Report: Michael Earley hiring former Texas A&M, MLB star Cliff Pennington as infield defense, third base coach

Texas A&M baseball coach Michael Earley will hire former Aggies shortstop Cliff Pennington, according to TexAgs‘ Ryan Brauninger. He spent the last four seasons at Dallas Baptist as an assistant coach.

“News: Michael Earley is hiring former Texas A&M shortstop and long-time Major Leaguer Cliff Pennington as an assistant coach,” Brauninger wrote on Twitter. “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.”

Pennington played in the Majors from 2008-18 with the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds. He finished his career with a .242 batting average, 36 home runs and 242 RBI.

Earley has to remake the staff going into the 2026 season. After taking over for Jim Schlossnagle going into 2025, Texas A&M was expected to contend deep into the baseball postseason. However, the Aggies struggled early in the year before going on a late surge to finish 30-26 overall and 11-19 in SEC play.

Once the season ended, questions swirled about Earley’s future in College Station. Alberts said he was thinking through a decision, but ultimately announced he is staying put as head coach.

“Earlier today I met with Coach Earley to discuss the state of our baseball program,” Alberts said in a statement. “I appreciate Mike’s work in taking a holistic view of what changes need to be made so that we have a baseball program that meets our high standards. Baseball success is critically important to Texas A&M. I am confident in Mike’s ability to execute the needed change and fully support his vision going forward.”

Earley served as the hitting coach on last year’s Texas A&M staff, which rattled off a run to Omaha. He appeared set to leave and follow Schlossnagle to Texas, but ultimately chose to stay put in College Station and take over at Texas A&M.