Jace LaViolette injury update: Texas A&M reportedly makes major shift in plans

One day after Texas A&M coach Michael Earley said that star outfielder Jace LaViolette would miss the rest of the 2025 SEC Baseball Tournament, the Aggies have reportedly reversed course. He will play tonight against LSU.

TexAgs reporter Ryan Brauninger broke the news of the change in plans on Friday evening, just before the two teams squared off. He explained.

“I’m told the broken bone in his hand can’t get worse so it’s become a pain management situation,” Brauninger wrote. “I expect to see him in a DH role.”

Shortly after Brauninger reported the news, the SEC Network broadcast confirmed that LaViolette will hit third and serve as the designated hitter against LSU. So he’s officially in the lineup.

LaViolette was originally expected to miss the remainder of the 2025 SEC Baseball Tournament with a broken left hand after being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning of Thursday’s second-round game against Auburn. Manager Michael Earley confirmed the news.

“He’ll be out for the remainder of the tournament,” Earley said. His comments came during a postgame hit on the SEC Network.

Jace LaViotte’s left hand was hit by a pitch during the fifth inning of Thursday’s 3-2 victory over the sixth-seeded Tigers, as the 14th-seeded Texas A&M advanced to Friday’s tournament quarterfinals against No. 3-seeded LSU at 7:30 pm ET from the Hoover Met. Things didn’t look good, initially.

After initially leaving the field following the injury, LaViolette returned to the A&M dugout with his left hand heavily bandaged. Earley later revealed X-rays confirmed LaViolette suffered a broken hand.

The plan at that point was to use Jace LaViolette as a potential pinch-runner to give the team a little extra juice. As it turns out, he appears set to play through some pain to potentially keep his bat in the lineup.

On the season, Jace LaViolette is hitting .256 at the plate. He has logged 50 hits, nine doubles, 18 home runs. He has a .579 slugging percentage and a .430 OBP.

On3’s Alex Byington also contributed to this report.