Auburn baseball experienced a disappointing season in 2024 by finishing with a 27-26 record and missing this week’s SEC Tournament with an 8-22 mark in conference play.
Pitching played a major role in Auburn’s struggles this season as the team finished near the bottom in several categories within the SEC including ERA (5.94), opposing average (.286), strikeouts (466), and hits allowed (517). Head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag], who is known for his success as a pitching coach, understands that his team needs enhancements to perform at a higher level, and will do whatever it takes to make it happen.
“(Pitching) our biggest challenge and it continued to be one all the way until our last ball game,” Thompson said during his final regular season press conference. “It’s learn and grow. I have to figure out the solutions on what I can do to help in that area that I have spent a lot of time in my career doing.”
How does Auburn go about correcting its issues on the mound? The two obvious choices are through NIL and the Transfer Portal. Thompson looks to utilize both tools this offseason.
Thompson hopes his program will become more competitive within the SEC in the NIL game and on the field.
“NIL, that space, whether I hit the mark or fell short on that of the estimation, trying to find a commitment there that matches the peers in our league,” Thompson said. “We finished fifth in this league the last two years and I thought once we got to a certain level of depth in our pitching staff, there’s a watermark or a level of acceptability in our league. I thought we threw too many innings in our league beneath that from a talent standpoint.”
Outside of NIL and stadium upgrades which will feature an expanded locker room, new weight room, and a new pitching lab, Thompson says there are a few perks he will use in his recruiting pitches to transfer targets.
“I think we’re pretty attractive because we play in the Southeastern Conference. We’re trying to take a trip to the Dominican with the club over Thanksgiving. We play a series in Arlington, Texas back in the dome in February in addition to those 10 SEC weekends. There’s huge opportunity,” Thompson said. “We’re hopeful that when we get to the first of June that we have our ducks in a row. That’s our singular focus is on this roster that we can put all of our attention to that and see if we can attract some guys that help us get ready quick.”
Outside of seniors [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag], [autotag]Christian Herberholtz[/autotag], and [autotag]Konnor Copeland[/autotag] it is unclear how many pitchers will depart from the program this offseason. [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] is a name to watch for ahead of this summer’s MLB draft and notable pitchers such as [autotag]Carson Myers[/autotag], [autotag]Dylan Watts[/autotag], [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag], and [autotag]Conner McBride[/autotag] are eligible to return to the program next season.
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