Texas A&M Transfer Commit Turning Heads at Cape Cod League

When baseball season is away, the players still play.

One Texas A&M transfer commit is making sure people know his name before he arrives on campus. Infielder Chris Hacopian has gone 43-straight plate appearances without a striking out at the Cape Cod League so far this offseason. The next-longest streak in the league is 14 plate appearances.

In order to keep playing baseball through the offseason, NCAA baseball players turn to the Cape Cod League, which dates back as far as 1885. The Cape Cod Baseball League is a summer league comprised of current NCAA baseball players from across every division. To qualify for the league, players must receive in invitation to tryout, have a recommendation from their college coach and must be enrolled full-time at their university for the upcoming fall semester.

Meet Texas A&M’s Chris Hacopian

Prior to the Aggies, Hacopian suited up for the Maryland Terrapins. In his two seasons on the east coast, He recoreded 29 home runs, 103 RBI, 144 hits and 104 runs on a .347 batting average. In 2025, he was named Second Team All-Big Ten. His freshman season in 2024, Hacopian put together an impressive resume.

He was named D1Baseball Second Team Freshman All-American, Baseball America Second Team Freshman All-American, Perfect Game Second Team Freshman All-American, Second Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

When Hacopian entered the transfer portal, he was ranked as one of the top players in the transfer portal by Baseball America. He complements rising junior Gavin Grahovac, who is returning from injury, and Ben Royo, who looked promising towards the end of the season. Along with Kaeden Kent, the son of MLB legend Jeff Kent who is making his own way, the Aggies’ infield is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

“I want to become an elite defender at shortstop,” Hacopian said in an interview with GigEm247. “I really do think Cliff [Pennington] is going to help me a lot there, and he knows how motivated I am to become better there."

Coach Michael Earley will have some tough decisions to make when it comes to his infield next season, especially with where Hacopian will fall in. In the Cape Cod League, he has played both third and first base. With Maryland last season, he filled their shortstop role.

With Hacopian making it clear that he wants to be the shortstop, one possible combination Earley may try early on is Grahovac at third, Hacopian at shortstop, Kent at second and Royo on first.