19
BEN’S BIG DAY
Ben Royo has a perfect day at the plate. BY ROB HAVENS ‘88
20
HAIL TO THE CHAMPS!
12th Man Welcomes Home National Champs. BY ROB HAVENS ‘88
22
20 YEARS OF AGGIELAND ILLUSTRATED
Our Magazine Celebrates 20th Anniversary. BY ROB HAVENS ‘88
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SOCCER AT KYLE FIELD
Argentina vs Honduras Soccer Match BY ROB HAVENS ‘88 26
MAROON & WHITE GAME
Our favorite shots from the scrimmage.
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LEGENDS GAME
Aggie Football Greats Have Flag Football Game at Kyle
This issue celebrates our 20th anniversary of publishing Aggieland Illustrated. What a joy it has been to cover Aggie sports for two decades! I always tell people we cover all Aggie sports, and this issue has a little bit of everything. We have some of our favorite covers, Aggie football, a women’s tennis national championship and even an Indianapolis 500 winner.
First, I want to congratulate Coach Mark Weaver and our women’s tennis team for winning a second national championship! Watching you guys beat your arch rivals on their home court and then follow it with a dominating 4-1 victory over Auburn was truly something special.
Texas A&M is the best University in the world, so it’s only fitting to see that logo on the helmet of the best racer in the world, Felix Rosenqvist, at the Indianapolis 500. Quick sidenote, this year’s race was the closest finish in the history of the 500. My wife and I were at the closest race before that in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. won by half a car length! So cool that A&M is part of that historic event.
Inside, we also covered the Soccer Match between Argentina and Honduras at Kyle Field. It was disappointing that Messi didn’t play, but at least now he can say he’s been in the best stadium in the world!
And finally, this summer started the best way when our youngest son got to order his Aggie Ring! David will graduate next May from the Visualization Program. We are super proud of him! My wife and I raised three Aggies: Dan Havens, Class of 2017, Tyler Havens, Class of 2020, and now David Havens, Class of 2027. We love our boys, and we love Texas A&M!!!
Thanks & Gig’em!
‘14
COPY
Chelsea O’Neal Sweat ‘17 David Havens ‘27
Sarah Pyatt ‘14
Aggieland Illustrated is an independently owned, Aggie owned and operated publication and in no way reflects the views or opinions of Texas A&M University.
Aggieland Illustrated (ISSN 1932-9105) is published six times a year in the United States by Aggieland Illustrated, 3804 Gold Finch Circle, College Station, TX 77845-6220. Reproduction or use of editorial or graphics content in any manner without permission is prohibited. Photographs and manuscripts for publication are welcome but will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Address all subscription inquiries and change of address requests to Aggieland Illustrated, 3804 Gold Finch Circle, College Station, TX 77845. Allow up to eight weeks for response.
For the third year in a row, the Aggies finished the season on the biggest stage in college tennis, playing for the national championship. In what can only be explained as a total team effort, the Aggies defeated the Auburn Tigers to win their second team title and brought home the championship hardware back to Aggieland. Photo courtesy of Aggie Athletics
The Aggies needed a strong pitching performance in their second game of the College Station Regional and Weston Moss answered the call. The talented righty pitched 7.1 innings allowing just two runs on five hits with one walk, striking out a career best 10 batters in the Aggies 17-2 victory over Texas State. Photo by Rob Havens ‘88
Right after the Aggies Sawed ‘em Off at the annual Maroon & White game, starting quarterback Marcel Reed made a beeline to the stands to sign autographs and take selfies with the fans. Sporting a Marcel Reed jersey, this young lady was lucky enough to get a signed football by her favorite player. Photo by Rob Havens ‘88
Texas A&M-sponsored driver Felix Rosenqvist won the closest race in the 110-year history of the Indianapolis 500 by just 0.0233 seconds. His winning helmet prominently displayed the Texas A&M logo and the university’s “A Force for Good” motto! Texas A&M’s motorsports program and partnership became the first university in history to have a sponsored driver win the Indianapolis 500. Photos courtesy of Stillhouse Media.
Traditions Club has a setting like none other in the Brazos Valley In the center of 900 acres, one will find the Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II Design championship golf course that provides the perfect backdrop to the luxurious club amenities, home sites that range from a fourth acre garden site to sprawling esta home to the Texas A&M Me
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The 4-seed Aggies took down Quinnipiac, Baylor, USC, and North Carolina to advance to the Final Four. In a historic match, the Aggies beat Georgia on their home court 4-3 to advance to the title match. Then the Aggies won their second national championship in three years, upsetting the 2-seed Auburn 4-1. Congratulations ladies! We are so proud of you!
The Aggies were much improved in Mike Earley’s second year as head coach. Although they were hammered with injuries, the Aggies went 41-16 overall and posted an impressive 18-11 record in the SEC. The Aggies would host a regional and take down a feisty Lamar team and a talented Texas State team to advance to the Regional Final. But it was not to be, as a hot-hitting USC team would win two in a row to knock the Aggies out of the tournament.
Another impressive season for Trisha Ford and her squad, as the Aggies went 3819 overall and 16-8 in the conference. The Aggies earned a 15 seed and hosted the College Station Regional. The Ags beat UConn before facing Coach Ford’s previous team, the Sun Devils of Arizona State. The team lost a close one in game two, but fought back for another shot at ASU. Texas A&M fell to the Devils 1-9 in the Regional final.
Texas A&M hosted the Bryan Regional at Traditions, carding an impressive 40-under, good for a second-place finish, and advanced to the NCAA Championship. Unfortunately, the Aggies finished 25th and missed the top-15 cut line for stroke play.
The men beat Wagner in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In the second round, they fell to #18 Stanford. The Aggies wrapped up the season with a 20-10 overall record and went 10-4 in the SEC.
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BY ROB HAVENS ‘88
One of the coolest things about college baseball is when you see a student-athlete have the kind of game that you normally only see in a made-for-TV movie. I can still remember the echoes of the song “Big John” ringing out in Aggieland as former Aggie baseball player John Byington walked up to the plate before he hit two gamewinning home runs against tu in a doubleheader in 1989, propelling the Aggies to victory. A feat that made him an Aggie legend.
The 2026 season had a magical moment of its own when Ben Royo came off the bench against Ole Miss. Royo had seen little action this season with a roster full of talented players that left him out of the starting lineup. Injuries on the team forced Earley’s hand, and Royo got the call to start against Ole Miss. Due to inclement weather, the Aggies and Rebels would play a doubleheader, and Royo was ready for the challenge.
Over the two games, Royo would go 7-for-7 at the plate with three homers, five RBIs, and five runs scored. It was one of the most incredible performances by an Aggie in the history of the program. When asked if he’d ever seen a performance like that in all of his years of coaching, Earley replied, “I can’t remember ever having anyone have that kind of day period! I’ve coached some really good players, some first-round picks, some All-Americans; I’ve never seen a day quite like that. When you kind of peel back the day, too, I believe six of those hits and three of the homers were all with two strikes on a weekend when we weren’t very good with that. The difficulty level of it can’t be overstated from a standpoint; you know the
guy hasn’t played much. It’s not like basketball or a wide receiver; it’s a completely different game. For a singleday performance, by far, the best performance I’ve ever seen for a lot of different factors. It was fun to watch!”
After the weekend, Royo was asked what allowed you to have the day that you did, and he said, “I think just to be myself and just be relaxed. Being a senior, you’ve been in those positions before, just like last year. So just going out there and having fun and not making the moment too big. You don’t have to do anything more. I mean, obviously, I had a crazy day, right, but just play really good defense and have quality at-bats, and it turned into a really good day.”
In 1992, Michael Jordan was in “The Zone,” hitting six three-pointers in the first half of an NBA Finals game and shrugged coming up the court knowing he couldn’t miss. I asked Royo if that’s how he felt. He said, “It’s a really good feeling, you know. Hitting is hard; it’s probably the hardest thing to do in any sport. I mean, going 7-for-7 is pretty crazy. I think baseball is one of those sports where you have a little bit of confidence. About the time you are 4-for-4 or 5-for-5, you kind of just believe I’m not going to get out today, so I think that helps a little bit. Just feeling really good in the box can go a long way in baseball more than the fundamentals of your swing.”
Ben Royo’s big day will be remembered as one of the best in program history. It’s a perfect example that if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. It was a legendary performance!
The women’s tennis team returned to College Station to a large crowd of family, friends, and fans excited to welcome home the national champs. Coach Weaver stepped off the bus and embraced his daughter, and the team, led by Daria Smetannikov with the trophy in tow, greeted the 12th Man. The team fought through three marathon matches in Athens, Georgia, taking down North Carolina, the home school, and arch-rival Georgia Bulldogs, and the Auburn Tigers to win the title. Coach Weaver said to the media on hand. “I think we definitely exceeded expectations. A lot of the polls, including the SEC, which had us picked fifth. The girls just really pulled together and made up their minds that we are going to get it done. We had so many battles all throughout the season. It’s just truly remarkable how we peaked and played our best tennis once it really mattered. We had a very consistent season, but we really took it to another level at the NCAA Tournament.”
BY ROB HAVENS ‘88
We are super excited to bring you this 20th anniversary issue of Aggieland Illustrated. Over the past 20 years, we have covered all Aggie sports. As we were putting this issue together, we looked back at some of our favorite moments in the past two decades and the student athletes that graced our covers.
Stephen McGee was on our first cover and will always be one of our favorite quarterbacks. Covering Johnny Manziel, who holds the record for the most pictures on our cover, gave us some of the best moments in school history. We loved covering Johnny as he brought home only the second Heisman Trophy in Texas A&M history. Some of our cover boys would go on to do great things in professional sports. Von Miller became a Super Bowl MVP. Myles Garrett broke the NFL single-season sack record and earned the NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice, while becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Future Hall of Famer Mike Evans had a recordbreaking 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in the NFL. Alex Caruso has already won two NBA Championships. We covered five head football coaches in the last 20 years: Dennis Franchione, Mike Sherman, Kevin Sumlin, Jimbo Fisher, and Mike Elko.
We have featured some of the greatest moments in program history in our magazine! Texas A&M’s move into the SEC. The Aggies’ first football win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa and the last-second win over the Tide in College Station. We witnessed the seven-overtime win over LSU at Kyle Field. Hall of Famer Gary Blair’s 2011 team that won the women’s basketball national championship. We were also there when Alex Caruso and his teammates made the biggest comeback in NCAA Tournament history, down 12 with :44 to play.
Over the years, we have covered Aggie national championships in men’s golf, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s track and field, volleyball, and, most recently, our second natty in women’s tennis.
Covering Aggie sports has been the best. We love to cover the Aggies when they win, and we hurt for them when time runs out. But getting a chance to sit down and interview the student athletes has always been our favorite part. We always ask them why they chose to come to A&M, and they always tell us how this place is special and how it feels like home, and we wholeheartedly agree! We want to thank our corporate partners and the millions of readers who have supported us for the last 20 years! God Bless and Gig’em!!!
The defending World Cup Champions, Team Argentina, defeated Honduras in a preWorld Cup “Road to 26” international friendly at Kyle Field 2-0. 91,102 fans hoping to see the world’s greatest soccer player, Lionel Messi, take the field had to settle for warm-ups and the times he walked on and off the pitch. The soccer legend was held out of the contest due to a minor hamstring strain and muscle fatigue. He swapped jerseys with Marcel Reed and posed for a picture with him after the match. This was only the second international soccer friendly played at Kyle Field, and hosting the reigning champs on campus was a historic event.
The Maroon team defeated the White team 15-13, scoring on the final play of the scrimmage when freshman Helaman Casuga found redshirt sophomore tight end Luke Braden for a 23-yard touchdown. Marcel Reed completed 7-of-13 passes for 80 yards. Returning quarterback Brady Hart looked sharp, completing 9 of 16 passes for 117 yards. Ruben Owens and Jamarion Morrow combined for 189 yards rushing. Alabama transfer Isaiah Horton had three catches for 79 yards. Mario Craver showed off his skills with a 40-yard catch and run. Noah Mikhail (White) intercepted a pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. Safeties Tofi Bard and Marcus Ratcliffe led both teams in tackles. The kicking game shone as the two new guys combined to go 5-for-5. Illinois transfer David Olano converted a 33-yarder and a 39-yarder, while freshman Asher Murray hit field goals from 29, 53, and 29 yards.
One of the highlights of the Maroon & White Game weekend is the Legends game that takes place at halftime. Alltime quarterback, Reggie McNeal Sr., showed he can still spin it, as he displayed pinpoint accuracy throughout the contest. Coaches Ainias Smith and Trayveon Williams called the plays for the White team, and De’Von Achane and Jaylon Jones headed up Team Maroon. Jeff Fuller, Jace Sternberger, Spencer Nealy, Malcome Kennedy, Ricky SealsJones, EZ Nwachukwu, Armani Watts, Boone Neiderhofer, and Steven Terrell all scored touchdowns during the game. And Jorvorskie Lane drew the biggest applause when McNeal found him in the back of the end zone.
