Will Cannon – Syndication Server

Auburn RHP Christian Herberholz inks free agent deal with Baltimore Orioles

Herberholz is turning pro after striking out 90 batters over 90 2/3 innings as an Auburn Tiger.

Baltimore has become a hot destination for former Auburn baseball players.

Since 2020, the Orioles organization has either drafted or signed five former Tigers. [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] joined that company earlier this week by being taken in the fourth round of the MLB draft by Baltimore, and his Auburn teammate [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag] is set to join him.

Wednesday, Herberholz signed a free-agent deal with the Baltimore Orioles, joining infielder [autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] by landing an undrafted deal with a Major League club.

Herberholz signed with Auburn after a successful stint in the junior college ranks at nearby Southern Union State Community College, where he struck out 55 batters in 56 1/3 innings as a Bison. At Auburn, he appeared in 33 games in two seasons, where he struck out 90 batters, walked 38, and boasted a 4.76 ERA in 90 2/3 total innings.

The MLB draft period results in five Tigers earning a free agent deal, or being drafted. Auburn RHP’s Chase Allsup (Baltimore Orioles) and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] (Cincinnati Reds), as well as south paw [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] (New York Yankees) were drafted while Herberholz and Weiss signed free agent deals.

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Will Cannon selected by Reds in MLB Draft

Cannon was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2024 MLB Draft after completing his second season on the Plains.

Former Auburn relief pitcher [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] was selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the No. 359 pick in the twelfth round of the 2024 MLB Draft on Tuesday afternoon.

The right-hander holds a career record of 3-3 with a 5.57 earned run average in just 40 outings with the Tigers, where 36 of those came out of the bullpen.

While he had a less than desirable campaign in 2024, the 6-1 product out of Phenix City, Alabama had flashes of being a powerful arm to go to in whatever situation he was thrown in. His velocity has given him the ability to put some spin on the ball at times, making him difficult to hit.

The Reds’ current roster is loaded in terms of the number of relievers in their bullpen, holding notable names like Nick Martinez, Lucas Sims and Sam Moll. The likelihood of Cannon being a consistent face in the MLB is low, but should his name be called on to make an appearance, will relish the opportunity. He will spend a large chunk of time developing in their farm system in the meantime.

Cannon is the third player from Auburn to be selected in the draft, with the other two being fellow pitchers Chase Allsup and Tanner Bauman, who were both taken on Monday afternoon.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on Twitter @traley34

Butch Thompson to enhance pitching staff this offseason

Auburn baseball ranked near the bottom in several categories this season. Thompson looks to change that by any means necessary.

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.

[lawrence-related id=82952]

Butch Thompson issues apology for Auburn baseball’s recent struggles

The Tigers fell to 2-10 in SEC play last weekend by dropping a home series to Tennessee, its’ fourth-straight conference series.

Auburn baseball’s rotten start to SEC play continued over the weekend, as the Tigers dropped two of three games to No. 4 Tennessee at Plainsman Park.

After winning Friday’s opener, the Tigers fell in the final two games in run-rule fashion, being outscored 31-7 in 14 total innings. Allowing plenty of runs to score in SEC play is becoming common, as they have allowed opponents to score 9.4 runs each game, compared to the 5.4 runs they score in each SEC contest.

Following Sunday’s 19-5, seven inning loss to the Volunteers, head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] addressed the team’s recent struggles, especially on the mound. He took the time to apologize to fans and boosters for the team’s recent poor performance in SEC play.

“It’s my responsibility. We have a long way to go in this season. We knew this schedule was going to be a grind and test us. It has been a little more than that, especially on the mound. It’s my responsibility with us not being competitive on the mound or not being able to do some things. I just apologize to all the fans and stakeholders and everybody who loves, cares and supports our program. We’ll get with the guys and force them to figure out solutions and our staff to get better and meet expectations. We’ve worked hard from the time we got here to build something up and we’ve done this together. We’ll continue to try to get this group refocused. I’m intently asking for some ‘figure it out mentality’ from our coaches and players to show us a roadmap of how we can get better.”

The recent setbacks are not due to Thompson’s lack of coaching or scheming. Last weekend, Thompson attempted to shake up Auburn’s weekend pitching rotation by wiping the usual slate of [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag], [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag], and [autotag]Conner McBride[/autotag] clean and electing to start [autotag]Dylan Watts[/autotag] in Friday’s game before making a game-time decision for Saturday’s and Sunday’s starters.

The plan fell through, as Auburn’s final two starters ([autotag]Conner McBride[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag]) combined to pitch three full innings, allowing 11 earned runs on seven hits while walking four batters. The pitching staff collectively boasts a 9.18 ERA against conference foes and allows opposing batters to hit .341 off of them.

As Thompson said, there is plenty of season left to figure things out. The Tigers have six SEC series’ remaining, beginning with No. 16 Kentucky this weekend at Plainsman Park.

Auburn snaps Hogs’ long win streak, wins series finale

An eventful 6th inning for Auburn led to a win over the No. 1 team in the land on Saturday.

The No. 24 Auburn Tigers (15-8, 1-5 SEC) earned its first SEC win of the season on Saturday by taking down the nation’s top team.

Trailing No. 1 Arkansas (19-3, 5-1 SEC) 5-1 heading to the bottom of the 6th inning, the Tigers rattled off six runs in the frame to go ahead, 7-5. Solid pitching over the final two innings, plus an insurance run in the 8th inning were enough to lift Auburn to an 8-6 win over the Razorbacks on Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park in Auburn.

A record crowd of 5,087 fans watched the Tigers earn the win. A big crowd, plus great effort, led to the win says head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag].

“This is a group of guys that have done everything we have asked them to do the right way,” Thompson said postgame. “For us to come out being down 0-2 in a series at home and have more fans than we’ve ever had in the park’s history show up is pretty moving. For me personally it’s a big deal, and I know it means a lot to these players, but that’s Auburn. That’s the best version of us, and the fans were huge to provide some momentum in the ballpark today.”

The Tigers entered Saturday hoping to avoid a second-straight sweep to open SEC play. After three innings of scoreless play, Arkansas broke through in the 4th inning with a three-run home run and an RBI double to jump ahead, 4-0. [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] responded by sending Ike Irish home on an RBI single to cut the Razorbacks’ lead to 4-1.

Arkansas’ Kendall Diggs, who scored a run in the 4th inning, sent another run across in the top half of the 6th inning to extend the deficit to 5-1. In danger of letting the game get away from them, Auburn responded by scoring six runs in the bottom frame to take the lead.

[autotag]Mason Maners[/autotag] led off the inning with a home run, which sent Razorbacks pitching into a downward spiral. The next five batters would reach base with zero outs in the inning, which allowed two runs to score. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of McMurray, who crushed a three-run blast to push Auburn ahead, 7-5.

Over the next three innings, [autotag]Parker Carlson[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] combined to allow just one earned run with three strikeouts to limit Arkansas’ bats. Irish hit a solo home run in the 8th inning to deliver the final blow, and securing an Auburn win.

Auburn recorded 10 hits on the day, with McMurray, Irish, Maners, and [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] leading the way with two hits each. McMurray drove home four runs while Irish scored two. On the mound, Joseph Gonzalez allowed four earned runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings in his first SEC start of the season. Carlson earned the win by tossing a three-hit, one-run effort in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Cannon slammed the door by striking out two batters without allowing a hit over the final two innings to grab the save.

Auburn will host Jax State for a midweek tilt on Tuesday in an effort to prepare them for another tough road test next weekend at Texas A&M. The Tigers and Gamecocks will battle at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday at Plainsman Park.

	Runs	Hits	Errors	LOB
No. 1 Arkansas	6	10	1	11
No. 24 Auburn	8	10	0	8

Auburn earns series win over UConn thanks to sweet swings from Irish, Fabian

The duo of Deric Fabian and Ike Irish combined to hit three home runs and score seven RBI in No. 22 Auburn’s series-clinching win over UConn on Sunday.

The concept of a “sophomore slump” is foreign to Auburn catcher [autotag]Ike Irish[/autotag].

Irish earned Freshman All-America honors from four publications, as well as a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team after hitting .361 with six home runs and 50 RBI. This season, he is on track to break those numbers.

Irish also has the “clutch factor” working in his favor, as he crushed two home runs in No. 22 Auburn’s 8-2 series-clinching win over UConn on Sunday at Plainsman Park in Auburn. Irish delivered the final four runs of the game for Auburn by hitting a two-run shot to right field in the 6th inning to extend Auburn’s lead to 6-2 and capped the scoring in the 8th inning by crushing another two-run home run over the Huskies bullpen to push the lead to 8-2.

Joining Irish on the home run trail Sunday was [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag], who hit a home run over the left field monster in the 1st inning to put Auburn on the board. The long ball traveled 412 feet and gave Auburn an early 3-0 lead. The only run that Auburn scored that did not involve Irish or Fabian occured the bottom of the 6th inning on a UConn error. Irish hit his first home run of the day just two at-bats later.

[autotag]Carson Myers[/autotag] was strong in his second start at Plainsman Park by allowing just three hits over four innings of work. [autotag]Cam Tilly[/autotag] was credited with the win as he struck out two batters and allowed three hits on four innings of relief. [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] tossed the final inning, striking out a batter.

Auburn improves to 9-2 on the season while UConn falls to 3-6. The Tigers welcome Air Force to Plainsman Park this upcoming week for a two-game midweek set beginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.

	Runs	Hits	Errors	LOB
UConn	2	7	2	10
No. 22 Auburn	8	12	0	7

WP- Cam Tilly (2-0) | LP- Stephen Quigley (0-2)

Auburn knocks off No. 20 Iowa behind late-inning surge

The Tigers scored six runs over the final three innings to stun Iowa on day one of the Jax College Baseball Challenge.

Opening day of the Jax College Baseball Classic in Jacksonville, Florida was filled with insanity that would last past midnight.

Auburn’s opening game of the weekend with No. 20 Iowa began over three hours later than its originally scheduled time due to delays in the first game of the day between Wichita State and Virginia. The delay appeared to cause the Tigers to begin sluggish, however, a late-inning surge would be enough to lift them to a 7-5 victory at 121 Financial Park.

Iowa starting pitcher Brody Brecht was as strong as advertised. He struck out 11 batters while allowing two hits, an earned run, and four walks in six innings of work. Brecht departed after throwing 99 pitches and hanging on to a 3-2 lead in Friday’s game, and it would not take long for Auburn to find its groove once he was out of the picture.

The Tigers stole the lead from the Hawkeyes over the final two innings thanks to three straight home runs. [autotag]Mason Maners[/autotag] welcomed Iowa’s Jack Whitlock to the game by smashing a solo home run during the first at-bat of the 7th inning to tie the game at 3-3. Three at-bats later, [autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] nailed a two-run shot over the right-center field wall to push Auburn ahead, 5-3.

The party continued when [autotag]Christian Hall[/autotag] led off the 8th inning by tattooing a ball that landed just shy of the St. John’s River to extend the Tigers’ lead to 6-3. [autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] capped scoring later in the inning with a sacrifice fly to score [autotag]Javon Hernandez[/autotag].

Iowa’s Sam Petersen cut the Auburn lead to 7-5 with two outs in the 9th inning on a two-run home run, but the Hawkeyes could not manage to re-take the lead.

[autotag]Cam Tilly[/autotag] earned the win in relief for Auburn by striking out three of the seven batters he faced in two innings of work, allowing just one hit. [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] struck out two batters each in their relief appearances while allowing three combined hits. Starter [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] allowed three earned runs on five hits while striking out three batters in his second start of the season. His night was forced to end early as he threw 80 pitches over 3 1/3 innings.

Auburn returns to action Saturday to face Wichita State in day two of the Jax College Baseball Classic. First pitch is scheduled for noon CT, and will be broadcast live at D1Baseball.com and on the Auburn Sports Network.

Auburn clinches weekend series with Saturday win over Eastern Kentucky

Bobby Peirce recorded three RBI while Joseph Gonzalez tossed five innings in Saturday’s 6-1 win at Plainsman Park.

It was a cold day on the Plains, but the Auburn bats were hot.

[autotag]Bobby Peirce[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Stanfield[/autotag] recorded two hits as Auburn (2-0) claimed the first series win of the season by defeating Eastern Kentucky (0-2), 6-1 Saturday at Plainsman Park.

Auburn’s offense began, and ended, with Peirce on Saturday. Peirce put Auburn on the board first with a two-out triple in the 3rd inning to score [autotag]Javon Hernandez[/autotag] and [autotag]Caden Green[/autotag] to push Auburn ahead, 2-0. He put a cap on scoring in the bottom of the 8th inning with a solo home run to extend Auburn’s lead to 6-1.

Ike Irish was Auburn’s offensive hero in Friday’s opener, and Peirce took control in game two. Head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] is pleased with the versatility of his offense through two games and hopes to see the trend continue.

“Two outs, two strikes, and (Peirce) hit that triple to get us going,” Thompson said Saturday. “We really needed that. I hope that this is an offense that we can keep talking about a different guy every night. I hope that’s how we’re built.”

Following Peirce’s triple in the 3rd inning, [autotag]Cooper McMurray[/autotag] crushed his first home run of the season over the right field wall to extend Auburn’s lead to 4-0. Auburn’s fifth run of the game came off the bat of Hernandez, who grounded out to the shortstop to allow [autotag]Sam Robertson[/autotag] to score from 3rd base.

Eastern Kentucky’s lone run was scored in the 5th inning when DJ Sullivan doubled home Santiago Peralta. Sullivan led the Colonels in hits with two.

Saturday also marked the return of [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] to the mound after missing 364 days due to a shoulder injury. He struck out two batters, walked three, and allowed an unearned run in five complete innings. [autotag]Zach Crotchfelt[/autotag], [autotag]John Armstrong[/autotag], and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] combined to strikeout seven batters through the final four innings from the bullpen. Every out that Cannon recorded in the 9th inning was a strikeout.

The Tigers go for the sweep of Eastern Kentucky Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. Auburn’s [autotag]Carson Myers[/autotag] will battle EKU’s Rian Yates on the mound.

Closer Will Cannon named to NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list

Auburn’s top reliever has been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named Auburn pitcher Will Cannon to their watch list for the “Stopper of the Year Award” this week.

The award, which is given to the nation’s top relief pitcher, has never been won by an Auburn Tiger since its inception in 2005.

Auburn’s best weapon out of the bullpen appeared in a team-leading 23 games last season, 20 of which came in relief. The junior accumulated 44 strikeouts in 49 innings, pitching to a 3-2 record and 4.41 earned run average.

He also picked up five saves, which was tied for fifth in the conference.

The JUCO transfer from Northwest Florida State is joined by 11 other SEC relief hurlers on the watch list.

Cannon’s campaign to become the first Tiger to win “Stopper of the Year” begins this evening when Auburn hosts Eastern Kentucky to open a three-game series at Plainsman Park.

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Examining Auburn baseball’s returning pitchers

Which returning pitcher will make the biggest impact on Auburn’s success in 2024?

The Auburn Tigers are looking to return to the postseason for the sixth time in seven seasons and will have plenty of weapons to make that dream a reality.

One of the most experienced units this season will be its pitching, which returns 13 arms from last season’s roster. Names such as [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag], [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag], [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag], and [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] are back for another season, and [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag] is expected to return to the Friday night starter role after sustaining a shoulder injury last season.

The Tigers added several solid arms such as [autotag]Trevor Booten[/autotag], [autotag]Cam Tilley[/autotag], and [autotag]Griffin Graves[/autotag] from the 2023 recruiting class, but their returning pitchers bring plenty of wealth to the club. Between the 13 returning pitchers who saw action last season, the group accounted for 36 starts, 203 appearances, and 371 strikeouts.

Which returning pitcher will make the biggest impact on Auburn’s season? Here is a look at Auburn’s top returning pitchers ahead of the 2024 season.