketball: 8/12
This is a hard one to rate. The Aggies had their best regular season conference record since joining the SEC (15-3) and advanced to the SEC Tournament Championship Game. Certainly a sign of a good season. But it’s hard to get over the sting of Penn State’s first-round exit. Especially since it cost A&M a chance to beat rival Texas in the second round. The good news is that the team brought back everyone except Dexter Dennis, so the prospects for the 2023-24 season are very bright.
Equestrian: 8/12
It’s by no means a bad season for the A&M Horsemanship. But as one of the Aggies’ most successful programs, this year was far from their best. They finished the year 9-7, losing to Auburn in the SEC championship game and TCU in the national quarterfinals. Sure good, but not great.
Softball: 7/12
Teresa Ford had a great first season as head softball coach. Getting to .500 in the SEC is no small feat, and the Aggies have won nine of their top-25 opponents along the way. They ended up losing to Texas State in the Austin area, but things are looking up for the A&M softball program.
Women’s swimming and diving: 6/12
Maybe not as successful as the men, but NCAA No. 25 is still nothing to sneeze at. I’ll take it.
Men’s Tennis: 5/12
It was an up-and-down year for the men, who went 19-12 (7-5) before losing to TCU in the SEC Tournament semifinals and NCAA Tournament second round.
Men’s track and field: 5/12
Much like the women’s track, the men’s track performed better outdoors than indoors. They finished 10th in the SEC indoors, 32nd in the NCAA indoors and then 5th/22nd in the outdoor season.
Baseball: 4/12
Maybe that’s a bit harsh, but when you’re having the best season in school history and finishing in the top 5 in the preseason, expectations are understandably high. A&M fell short of those expectations and struggled to hit a sub-. 500 SEC regular-season record before heading into Stanford’s regional round. Yes, they did qualify for the SEC Tournament Championship Game, but that ultimately means little if you don’t take home the hardware. Let’s hope our third year under Jim Schlossnagle sees a rebound season.
Football: 3/12
It’s been a disappointing year for one of A&M’s standout programs. The Aggies scored below .500 in conference play, were eliminated in the first round of the conference tournament, and were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament (by All Texas).
Cross Country: 3/12
I’m not going to pretend to care about our cross country team, but finishing 8th in the conference and failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament isn’t going to win you any new fans.
Girls Basketball: 2/12
It was new coach Jonny Taylor’s first year in charge, so growing pains were to be expected. Let’s hope that growth happens because we know there is pain. The Ags went 2-14 in league play, 9-20 overall and failed to advance to the playoffs. You’ve given a lot of grace as a first year under the new regime, but from this season alone there isn’t much positive to be found.
Volleyball: 2/12
There aren’t many positives to take away from the volleyball season, with A&M going 13-16 (SEC 5-13) before changing coaches late in the season. Let’s hope the new regime gets Aggie Volleyball back in 2024.
Football: 1/12
Honestly, a win over LSU to end the season is the only thing keeping it from being zero. Losing to App State in Week 2 pretty much set the tone for a bad season for the Maroons and Whites, going from a top-six finish in the preseason to failing to qualify for the bowl game is unacceptable, which is why the pressure is so high for A&M For example, to do this by 2023. The talent is there, and it’s time to see the results match it on the field.
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