As a graduate student and fifth-year player for Auburn baseball, Rankin Woley is definitely one of the veterans for the Tigers heading into the 2021 season. His teammates remind him of his age as well.
“Being the oldest, it’s fun,” Woley said. “I get called Dad every now and then from some of the younger guys, but that’s part of it. I don’t want to come off, as this old guy, I want to be just as good of friends with the freshmen as I do with seniors and guys who have been around three or four years. I think it’s just going to help us.”
That experience will definitely help as Butch Thompson’s team looks to make it back to Omaha for what would be a second straight College World Series. Woley definitely sees it as an asset.
“A lot of these guys went to Omaha,” he said. “They’re proven winners. That’s just going to help us going forward that we can show the younger guys this is what it takes to win. When you’ve gone to Omaha before you can use that to your advantage.”
Here’s everything else Woley said during a press conference on Friday:
On how good it feels to be back on the field…
“Oh, it’s awesome. It was a good break for a little bit there, and then it just kept extending and extending. The more it went on, the more I wanted to be back on the field, back at Auburn and back with these guys. There was no doubt in my mind where I wanted to be and I’m happy to be back for sure.”
On how he’s swinging the bat and what position he’s been playing…
“Mostly at third. I’ll touch first every now and then just to stay fresh on it. I think that’s one of our real strong suits this year, especially defensively, we’ve got so much depth and guys who can play all over the infield. We all try to touch different spots every time. The more we can do, the better we can help the team. As far as swinging it, I feel good. In the fall, I really worked strike zone and being very patient, waiting on my pitch. I had a ton more walks this fall than I’m used to having. I think that’s only going to help me going forward. I had a good start to the year last year but that doesn’t really mean anything anymore It’s a completely new year. I’m just hoping to do everything I can in the box to help the guy in front of me, behind me, and all through the lineup.”
On his work during the offseason and how he feels going into 2021…
“Being the oldest guy on the team being a fifth-year, I’ve seen pretty much everything there is to see. It’s just trusting my stuff, and I think that starts with BP, just staying in my approach, what works for me, staying on the right side, the feel of it, more of a mental thing than anything else. Working with Gabe and seeing the pitch. I actually took a little bit from golf, like lining up putts, you find a little spot that’s right in front of the ball, that’s your lineup spot. I’ll do that with the pitcher’s mound now, and I think that’s helped me a ton, as far as seeing where the plate is and that aspect of it.”
On they key to his hot start last year and how he can replicate that in 2021…
“I came in my junior year and everything was a little fast. I made it that way on accident, really. It sped up and I was trying to do too much. Last year I said I’m going to be myself and do everything selfless I can to help the team in the games and it ended up helping me a lot more. I found my BP approach. Junior year I went up there and was swinging at anything and everything and hitting balls everywhere. Last year, I really toned it in and said, let’s just stay on the right side of the field, and when the game comes, I’m going to be over there. I’m just going to react. That’s something that’s really helped me mentally because baseball is so mental. If I stay over there. If I just think about it, good things happen, so that’s what I’m trying to do this year.”
On his overall view of the roster…
“I really think we’re incredibly deep. In the infield especially, you’ve got guys that can play every single position. Bryson Ware came in, he’s about the most athletic person I’ve ever seen. He can play third, short, second, first, and not to mention he hits the ball 500 feet. You all those together and you tone it in, I think that’s really special for us. We have a lot of guys in the infield that have a ton of experience: Bliss, Brody, (Farquhar). Just added John Samuel the other day, who hits the ball 110 miles an hour pretty much every single time. On top of that, our infield depth especially is really deep. And then you talk about the outfielders, you’ve got Kason, Steven, Judd, who’ve played there for the last two or three years. That experience and they know how to play with each other. Nate Larue has really figured it out this offseason, and in the fall, and he’s going to be an incredible weapon for us. Getting Dyal back arm surgery is going to help that too. We can go on and on about the pitching staff, the upward climb that Richard Fitz has done, it’s been awesome. I think this team is almost more well-tuned and talented than the team that went to Omaha. We need to stay humble about it, and hopefully we can repeat that and get back to Omaha and win the thing.”
On if he uses his strong start last year as motivation…
“You can do that in the preseason and then you get to SEC play and all that can change. That’s what people want to see, can you do in the SEC too? I try not to listen as much as I can but you hear some stuff about, can you do it in the SEC? That’s a lot of added motivation, but I think the most important thing for me is starting out as hot as I started that’s really hard to do again. And it’s most likely not going to happen. If I can stay in that approach, and know that I have done that before, and that I can do it, if I don’t start off as hot or I get in a slump, I think it’s just going to help me more to where my confidence levels are going to keep me up there. I think that’s going to help a ton.”
