Tag: CWS

Alabama Baseball listed as a ‘Sleeper Team’ to make it to Omaha

Could Alabama Baseball be a hidden gem in 2024? Many believe they have what it takes.

In 2023, Alabama baseball finished the season with an overall record of 43-21 and an SEC record of 16-14, but that’s not why people were talking about the Crimson Tide. The betting scandal that led to head coach Brad Bohannon’s dismissal from the team stole headlines.

Now, Alabama baseball enters the 2024 team with a new head coach, Rob Vaughn, and plenty of new players. Expectations for this team are, for the most part, unknown. For that reason, you can’t rule out the Crimson Tide too early.

D1Baseball recently asked every baseball team in the country which program could be a “sleeper team,” or a team that may surprise many, with its performance in the upcoming season.

Though East Carolina received the most votes with 20, Alabama received 10 votes. Alabama has not been back to Omaha for the College World Series since 1999.

Opening Day for the Tide is Friday, Feb. 15 in Tuscaloosa against Manhattan College, which is the first game of a three-game series.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama baseball as the 2024 season gets started.

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New Alabama Baseball coach, Rob Vaughn, receives his first contract

Alabama Athletics announces contract for new baseball coach, Rob Vaughn.

After the departure of Brad Bohannon, the Alabama Baseball program went on to make an outstanding postseason run that ended one series shy of the College World Series. Assistant coach Jason Jackson stepped in for Bohannon after their series with LSU and immediately led Alabama to series wins over No. 5 Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss before walking their way through the Tuscaloosa regional. The fairy tale run ended against No. 1 Wake Forest in the NCAA Super Regional, but given the circumstances, what Jackson did was remarkable.

Jackson was then in contention to take the position over full-time, but Alabama was able to steal Rob Vaughn, a highly-touted 35-year-old, away from Maryland. Vaughn led the Terrapins to back-to-back regular season Big Ten titles in 2022 and 2023 as well as winning the 2023 Big Ten tournament. He was subsequently named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 and was set to have interest from schools all across the country.

Vaughn met with the Athletic Department today and the board to discuss his contract as they signed him to a five-year deal worth $900,000 annually. Fortunately for Vaughn and the Tide, Jackson will still be with the Alabama program in 2024.

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Tuscaloosa to be one of the 16 regional host sites ahead of the CWS

Alabama baseball selected to host one of the NCAA regional finals

Only 16 locations are selected by the NCAA each year to be the hosts of the College Baseball Regionals. This year, the Southeastern Conference will be strongly represented with eight of their 14 schools selected as host sites, so this means that the SEC will take up half of those sites, being: Tuscaloosa (Alabama), Fayetteville (Arkansas), Auburn, Gainesville (Florida), Lexington (Kentucky), Baton Rouge (LSU), Columbia (South Carolina) and Nashville (Vanderbilt).

Alabama, being among those eight teams, will be playing playoff baseball in Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2006.

The Tide finished the year with a record of 40-17 and were knocked out of the SEC tournament by the eventual champion Vanderbilt Commodores. Before being knocked out, Alabama beat Kentucky 4-0, lost to Florida 6-7, and beat Auburn 7-4. They also ended their regular season with three series wins over Vanderbilt, at Texas A&M, and Ole Miss.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Three factors for Notre Dame Baseball to return to College World Series

Can the Irish return to Omaha next season?

The bar has been set for Irish baseball and it’s high. In the two full seasons that [autotag]Link Jarrett[/autotag] has been at the helm, Notre Dame has made it to the Super Regionals last year and this year the College World Series. Although neither trip resulted in hardware being brought back to South Bend, the play has set a standard for the Irish. Here are three factors for the Notre Dame Baseball team to make a return to Omaha next season.

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Oklahoma’s Skip Johnson discusses Augie Garrido’s impact ahead of College World Series

“He didn’t talk about winning or losing. He talked about executing.”

Augie Garrido is widely regarded as one of the best to ever fill a lineup card at the college level. Garrido coached a number of great players and assistant coaches during his time at Texas and Cal State Fullerton.

One of Garrido’s assistants, Skip Johnson, is now the manager of the Oklahoma Sooners. He said the following about his experience as Garrido’s pitching coach in the 2009 College World Series:

“We get ready for the first game… he didn’t talk about winning or losing the game. He talked about executing. He talked about getting bunts down. He talked about first pitch strikes. He talked about playing good catch, and we win on a walk off walk. I mean, how does that happen? … It was just about executing your game plan.”

Both the Sooners and Longhorns have overcome adversity with that mindset this season. After a slow start the Sooners are playing as good as anyone. The Longhorns similarly erased what seemed like an insurmountable 7-2 lead against East Carolina last week. They may meet up again at the College World Series.

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