Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts (right) presents new baseball head coach Michael Earley (left) his jersey during an NCAA college baseball news conference, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in College Station, Texas. (Meredith Seaver/College Station Eagle via AP)

AUSTIN (KXAN) — He went from helping Texas A&M to a runner-up finish at the Men's College World Series to transferring to rival program Austin and ultimately returning within a week. To say Michael Earley has been hectic over the past seven days would be a gross understatement.

Earley was officially introduced as the Aggies' head coach on Tuesday, replacing Jim Schlossnagle, who took over the Texas Longhorns after A&M's first appearance in the MCWS championship series. He served as the Longhorns' hitting coach for nearly a week after Schlossnagle, but in the end he said he “found out a lot about myself” during the dizzying process.

“I'm glad I'm here. They asked me how long I wanted to stay here. I'm just trying to win my first game,” he said. “I want to win a lot of baseball games and stay here a long time.”

It's Earley's first head coaching job, but he says he's been “preparing for it every day.” Before his three seasons under Schlossnagle as the Aggies' hitting coach, he served in the same position for four years, five seasons total at Arizona State. He helped the Sun Devils to the nation's top home run total in 2019, and in his three years with the Aggies, the club has hit more than 300 home runs. The results are there, but there was something else Aggies athletic director Trev Alberts said about Earley that tipped the scales in his hiring.

“His leadership qualities on the team were pretty evident throughout the year,” Alberts said. “I knew the players respected him, and that's really important. These days, you have to hire coaches that players can relate to. The way Michael laid out a vision and how confident he was. He knew where his blind spots were. After the first Zoom call I did with him, I was pleasantly surprised.”

Alberts said that after the first meeting, Earley became a serious candidate for the job. As the process continued, it became clearer that Earley's time had come – thanks to the unwavering support of the players.

Earley's philosophy is to develop the person first and the player second. Alberts said that was a big reason he chose Earley. He said he spoke to the players and asked them what they wanted in a new coach.

“They wanted someone who loved them,” Alberts said. “They wanted someone who cared about them and cared about them more than just a baseball player. That's the aspect of servant leadership. The players have earned the right to have a say. That doesn't mean they hire the coach, but they have earned the right.”

Earley has worked to bring all the players who entered the transfer portal after Schlossnagle's departure back to College Station. Infielder Gavin Grahovac, who had a stellar freshman season for the Aggies this year, has withdrawn his name from the portal and is coming back, and Earley hopes that's just the beginning.

“We're still working on some things with the guys and it's been interesting to say the least,” he said. “It's like re-recruiting people you've already recruited. It's an interesting process, but I like where we're at with it.”

Earley is also recruiting people from elsewhere. Former Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders infielder Gavin Kash said Tuesday that he will join the Aggies next season.