Alabama Baseball Punches Ticket to Omaha After 27 Year Drought

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It took 27 years, 17 hours and 24 minutes, but Alabama baseball is going back to the College World Series after knocking off St. John's 7-2 in game two of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional.

"What a day," Rob Vaughn said. "What a year. What a season. 27 years in the making and I couldn't think of a better group to be able to kick that door down. I don't have words. I don't have words. This group's been through a lot this year and man they met the moment the last few weeks. When the moment got big, they showed up."

The Crimson Tide jumped into a five-run lead thanks to a Jason Torres grand slam in the 7th inning, but then had its patience tested as lightning strikes in the area put the game on pause in the top of the 8th. The delay put a damper on an electric crowd gathered in Sewell-Thomas Stadium to see Alabama make its first College World Series appearance since the turn of the century, but the team remained focused on the task at hand and finished the job on Monday.

Matthew Heiberger, after throwing three pitches on Sunday night in relief, returned to the mound for the Crimson Tide in the 8th. He retired the first two batters quickly before running into a hiccup with the middle of the Red Storm order. Shaun McMillan singled in front of Chase Kroberger in right field, then Heiberger hit Adam Agresti, putting him on base safely for the sixth time in two games. Heiberger settled right back in on the bump, hunting the last out and finding it by striking out Will Cowan before the Red Storm could do any real damage.

The junior worked more efficiently in the ninth, removing any drama by retiring St. John's in order and kick-starting the celebration. All told, the left-handed reliever completed 2.2 innings, giving up one hit and striking out two batters to slam the door on the Red Storm comeback efforts.

The final out as heard on @UA_CTSN by @Roger_Hoover & @dkindred13.

THE TIDE ARE GOING TO OMAHA!! pic.twitter.com/M2SKrlXjXW
— The Weekly Joe Podcast (@WeeklyJoePod) June 8, 2026

Vaughn entered this postseason with a 0-4 record at Alabama and a 5-10 postseason record, but the third-year head coach flipped the script over two weekends, rattling off five straight postseason victories to qualify for the College World Series.

"It's everything," Vaughn said. "I think just one of those things where, you do man, you pour yourself into this thing, and you have this vision of what it's going to be and what it's going to feel like, and nothing prepares you for it. I think it's one of those things where it's so much hard work from these guys. It's so much consistency and dedication and growth from these guys that get you to these moments."

Vaughn came to Tuscaloosa as a two-time Big 10 Coach of the Year after leading Maryland to two regular-season conference titles. Despite the regular season success, Vaughn struggled to lead the Terrapins on a deep postseason run, losing three straight seasons in the NCAA Regional round. He stepped into the Crimson Tide program at a tumultuous point after Alabama was embarrassed by former head coach Brad Bohannon's gambling scandal. Vaughn got straight to work, but ending two seasons without a single NCAA Regional victory created uncertainty about the program's direction.

Vaughn stayed the course, believing in his players, himself, and the coaching staff to push past the shortcomings and put Alabama back on college baseball's biggest stage.

"Not surprised," Vaughn said. "I know that sounds crazy, but we didn't come here to lose. We didn't come here to have fun. I moved my family. I moved Coach Morrison's family and Coach Pappio's family across the country. We didn't come here thinking, 'Oh, let's go play. It's an SEC job. Let's get a paycheck and put on cool colors.' We came here because we believed in the system that we have. We believed you could come into a league that is incredibly talented and still value people and still care about people and still coach people and get the right guys in the door, and that that system wins. Kind of proof of concept, right? None of us ever doubted it. It was just a matter of when, and really fortunate three years in to be sitting here."

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