Texas A&M Aggies head coach Trisha Ford and Florida Gators head coach Tim Walton shake hands before the game at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Friday, May 3, 2024. Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas A&M Aggies Facing 'Very Very High Level' Challenge in SEC Tournament

Originally posted on Texas A&M Aggies on SI
By Olivia Sims | Last updated May 7, 2025 9:53 AM ET

Coming off of a series win at then-No. 2 Tennessee, the Aggies head into the SEC Tournament ranked No. 2. The Aggies will begin play on Thursday, May 8 playing the winner of South Carolina and Alabama/Auburn.

"Excited to obviously start some postseason play here heading over to Athens as the No. 2 seed," coach Trisha Ford said. "I just very proud of the team and what they've accomplished this year so far and just know that we have a lot of work ahead of us so let the fun begin."

After compiling a 16-7 record in the very competitive nature of the SEC, the Aggies land the No. 2 seed in the tournament behind Oklahoma who went 17-7 in the conference. Before focusing on winning the national title, the Aggies focus on the SEC tournament.

"This is a great opportunity for us to just get more reps in, reps against very very high level competition," Ford said. "...I think the national champion is probably going to come out of this group [SEC] and so how lucky are we that we get to just face it day after day."

After losing the final home series against then-No. 9 Arkansas, coach Ford has been shuffling her lineup around trying to get some more offense going. She mentioned a couple of players that could be seen maybe permanently, like freshman Kelsey Mathis and Frankie Vrazel.

"She's just done a great job of really working hard during practice, which they all do, but she's really taking it to a different level," Ford said about Mathis. "...You know Frankie has done a tremendous job for us, we just talked about this, we have depth."

Another big change in the lineup is putting graduate Mac Barbara behind the plate instead of in her usual designated player position. By doing this, Ford is able to add a couple more quality hitters into the everyday lineup.

"Mac Barbara has been catching for us and I think she's done a great job," Ford said. "Her rapport with not only the umpires but with our pitches has been tremendous."

Coach Ford talks about how resilient this Aggie team is on both sides of the ball, as well as mentioning that this team can win games in many different ways.

"I think for the first time since I've been here they are really truly understanding all the different ways that this team can attack and win ballgames," Ford mentioned.

This article first appeared on Texas A&M Aggies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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