Tag: Butch Thompson

D1Baseball lists Auburn among top-20 programs ahead of 2025 season

Can Auburn bounce back from last season’s uncharacteristic performance?

Despite a disappointing 2024 campaign, expectations are high for the Auburn baseball team heading into 2025.

With a group of talented transfer portal additions heading to the Plains paired with an above-average recruiting class, head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] is hoping to take his team back to the College World Series for the third time since 2019.

The high expectations are shared by D1Baseball, who placed the Tigers at the No. 20 spot in their college baseball program rankings ahead of the season. The college baseball database described Auburn as a team “capable of making a deep postseason run” this season despite a down year in 2024.

While the ranking system is not a perfect metric for predicting success this season since it takes into account the recent overall body of work, it is still a solid indicator of what to expect from each team heading into the season. Auburn has shown in recent seasons they are capable of making a deep run into the summer, and D1 baseball seems to share the sentiment that last year was more of an outlier than the norm for Butch Thompson’s teams.

The Tigers open up the 2025 season in Arlington, Texas when they’ll face Ohio State in the “College Baseball Series.” Butch Thompson’s squad will take the diamond on Saturday, October 12 in a Fall Exhibition against Florida State as well.

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Cooper McMurray returning for another season on the Plains

Auburn will keep one of its key sluggers in its 2025 lineup with the return of Cooper McMurray.

Auburn baseball is continuing to fill out its roster for the 2025 season after a 2024 campaign that was less than desired. With so many moves happening throughout the program, roster spots are starting to fill up quickly.

A player that will have one of those spots is first baseman [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag], who announced that he is returning to the Plains for another year on Saturday.

McMurray finished up his second season with the Tigers as one of the team’s most reliable hitters. He posted a .296 batting average that was filled with 14 home runs and 56 RBI.

Out of the 53 hits he picked up, 27 of them went for extra bases. He racked up a career-high 13 doubles within that, hoping to continue with his power next season.

McMurray knows he wants to help this team out as one of the veteran leaders in the lineup, which is why he came back for another round.

“After going through last season, all I want to do is win and help this university progress in the baseball world,” McMurray said in an interview with Auburn Live. “We’ve been to Omaha, but last season left a bad taste in my mouth. I want to be able to go back at it and end the career in the postseason and hopefully with a national championship for this university.”

Over the course of his college career, almost all of the McMurray’s hitting statistics have only increased, something that the Tigers and head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] have been pleased with.

Now, it is all about pushing that trend across the team, something McMurray really wants to do in the 2025 season.

“I’m hard on myself. I’m going to set some high goals for myself and the team,” McMurray said. “I’ll be one of the older guys on the team and it’s my responsibility to help lead the guys. I want to develop myself personally on and off the field. It’s important to have that balance. Coach Thompson does a great job, he’s a builder of young men and I wouldn’t want to play
for anyone else.”

McMurray now looks to have a good enough season to earn a high draft stock in the 2025 MLB Draft after the conclusion of next season.

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Auburn baseball adds former Florida LHP Cade Fisher from transfer portal

Fisher won 10 games and struck out 124 batters in two seasons for the Gators.

Auburn baseball head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] is working to rebuild his roster following an unconventional season that saw Auburn miss out on the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2016. So far, Thompson has landed eight players from the transfer portal, arguably his biggest addition committing to the program over the weekend.

[autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag], a left-handed pitcher originally for the Florida Gators, announced Saturday that he would take his talents to another fellow SEC program, the Auburn Tigers.

Fisher was a highly-touted recruit out of high school. The Dalton, Georgia native signed with Florida as the No. 12 national LHP from the 2022 class, and the top overall pitcher from Georgia. He ended his high school career with a 0.71 ERA, the lowest in all Georgia High School Association classifications.

His stellar high school career translated to college as he earned a freshman All-American honor from Perfect Game and was named to the SEC All-freshman team in 2023. He earned those accolades by building a 6-0 record with 48 strikeouts to 13 walks in 27 appearances.

Last season at Florida, he finished 4-3 with a career-high 76 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings with nine starts for the Gators. He also earned valuable College World Series experience during his time at Florida by appearing in seven games in Omaha over the last two seasons. Fisher’s most notable College World Series outing took place in the Gators loss to LSU in the game one of the final series in 2023, where he struck out five batters over 3 1/3 innings of work.

Fisher is the fourth pitcher to commit to Auburn from the transfer portal, joining [autotag]Sam Dutton[/autotag] (LSU), [autotag]Mason Koch[/autotag] (Creighton), and [autotag]Ryan Hetzler[/autotag] (California Baptist). He comes to Auburn with a career ERA of 5.30 and a record of 10-3 in 53 total appearances. He has recorded 124 strikeouts and 42 walks in 108 2/3 innings over the last two seasons at Florida.

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Auburn pitcher Cameron Keshock hits the transfer portal

Keshock is hitting the transfer portal after spending two seasons on the Plains.

Auburn baseball’s roster has been going through a number of changes since the end of its 2024 campaign, one that was very forgetful for the team to say the least. Many players have come and gone through the transfer portal, and the Tigers had a recent move that was made today.

Relief pitcher [autotag]Cameron Keshock[/autotag] is on his way out of the program after just two years on the Plains, leaving after having just minimal outings on the mound.

In his two years with Auburn, Keshock recorded just 8 1/3 innings of work out of the bullpen in 10 appearances. His sophomore season saw him throw 5 1/3 innings, giving up six earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts and three walks. He posted 10.13 earned average for the year as well.

His best outing of the season came in the Tigers’ May 7 win at Georgia Tech, where he threw two full innings, giving up no runs on one hit, while walking one and striking out four.

Keshock’s departure is the latest to come out of the Auburn pitching staff since Zach Crotchfelt entered the portal and committed to Texas Tech in June.

While those two are the only pitchers to have left the program, the Tigers have added two in their place with [autotag]Mason Koch[/autotag] and [autotag]Samuel Dutton[/autotag]. Nevertheless, head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] is still looking for major improvements to the pitching staff next season.

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Auburn’s Ike Irish on College Sports Wire’s SEC Player of the Year watch list

Way ahead of the 2025 college baseball season, CSW places Auburn’s Ike Irish as a candidate for the 2025 SEC Player of the Year.

Auburn baseball is coming off of a season that was undesirable, finishing 27-26 and missing out on the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2016. That does not take away from some of the raw talent that the team has had as of late though, and another player is making his case to be explosive in 2025.

Catcher and outfielder [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag] has been included on College Sports Wire’s list of “5 way-too-early 2025 SEC Player of the Year candidates.” He is also with Jace LaViolette and Gavin Grahovac of Texas A&M, Max Belyeu of Texas and Ethan Petry of South Carolina.

Irish has been valuable for the Tigers throughout his first two seasons, preparing to be an early pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

He has posted a batting average of .343 with 20 home runs and 109 RBI in his college career, making great use of his time at the plate. Despite having 53 less at-bats in 2024, he produced a lot more contact and power with eight more home runs and nine more RBI than in 2023.

Amongst his notable accolades in his time on the Plains, Irish was named to the 2023 SEC All-Freshman Team and received Freshman All-America honors from multiple national baseball outlets. He also earned First Team All-SEC honors in 2024.

Irish now prepares for a junior campaign in 2025 where he will likely see more time with catching duties, hoping to avoid the injury bug that plagued him last year. He is on pace to be a key veteran leader for a program that is trying to turn around after a big down year under head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag].

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Auburn baseball lands Jett Johnston out of transfer portal

After being one win away from a national championship with Texas A&M, Jett Johnston is taking his talents to the Plains.

The offseason for Auburn baseball has been all about trying to rebuild and reload ahead of the 2025 season after a poor performance in 2024. A large part of that process comes from the transfer portal, and the Tigers recently added another young product on Sunday.

Head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] has acquired former Texas A&M utility player and pitcher [autotag]Jett Johnston[/autotag], hoping to make some good use out of a player who was on this year’s national runner-up.

Johnston spent one year with the Aggies. While he did not receive much playing time with the program, he spent the bulk of his action on the diamond at the plate.

In the 13 games that he appeared in, Johnston batted .188 and only posted two RBI. Two of those games were pitching outings, where he pitched two innings in total and gave up six earned runs while striking out and walking two batters each.

Johnston was rated the No. 180 prospect in the nation and the No. 9 third baseman by Perfect Game out of high school, helping win two state titles for Farragut High School (Tennessee). He was given All-State honors in 2023.

Johnston is the seventh player that Auburn has added from the transfer portal this offseason. He is likely to step into a corner infielder role or be a part of the bullpen for Auburn in the 2025 season.

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Auburn improves pitching staff with addition of Mason Koch

Koch struck out 60 batters in 38 1/3 innings last season as a reliever at Creighton.

Auburn baseball is looking to turn its program back in the right direction after a down year in 2024. Part of that process is scouting talent out of the transfer portal, which it has been successful with as of late.

One of the Tigers’ most recent additions comes in the form of [autotag]Mason Koch[/autotag] out of Creighton, who has been one of the more highly rated prospects in the portal in this early offseason.

Koch is coming off of a stellar sophomore campaign with the Blue Jays, where he was a relief pitcher for his entire time in the program.

In two years, he posted a 3.48 earned run average in 31 appearances and a strong 5-1 record. All six decisions came in the 2024 season, where he saw increased playing time.

Koch had 25 outings this year where he pitched a total of 38 1/3 innings and racked up six saves in the process. In that time, he struck out 60 batters and gave up 17 walks, while giving up just 14 earned runs as well.

His best appearance of the year came late in the season against a conference foe in UConn, where he pitched for four full innings and struck out eight while walking three. He gave up four hits and no runs as well on the way to the 14-9 victory.

Koch joins a pitching staff that is coming off of posting a 5.94 ERA in 2024, a lot of which came from the arms of the bullpen. Now, he has an opportunity to help improve a pitching staff that needs to turn things around for head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] next season.

The transfer announcement was one of two big ones Auburn received Monday, with the other being former East Carolina outfielder Bristol Carter.

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ECU transfer outfielder Bristol Carter commits to Auburn

Carter was an absolute star for ECU as a freshman in 2024.

Auburn baseball head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] has already begun scavenging the transfer portal for talent following a very disappointing 2024 season on the Plains. That scavenge struck gold on Monday, as Thompson landed 2024 freshman All-American transfer outfielder [autotag]Bristol Carter[/autotag].

Carter, who played his freshman season at Eastern Carolina, was an absolute star for the Pirates in 2024. The Oak Ridge, North Carolina native raked his way to a .346 average in 56 games over the course of the campaign. The freshman started 46 of those games, collecting 55 hits, although just 10 went for extra bases.

Carter was ranked as the top incoming freshman in the American Athletic Conference last season, and the No. 57 incoming prospect in the country by Perfect Game and D1Baseball. The 5-11, 188-pound outfielder doesn’t have the frame to provide big power numbers, but has elite bat to ball skills that should provide Thompson with a great option at the top of his batting order next season.

With fan-favorite [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] leaving the Tigers next season, Auburn’s newest transfer outfielder seems like the early fit to soak up the majority of the at-bats in center field. If the 2024 AAC All-Freshman team selection can hit for the same average and add some power, Auburn may be able to compete much more in 2025.

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The Dutton brothers announce commitments to Auburn baseball

Auburn added a pair of transfers Friday after brothers Samuel and Andrew Dutton announced their intent to join the Tigers’ roster.

Auburn baseball is already preparing to build its roster to be in a better spot for the 2025 season after a disappointing campaign in 2024. The Tigers are looking for talent through the transfer portal, which has yielded some success in the early going.

Auburn earned two more additions through the portal today from two players that know each other very well. Brothers [autotag]Andrew Dutton[/autotag] and [autotag]Samuel Dutton[/autotag] make have committed to the Plains after successful seasons at their previous schools.

Andrew is entering his fifth season at the collegiate level after spending the last four years at Birmingham Southern, a program that just disbanded following the closure of the university. He is a middle infielder that has proven to be a great contact hitter at the plate.

Over his four years with the Panthers, he posted a .346 batting average and a .515 slugging percentage. A consistent starter for the historic former Division III school, he hit seven home runs and racked up 42 RBI, while also ending with a positive strikeout-to-walk ratio in his senior season.

His brother is Samuel Dutton, who makes his way east after spending the previous three years at SEC foe LSU. He is a pitcher that has primarily spent his time in Baton Rouge in the relief role.

In his time with the Tigers, Dutton put up a 6.02 earned run average in 86.2 innings of work. After working as a starter for much of his freshman year, he has only started four games over 39 appearances in the last two years, being moved into a bullpen role for LSU’s strong pitching staff. He has struck out 76 and walked 25 batters in his college career.

The brothers are the team’s third and fourth transfers since the season ended, with [autotag]Lucas Steele[/autotag] and [autotag]Eric Snow[/autotag] having already joined on with head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag].

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Former Tiger hurler Zach Crotchfelt commits to Texas Tech

Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock could return Crotchfelt to starting pitching duties next season with the change of scenery and fresh start. 

Former Auburn Tigers left-handed pitcher [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag] has committed to Texas Tech following his decision to enter the transfer portal in May. The junior from Jackson, NJ announced the move on X, formerly known as Twitter late Tuesday evening.

The southpaw never quite put it all together during two turbulent years on the Plains, but the former No. 9 ranked left-handed pitching prospect in the country still has plenty of time to live up to his high school hype for the Red Raiders.

After starting 6 games as a freshman, Crotchfelt was sentenced to bullpen duty for his final year and a half at Auburn. Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock could opt to return Crotchfelt to starting pitching duties next season with the change of scenery and fresh start.

The New Jersey native finished his Auburn career with a 5.69 ERA over 49 innings of work. Crotchfelt did strike out 55 batters in those 49 innings, but conversely allowed 31 free passes which doomed most of his appearances as a Tiger. If Tadlock and the Texas Tech coaching staff can hone in on the walk issues, they may have found a diamond in the rough in the former Tiger.

As for Auburn, head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] will certainly be looking towards the transfer portal and recruiting trail for a left-hander to replace Crotchfelt in the Auburn arm barn.

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