After announcing plans to retain Michael Earley as head baseball coach, Texas A&M is planning to make changes to the staff. The program is set to part ways with assistant coach Will Fox, D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers reported.

Fox spent the last six seasons at Texas A&M after previously serving on the staff at his alma mater, McNeese State. Rogers said he “would not be surprised” if he’s involved with an assistant vacancy at McNeese following his departure.

News of Texas A&M’s plans to part ways with Fox comes after Earley’s first season as head coach. The Aggies entered the year as the preseason No. 1 team, but wound up missing the NCAA Tournament one year after making it to the College World Series finals.

Following the 30-26 record, questions swirled about Earley’s future. However, Texas A&M athletics director Trev Alberts announced the program is set to bring him back for Year 2 in 2026.

“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.

After the news came down, the Aggies got another big boost when Gavin Grahovac announced his plans to return next year, as well. He told TexAgs’ Ryan Brauninger he wants to be part of turning things around after the up-and-down season.

“There was never a decision to be made for me. I’m looking forward to being a leader for Coach Earley,” Grahovac said. “This year wasn’t the standard. There’s a chip on our shoulder to fix it and get it right.”

Grahovac was among the names to return to College Station following last year’s coaching change. He was a key part of Texas A&M’s run to the College World Series finals, hitting .298 with 23 home runs and 66 RBI. However, he suffered a shoulder injury and underwent season-ending surgery after just six games this year.

Following this week’s spring meetings, the SEC indicates it is not supporting multiple automatic bids to the College Football Playoff, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported. The league received “pushback” from coaches and data, which led to the change in support for the proposed 4-4-2-2-1 format.

Top officials at Georgia and Alabama played key roles in the conversations this past week, Dellenger added, considering the model could have limited the SEC to four spots in the CFP. They also pushed back on the idea of “play-in games.”

Throughout the week in Destin, the sense was SEC coaches had more support for a 5-plus-11 model than the 4-4-2-2-1. Under the latter, the SEC and Big Ten would each receive four bids to the CFP, while the Big 12 and ACC would get two bids apiece, and one spot would be for the Group of 6. There would also be three at-large spots.

Under the 5-plus-11, the five highest-ranked conference champions would make the field, along with 11 at-large teams. However, Dellenger noted, it “is in no way a guarantee for approval.”

On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed Big Ten athletics directors discussed the 5-plus-11 format on their weekly call this week. Dellenger also added the sense is most would not support the model if the SEC stays at eight league games.

The SEC’s conference schedule could be a reason for the coaches’ hesitancy about the 4-4-2-2-1 model, Dellenger said. That could lead the league to add a ninth game, one of the central points of discussion during this week’s meetings. Dellenger wondered how many coaches want the additional league game, and he heard frustration was building around the 4-4-2-2-1 format.

“I think they’re not in favor of that for a few reasons,” Dellenger said. “One, I think most of the coaches in the SEC don’t want to play a ninth conference game. I think when you have a 4-4-2-2-1 format, that would lead itself to playing a ninth conference game. I don’t know how many coaches want to play these play-in games that they talked about doing, along with the 4-4-2-2-1.

“So the ADs heard today from some somewhat, I heard, frustrated coaches at this model. We have a real serious consideration here from the SEC ADs and presidents today, and then tomorrow, for this 5-11 that has more at-larges than the automatic qualifiers.”

During its spring meetings, the SEC presented documents and graphics illustrating the “gauntlet” of the regular season. It showed the strength of the conference through multiple metrics such as Massey Ratings, SP+ and strength of record.

The documents illustrated the rigor of the conference schedule. In the last 10 years, the SEC showed it only has two teams outside the Top 50 in both average strength of record and average Massey Rating. That, the league said, showed “clear evidence of the rigor of its regular season compared to other schools.”

Dallas Mavericks star big man Anthony Davis is one of the best basketball players in the world.

The accolades throughout his professional career speak for themselves. He helped the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2020 NBA Championship in the Orlando Bubble and is a 10-time All-Star who was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary team.

Selected No. 1 overall by the New Orleans Hornets in the 2012 NBA Draft, he has certainly lived up to the hype and expectations that follow being picked as a franchise cornerstone.

A future Hall of Famer, Davis’s dominance on the basketball court goes beyond even his NBA production.

When he experienced a growth spurt in college, he shot up rankings as a recruit and became the best player in the country.

He ended up with the Kentucky Wildcats for one season, helping them win the national championship as one of the most dominant college basketball players of the modern era.

During his lone campaign with Kentucky, Davis averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 steals and the most blocks in the country with 4.7 per game.

He was a one-man wrecking crew, picking up a laundry list of accolades and awards for his single season with the Wildcats.

How Does Anthony Davis Feel About NIL in College Sports?

Had Name, image and likeness deals been around at the time, he would have made a killing with how popular he was on and off the court.

As part of a collaboration with CeraVe, Davis sat down and did an interview with Sports Illustrated, where one of the topics discussed was NIL and how much it has changed college sports.

“It’s tough, because obviously they didn’t have that when I was in college,” Davis said, via Patrick Andres of SI. “It kinda takes away from the game a little bit because of — and I’m not hating — it takes away from the integrity in the sense of players are only going to certain schools because of the money.”

There is a lot of money being thrown around by schools, looking to bring the best players into their programs. It has also had an impact on the NBA Draft, with players being able to make money in college.

Not only are high school athletes being wooed by these schools, but so are established college players who hit the transfer portal looking for a payday, changing the entire recruiting dynamic from when Davis was in school.

“College basketball is still competitive, but the recruitment of it has kinda gotten a little wacky, especially when player can leave and enter the (transfer) portal and go anywhere. It just gets a little tricky,” Davis said. “The coaches either a) have to be more strategic with their recruiting, or b) if you don’t have a lot of money for NIL, that kind of takes away your school, your program, as far as being a top recruiter for some of these players.”

Likely gone are the days of a coach building something with a core group of players sticking together for multiple seasons.

The smaller programs are having their top-end talent poached by bigger schools, who are watching their regulars leave for bigger paydays elsewhere throughout the country.