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Southlake Carroll product Ross Stripling threw the 11th no-hitter in Texas A&M history Saturday, leading the seventh-ranked Aggies to a 1-0 home win over San Diego State.

The senior, who was scheduled to participate in graduation ceremonies Saturday, allowed only a fifth-inning walk while striking out seven. He threw 106 pitches.

Stripling, a ninth-round pick by the Colorado Rockies in the 2011 draft, improves to 9-2 with a 2.36 ERA.

It was A&M's first no-hitter since Zach Jackson's seven-inning gem against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 14, 2004. Matt Blank had the last nine-inning no-hitter for the Aggies, accomplishing the feat against Texas-Pan American on Feb. 6, 1996.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M promises that Yell Practice will still be held at midnight. Reveille, the Aggies' mascot since 1931, will always be a collie. The students will continue to stand throughout the game, symbolic of the 12th Man ready to enter the game.

After that, however, all bets are off.

There's a new coaching staff with new schemes for the players. There's a new building under construction. There are new windscreens on the fences that line the practice field. They share a trait with the new shirts on sale at the bookstores. Who knew that a blue circle with yellow letters that spell "SEC" went so well with maroon?

Everywhere you turn in Aggieland, there's a football program in transition.

All head coach Kevin Sumlin has to do is look out the windows of his third-floor office in the Bright Football Complex. At eye level last week, Sumlin could watch workers building the roof of the $9 million player performance center, the new football-only weight room that will be sweat-ready Aug. 1.

Read the rest of the story here.

Ivan Maisel talks to new Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin about his first spring in College Station, the Aggies' move to the SEC and more.

Starting Thursday, the Cowboys can host prospective draft picks with local high school and college ties at the annual Dallas Day workout at Valley Ranch.

DeSoto native and Texas A&M running back Cyrus Gray will visit the Cowboys.

Gray, a 5-foot-10, 206-pounder, rushed for 2,178 yards and 24 touchdowns the past two seasons for the Aggies. But a stress fracture in his left shoulder forced him to miss the final two games of A&M's 2011 season and the Senior Bowl.

Gray ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine and did some position work at Texas A&M's pro day.

Here's what Scouts Inc. had to say about Gray, a potential third- or fourth-round pick.

NFL Draft Scout also provides some insight.

Tamika Raymond speaks with Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair about the Aggies' 61-59 win over Arkansas that put them into the Sweet 16.

Tyra White scored 18 points to lead Texas A&M over Albany, 69-47, as the defending champions advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Tyra White had started 87 straight games before missing the last three with a foot injury.

On Saturday, the Texas A&M star looked like her old self, scoring 18 points with seven rebounds to lead the defending national champion Aggies to a 69-47 win over Albany in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

She got going early, scoring 12 points in the first half, and added four points and a steal in a decisive second-half run.

The Great Danes had scored six straight points to tie it early in the second half before A&M used a 17-4 run to take a 49-36 lead with about 13 minutes remaining.
Albany had three turnovers and missed three layups in that span. Alexia Standish had two 3-pointers and Sydney Carter hit one during A&M's spurt.

The third-seeded Aggies (23-10) were making their school-record seventh straight tournament appearance and hosting games for the first time since 1994. It was the first NCAA appearance for No. 14 seed Albany, which got an automatic bid by winning the America East tournament.

The Great Danes, who moved to Division I in 1999, won 10 straight games to get into the tournament and hadn't lost since Jan. 28.

Ebone Henry had 14 points and nine rebounds and Julie Forster added eight points and 12 rebounds for Albany (23-10), which won 20 games for the first time since jumping to Division I.

Standish, a freshman, had 12 points -- all on 3-pointers -- for A&M and Adaora Elonu chipped in 13 points and three steals.

The victory sets up Monday's game with sixth-seeded Arkansas, where Gary Blair coached before coming to A&M. The Razorbacks knocked off Dayton in the first game in College Station on Saturday.

Last year, Baylor won the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles, and all the league chatter heading into the NCAA tournament was about the Lady Bears. Then Texas A&M beat Baylor in the Elite Eight and ended up winning the national title.

This year, the Aggies are the defending champions. And all the Big 12 talk going into the NCAA tournament is about … Baylor again. The Lady Bears repeated both their conference titles, the tournament crown coming after a 23-point spanking of the Aggies in the final last Saturday.

With that, Texas A&M essentially bid adieu to the Big 12; the school joins the SEC, along with Missouri, next school year. However Gary Blair's program could add one last feather to the Big 12's cap with another Final Four appearance. This time, the Aggies won't have to go through Baylor to do that; both teams would have to make the national final to meet again.

But to get to Denver, Texas A&M might have to overcome the team it beat in last season's national-championship game, Notre Dame, as they're both in the Raleigh region. But that's all a ways down the road.

Read the full story here.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The ticker-tape fell from the ceiling of old Municipal Auditorium, and Brittney Griner and the rest of her Baylor teammates hoisted another trophy as Big 12 tournament champions. Then they filed out of the arena and right back to the locker room.

This wasn't a party, after all.

This was business.

The top-ranked Lady Bears used a season-high 26 points from Odyssey Sims to offset a quiet game by Griner, her All-American teammate, and Baylor cruised to a 73-50 victory over Texas A&M (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP) to wrap up its second straight championship and fourth overall.

Now, it's on to bigger things.

"We've been winning all season. We've been successful. This is great," Sims said, "but now we're focused on six games. That's what we're striving for."

That's how many games it will take to win the program's second national title, and the number it will take to become the first men's or women's team in major college basketball to go 40-0.

"These next six games, you know -- we enjoy the celebration. We love the hats and everything," Griner said, "but we have six more games."

Griner finished with a season-low 11 points and three rebounds, while Destiny Williams had 12 points and 11 boards. Jordan Madden contributed 10 points.

Still, Baylor (34-0) beat the Aggies for the third time this year, and also beat them to win the conference tournament in 2009 and last season. Of course, Texas A&M managed to flip the script and beat the Lady Bears in the NCAA tournament en route to the title.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- On Saturday, Texas A&M will play in its fifth consecutive Big 12 women's championship game. It will also be the last one for the Aggies.

They are leaving for the SEC after this school year, a decision Texas A&M coach Gary Blair wishes hadn't been made. He has loved his time in the Big 12 -- the rivalries that have been built in women's basketball because of the elevation of the program, and the friendships as well.

However, money, ego and bad blood trumped tradition and geographic common sense, and the Aggies are on their way out. But before they go, there will be at least one more showdown between Baylor and Texas A&M, the schools that have played in two previous Big 12 finals.

Baylor won both of those. In fact, the Lady Bears have won 10 of their last 11 games against the Aggies. The exception, though, was really the biggest: Last season's Elite Eight matchup in Dallas, which Texas A&M won 58-46 on its way to the NCAA championship.

"I think the committee will agree that these two teams should not have to be in the same region," Blair said of the upcoming NCAA tournament. "Last year, it worked to our advantage. This year, I would rather go see [Sydney] Colson in Poland than go to Baylor's region again."

Colson, who's playing professionally overseas, was the Aggies' high-energy, big-personality point guard last season. That job has been more by committee this year, with freshman Alexia Standish and junior Adrienne Pratcher filling the role a lot, along with combo guard Sydney Carter.

In Friday's 79-66 victory over No. 2 seed Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament semifinals, No. 3 seed Texas A&M also got a lift from another guard, senior Skylar Collins. She had 15 points as one of four Aggies who scored in double figures, led by Kelsey Bone with 16.

Bone and the Aggies will have their hands full Saturday (tipoff is noon ET) with Baylor's Brittney Griner, who scored 45 points in the Lady Bears' semifinal win over Kansas State. But Bone, who played her freshman season at South Carolina and sat out as a transfer last year, said Saturday's matchup should not be viewed as a one-on-one battle of premiere centers. Texas A&M will use all its depth at center/forward -- including Bone, Adaora Elonu, Karla Gilbert, Kelsey Assarian and Kristi Bellock -- to counter Griner.

"They are a great defensive team, and Brittney doesn't just control the paint. She controls the whole floor," Bone said. "Everybody on our team has to do their job against them."

Griner and Bone are both from Houston, but didn't face off until they were in high school, when they played twice. Bone played much more often in her prep/AAU days against two other post stars from the Houston area: Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike, who on Friday led Stanford into Saturday's Pac-12 final.

"I still remember the first time Brittney and I played against each other, because it wasn't that long ago," Bone said. "There's a lot of hype that surrounds the two of us when we go against each other. But it really doesn't come down to us when we play each other at this level. In high school, it kind of did.

"But at this level, it comes down to the whole cast of players. Brittney is going to get her points. We have to contain Odyssey [Sims] a little more, Destiny [Williams]. If we can do that, we stand a chance. Brittney and I are going to battle, but it will be decided by the entire team that's the best on that day we meet."

That said, Bone acknowledges that it's neat to have this kind of marquee matchup with Griner.

"That's what you play for," Bone said. "I've been playing since I was 10, and growing up, I always saw UConn and Tennessee. There are other rivalries now. And for Brittney and I both to be playing for Texas schools and representing Houston -- that's fun. It's good for the game."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kelsey Bone's 16 points led Texas A&M (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP) past Oklahoma, 79-66, in the semifinals of the Big 12 women's tournament Friday.

The third-seeded Aggies (22-9) will face top-ranked Baylor for the championship Saturday.

Skylar Collins scored 15 points, Alexia Standish 13 and Sydney Carter 10 for Texas A&M, which becomes the first school in league history with five straight appearances in the title game. Kristi Bellock's eight rebounds spearheaded a 38-27 edge on the boards.

Whitney Hand's 24 points paced the second-seeded Sooners (20-12), who shot just 38 percent (20 of 53). Aaryn Ellenberg added 13 and Sharane Campbell 11.

An 8-0 run by the Aggies broke a tie and put them ahead 25-17 with 8:18 left in the first half. They never trailed again.

Oklahoma closed within 49-45, but Texas A&M ripped off a 12-3 run for a 61-48 lead with 9:35 left to virtually seal it.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Elijah Johnson scored a career-high 26 points, and No. 3 Kansas began pursuit of its third straight Big 12 tournament title with an 83-66 win over Texas A&M in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Thomas Robinson, the conference player of the year, finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and All-Big 12 guard Tyshawn Taylor added 16 points for the Jayhawks (27-5).

They'll play No. 12 Baylor on Friday. The Bears beat Kansas State 82-74 in the quarterfinals.
Khris Middleton led Texas A&M (14-18) with 24 points, though he didn't get a whole lot of help. Leading scorer Elston Turner was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.

The Aggies head off to the Southeastern Conference beginning next season.

Pam Ward and Stephanie White recap No. 1 Baylor's 69-62 win over No. 11 Texas A&M.

We all know that football season never ends in the SEC. Well, it’s cranking back up in earnest next week, at least the spring version, when LSU opens spring practice on Thursday.

As usual, there’s a lot that’s new in the SEC, including coaches and even a pair of new teams. Missouri settles into the Eastern Division and Texas A&M into the Western Division.

And while the league lost its share of star players, plenty of star power returns.

So let's kick off our SEC spring preview with Texas A&M.

So without further adieu …

TEXAS A&M

Spring practice starts: March 31
Spring game: April 28

What to watch:

• Sumlin takes over: First-year coach Kevin Sumlin takes over in College Station, and the spring will be his first real chance to place his stamp on the program. He’s already said that all jobs are open and purposely didn’t watch any film from the 2011 regular season. He wants to make his own evaluations on the field, which means there will be some serious auditions going on this spring. Sumlin ran a wide-open spread offense at Houston because that’s the kind of personnel he had. He’ll certainly modify his system to fit his personnel this first season at Texas A&M, which likely means running the ball more given the Aggies’ returning experience in the offensive line and their stable of backs.
• Quarterback hunting: One of Sumlin’s first orders of business is finding a quarterback, and there’s at least four candidates on campus. The only guy with any game experience (and it’s not much) is rising sophomore Jameill Showers, who backed up Ryan Tannehill last season. The other two returnees are Johnny Manziel and Matt Joeckel, both of whom will be redshirt freshmen. Manziel is more of a runner, while the 6-4, 230-pound Joeckel is a pocket passer. Sumlin knows at least a little bit about Showers, Manziel and Joeckel. He recruited all three at Houston. There’s also true freshman Matt Davis, who’s already enrolled and will go through spring practice.
• Finishing the drill: As all Texas A&M fans are well aware, the Aggies weren’t what you could call a second-half team last season. In fact, they were far from it and time and time wilted in the second half. Sumlin has made it known that one of his goals is for the program to toughen up both physically and mentally. In five of the Aggies’ six losses last season, they were ahead at halftime or at some point in the second half. The defense absorbed much of the blame and definitely has to improve as Texas A&M makes the jump to the SEC, but Sumlin wants to make sure this spring that he instills a program-wide toughness that carries over into the fall.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor couldn't get anything going early for Kansas against Texas A&M.

The Jayhawks were OK though thanks to Elijah Johnson's 18 points in the first half that carried the team until their stars warmed up after halftime.

Johnson scored 21 points and Taylor made key plays down the stretch to help No. 4 Kansas fight off a late run by Texas A&M for a 66-58 victory Wednesday night.
"I needed to score for us tonight," Johnson said. "I was just aggressive and I ended up playing into a role. My points just kept us on top."

Johnson finished two points shy of his career-high and his first half performance helped offset Robinson and Taylor combining for three points in the first 20 minutes.
"He got us off to a good start," Taylor said. "He shot the ball well. We've been waiting for Elijah to come on. It was good for him to get a little bit of confidence going into a big game on Saturday."

That big game is a showdown for the Big 12 lead with No. 3 Missouri, a team that beat the Jayhawks 74-71 in the first meeting Feb. 4.

Kansas (23-5, 13-2) led by as many as 21 points in the second half before a big run by the Aggies got them within striking distance.

"To put them in a position to be able to win the game is beyond belief because we were just making basketball plays experienced guys should never make," Kansas coach Bill Self said.

A 3-pointer by Dash Harris cut the Kansas lead to four points, but Taylor made the first of two free throws to leave Kansas up 61-56 with about a minute remaining.

Johnson added a free throw before Robinson fouled out on a technical he received during a scuffle between players when they were trying to secure a loose ball.

Elston Turner made both free throws to make it 62-58 with 40 seconds left, but Jeff Withey scored four points after that to guarantee the win.

Khris Middleton led Texas A&M (13-14, 4-11) with 23 points.