Texas A&M Lands Coveted Stanford Transfer Braden Montgomery | The Two-Way Star Is The 10th-Ranked Prospect In The 2024 MLB Draft

Former Stanford Cardinals outfielder and right-handed pitcher Braden Montgomery has landed at Texas A&M.

 

The two-way star was the top-rated transfer in the portal, and for the Aggies to land such a talent is huge news, not only in the SEC but in all of college baseball. Montgomery surprisingly entered the portal last month. Being that he’s from Mississippi many believed the Ole Miss Rebels or Mississippi State Bulldogs had the inside track. He chose to head to College Station over numerous other programs.

 

 

 

 

Montgomery was a star in his two season out in Palo Alto, batting .315 with 35 homers and 118 RBI. His .461 on-base percentage and .603 slugging percentage ranked in the upper echelon of the Pac-12 conference.

 

During his true freshman season of 2022, Montgomery nearly claimed Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors batting .294 with 18 homers and 57 RBI. In that remarkable year, the frosh also had a .361 on-base percentage and .596 slugging percentage.

 

 

 

 

Montgomery Helped Cardinal Eliminate Aggies In Stanford Regional

 

Montgomery’s transfer has raised some eyebrows considering he was a huge reason why the Cardinal eliminated the Aggies in June. In the postseason series, Montgomery batted .462 (6-for-13) with one dinger and four RBI in the three-game series.

 

 

Montgomery is also a pitcher whose fastball touches nearly 100 MPH, and while he figures to be a corner outfielder at the MLB level, he does have a little bit of the Shohei Ohtani vibe to him as well, striking out 19 batters in 14 innings of work this past season.

 

 

 

 

 

Did Nolan Cain Play A Role In Montgomery Choosing The Aggies?

 

Last month, the Aggies promoted Nolan Cain to the role of associate head coach. Many believe that played a huge role in the Aggies landing Montgomery. Cain, who starred at LSU, helped continue the Tigers’ recruiting dominance.

Three of his last recruiting classes down on the Bayou ranked in the top five, before joining the Aggies two seasons ago. The results of his arrival have been felt immensely.

 

The 2023 Aggies won 38 games while making it to the SEC Championship before falling to eventual national champion LSU. And since Schlossnagle’s arrival in 2022, the Aggies have series wins over 11 of the 13 SEC teams. They also have 14 total series wins, tied with LSU and Florida for most in the conference over that timeframe.

 

Head coach Jim Schlossnagle raved about Cain when the announcement was made.

 

“Nolan has been the glue to our program over the past two years and especially over the past few weeks,” Schlossnagle said. “He has more than earned this promotion and has continued to prove his incredible value both on the field and on the recruiting trail. We are excited to have Nolan and his family in Aggieland for a long time.”

 

 

Cain has also played a role in seven former players being taken in the MLB Draft since 2017, but none are as talented as Montgomery.