Texas A&M Professional Athletes

Texas A&M's Braden Montgomery didn't arrive in Chicago with a household name. He arrived as a trade piece — one of three former Red Sox prospects dealt to the White Sox in the Garrett Crochet deal — and spent most of 2026 flying under the radar. Then October happened.

Montgomery has become the defining figure of Chicago's improbable ALDS run against the Cleveland Guardians, delivering clutch hit after clutch hit as the White Sox chase their first ALCS appearance since 2005.

The Defining Moment

The Aggie outfielder's signature play came in Game 2 on Monday, October 5. With the White Sox trailing and the series still very much in doubt, Montgomery lined a two-run double down the right-field line in the sixth inning to give Chicago a lead they wouldn't relinquish — a 4-3 victory that sent the Sox home with a commanding 2-0 series lead. "It's a feeling like no other," Montgomery said afterward. "You want to replicate that feeling every night."

The hit was no fluke. Montgomery had already been delivering clutch moments throughout the White Sox playoff run, logging a hit, two RBI, and a run scored in Game 2 (.200 avg in the series at that point). He also scored and drew a walk in Chicago's Game 3 win on Wednesday, October 7, as the Sox pushed their streak to four straight playoff victories.

A Complicated ALDS Finish

The series didn't close cleanly. Montgomery was notably absent from the lineup for Game 5 on Friday, October 9 — a do-or-die elimination game in Cleveland after the Guardians clawed back to force a decisive contest. The White Sox dropped that game, falling to the Guardians.

Still, the broader story is real: Montgomery emerged as one of the most important players in Chicago's playoff run, part of a trio of ex-Red Sox prospects — alongside Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth — that transformed the White Sox into legitimate October contenders. For a player who came to Chicago in a trade built around someone else's name, that's a remarkable arc.

More Aggies Worth Watching

Montgomery wasn't the only Texas A&M product with a stake in the postseason picture. Fellow White Sox outfielder Zach DeLoach and pitcher Jake Palisch were also on the Chicago roster as the team navigated the ALDS. Meanwhile, reliever Brandyn Garcia remained part of an Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen core that figures to be a key piece of the franchise's offseason planning, with multiple outlets flagging Garcia as one of several young arms the team is building around going forward.

But this week belonged to Montgomery. The former Aggie reminded anyone who needed reminding that college baseball at Texas A&M produces players who perform when the lights are brightest — and that October has a way of creating stars where none existed before.

Wacha Reaches the Summit After 14 Years

It took 14 MLB seasons, but Michael Wacha finally got there. The former Texas A&M ace surpassed 200 innings pitched in a single season for the first time in his career Saturday, a career-high milestone that arrives at an age when most pitchers have already hung up their cleats or settled into bullpen cameos.

Wacha, now with the Kansas City Royals, has spent his career battling injuries that repeatedly robbed him of the workload his talent warranted. The 200-inning threshold has long been the unofficial standard separating a true frontline starter from a rotation piece, and Wacha finally cleared it in his age-34 season. For Aggie fans who watched him dominate at College Station before becoming a first-round pick in 2012, it's a moment worth savoring.

He's not alone in Kansas City, either. Royals teammates Nolan Hoffman, Stephen Kolek, and Ross Stripling also count A&M among their alma maters, making the Royals quietly one of the more Aggie-stacked rosters in baseball. Hoffman tossed 0.2 innings and struck out one in Kansas City's 3-2 win over Cleveland on September 27.

Montgomery Makes the Most of October

While Wacha's milestone played out in the regular season finale, Braden Montgomery has been turning heads in a bigger spotlight. The White Sox outfielder — and MLB Develops alumnus — is among the postseason names generating buzz, per Yahoo Sports, which highlighted his playoff run alongside stars like Michael Harris II of the Braves.

Montgomery's week at the plate was a tale of two halves. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored in a 6-3 win over Houston on Tuesday, briefly pushing his average to .500 on the night. He followed with a quieter 0-for-3 in Wednesday's 7-3 loss to the Astros and was held hitless again in Saturday's game against Cleveland. Still, his presence in the postseason conversation signals a rapid rise for one of the younger Aggies making noise at the big-league level.

Around the League

A.J. Minter, pitching for the Minnesota Twins, delivered a solid outing September 27 — tossing a full inning with one earned run against Texas, keeping his ERA at a respectable 2.56 on the season. The former A&M lefty has carved out a dependable late-inning role in Minnesota.

In Arizona, Brandyn Garcia continued his impressive campaign, striking out one across a clean inning in the Diamondbacks' 4-9 loss to San Diego on September 27. His ERA sits at 1.93, one of the quietly excellent numbers on any Aggie stat sheet this season.

The Aggie footprint across MLB rosters remains as wide as ever — 25 former players active across the league this season, from Jace LaViolette with the Guardians to Bryce Miller anchoring the Mariners' rotation. But this week belonged to Wacha's history-making durability and Montgomery's October arrival. Gig 'em.

Bryce Miller's Historic Night at Coors — and a Bullpen That Erased It

Texas A&M's Bryce Miller gave Mariners fans something to cheer about at one of baseball's most unforgiving venues — and something to cry about by the final out.

On Saturday, September 20, Miller took the mound at Coors Field with Seattle's playoff life hanging by a thread. According to Heavy Sports, Miller turned in a start that earned the label "unprecedented baseball history" — a remarkable footnote in a brutal stadium for pitchers. He struck out six over 5.1 innings, keeping the Rockies in check in ways few pitchers manage at altitude. The effort was described as his best start in over a month.

It didn't matter. The Mariners bullpen imploded, and Seattle fell 5-3 — a loss that Yahoo Sports bluntly summarized as "the 2026 Mariners-ness of it all." Miller's ERA sat at 3.99 on the season after that start, a number that undersells what he brought that evening.

The following Saturday, September 26, Miller was back at it against the Angels — six innings, seven strikeouts, and five earned runs in a 7-5 defeat. The results haven't always matched the performances, which has been the Mariners' story all season.

Ross Stripling Steps Into the Broadcast Booth (Sort Of)

While Miller was grinding through September starts, fellow Aggie Ross Stripling was making noise in a different arena. The former MLB pitcher and Texas A&M product appeared on Baseball America's College Baseball Podcast this week, sitting down with host Jacob to discuss player development and the sweeping NCAA changes reshaping college baseball.

Stripling, who pitched for the Aggies before a lengthy big league career, offered perspective on how the game is evolving at both the amateur and professional levels. The conversation tapped into his dual identity as a product of A&M's program and a veteran of MLB clubhouses — making him a credible voice on the pipeline between college and the pros. The full episode is available through Baseball America.

The Rest of the Aggie Roster

Several other Aggies saw action during the week. Michael Wacha (Royals) had a quality start Sunday, September 20, going 5.2 innings with five strikeouts and two earned runs against Pittsburgh, and followed that up Saturday with 6.1 innings and four K's against Cleveland, holding a 3.32 ERA. Nolan Hoffman, also with Kansas City, made four appearances this week, striking out six total batters across 3.0 innings of work.

Brandyn Garcia (Diamondbacks) continued a strong September, posting a 1.97 ERA through his Thursday outing after striking out two in 1.1 innings against Colorado. A.J. Minter (Twins) was steady in relief, logging multiple scoreless outings during the week.

Braden Montgomery (White Sox) was one of the more consistent offensive Aggies in the stretch run, collecting multi-hit games on three separate occasions — Friday, Thursday, and Wednesday — and finishing the week batting .226. Michael Helman returned from the 60-day injured list for the Rangers, activated ahead of a key series against the Mets, per MLB Trade Rumors.

It's a crowded Aggie roster across the league — and with Miller making history, however bittersweet, and Stripling shaping the conversation around the sport's future, College Station had plenty to follow this week.