Maurice Ahern

Jim Schlossnagle pulled me and two of my teammates into the outfield after we lost the Norman regional in 2006, made us write the date 6/4/06 in our hats, and wear them to remember what that day felt like. He turned the program over to us, entrusting us to bring out the best in every single one of our teammates. Jim Schlossnagle has an intensity and a passion for the game that is unrivaled. The sacrifices he made for the programs he’s led speak for themselves. He lives for the game, period. Schloss was a tough guy to play for… for certain types of player. The ones that didn’t take academics seriously. The ones that showed up late to workouts. The ones that missed meeting. The ones that didn’t bust their asses every single day. The ones that weren’t accountable to their teammates. The ones that were soft. Things got heated between us a couple of times, and I’m grateful for those moments, because they only cemented just how fierce of a competitor he is. He pushed me to be the best. Jim Schlossnagle demands excellence, he expects discipline, and knows how to turn boys into men. This is why he was chosen to run the premier program in all of college baseball. He is human, makes mistakes like all of us, but when you put all the bullshit aside, he knows how to win baseball games. #winnerswin