Alabama Baseball's Rob Vaughn Era Finally Set for Opening Act
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Opening Day might as well be a holiday for baseball players, coaches and fans. The end of the sport's offseason brings about a new slate with an abundance of opportunities. For the Alabama Crimson Tide, ranked 19th in the preseason D1Baseball poll and 17th in the USA Today Coaches Poll (and one postseason series win away from a College World Series berth last summer), 2024's inaugural day is different than most.
That's because Friday's opening game against the Manhattan Jaspers will finally mark Rob Vaughn's first official game as the Alabama head coach. Hired from Maryland in June 2023, Vaughn, 36, has set about instilling his vision and culture in a program that sees major potential in store for its near future. Where Opening Day is concerned, however, he's just excited to get underway.
"My goal for them [the players] now is just for them to go out and be free and send it. To trust your training, trust your preparation," he said. "We've got a lot of guys that not only are talented enough to do things at an elite level, but also [be] prepared at a really good level. I'm excited to not have to play each other. I think it's time for us to go play somebody with a different uniform on."
All three games of the opening series, the first act in the Vaughn era, can be viewed on SEC Network+. The starting pitchers, in order from Friday to Sunday, will be Ben Hess, Riley Quick and Aidan Moza. Hess steps in as the Friday starter, the staff ace, and the latter two players' roles have been increased after spending last season as part of the relief corps.
The pitching staff this season has tremendous potential. There were losses in that category coming off last season, including the transfer of Luke Holman to LSU and departures to the professional ranks for names including Garrett McMillan, Jacob McNairy and Hunter Furtado. Hess looks to anchor this position group in hopes of staying healthy. Quick and Moza both pitched well in high-leverage spots last spring. "I've made a lot of changes, honestly, just working over the summer," Quick said. "This fall, I just really went to work on mechanics and everything... Getting a spot in the rotation's obviously awesome."
Multiple transfers have come in and tossed their hats into the ring of SEC arms: former Louisville pitcher Greg Farone, multi-season Wofford hurler Coulson Buchanan and Pierce George, a sophomore newcomer by way of Texas. Former Big South Pitcher of the Year Bobby Alcock is also joining the ranks at the Capstone after three seasons at Gardner-Webb.
Despite the loss of second baseman Ed Johnson, this season's Crimson Tide roster will also have a former Auburn Tiger: southpaw Kade Snell, who pitched to a 10-0 record and 1.86 earned-run average at Wallace State in 2023.
Headlining the returners in the bullpen is none other than sophomore sensation Alton Davis II, whose standout freshman season earned him recognition on the NCBWA's Stopper of the Year Watch List. The Hueytown, Ala., native owns 32 strikeouts and eight saves, and was named a second team freshman All-American by the NCBWA. Vaughn said Davis II has been built up for possible starts. Other bullpen names back in Tuscaloosa for another campaign in crimson and white include (but are not limited to) junior righty Hagan Banks, who has experience starting and in relief, and Zane Probst, who appeared in 19 2023 games.
The look of the lineup cards will be revamped, no longer featuring the likes of Jim Jarvis, Drew Williamson, Andrew Pinckney or Tommy Seidl. Notably, the outfield is all-new, with a tandem of transfers set to patrol the walls of Sewell-Thomas Stadium. They are Ole Miss transfer TJ McCants, Maryland transfer Ian Petrutz and former Rutgers standout Evan Sleight, who earned the jersey No. 3 for his embodiment of the team's core principles, toughness, ownership and grit— an "extreme honor," he says. Petrutz walked and hit for power under Vaughn at their previous stop. Former Freshman All-SEC squad member McCants, playing the right field spot vacated by Pinckney, was a threat on the basepaths whilst helping Ole Miss to the 2022 national title. Sleight was an All-Big Ten Third Team honoree in 2023, hitting .315 with 12 home runs.
An infield unit bolstered by the presence of veterans like Jarvis and Williamson will undergo changes in its own right, in part because the program record holder in home runs by a freshman transferred to Florida, but there's a lot to like. Waynesboro, Miss., product Will Hodo has already played in 62 games across his prior two collegiate seasons. He has taken both Williamson's number (18) and his corner spot at first base. Veteran returnee Bryce Eblin had a terrific summer, and can play at the other spots, including the hot corner if called upon.
Fellow infielder Gage Miller displayed prolific offensive power in exhibition play. He's leading off the Crimson Tide's batting order in 2024, an honor that previously went to the disciplined Jarvis. Freshman shortstop Justin Lebron may well already have plenty of pressure on account of his surname, but one of the top 10 recruits at his position in the state of Florida has palpable upside. Sophomore Alabama native Mason Swinney scored three runs in 12 games in 2023 and was once Perfect Game USA's second-ranked prospect at short in the state.
One of the most important positions on the diamond, it often goes without saying, is the catcher. That spot is occupied by a returning player, Mac Guscette, whose first season with Alabama in 2023 yielded one of the most electrifying home runs in Sewell-Thomas Stadium's recent history and a near-perfect fielding percentage. Gelling with the new faces hasn't been hard, according to the former Florida transfer. "The group of guys that they [the coaching staff] got to come in, transfers or freshman, we all bond really well. We like to compete. We like to go out there every day and give it 110%. We would do anything for each other," he said. Guscette made the All-Tournament Tuscaloosa Regional team last summer in the first regional in Tuscaloosa since 2006. He's backed up by Coastal Carolina transfer Kam Guangorena, whose offense has some pop in its own right.
Not to be lost in the shuffle is one of the most powerful bats of all, that of designated hitter Camden Hayslip. The junior's regular season experience is still limited as of this writing, but in the fall, Vaughn described watching him hit baseballs he's timed up as one of the most majestic things ever. Hayslip followed his coach's praise by providing him ample chances to witness it, leaving the yard on many occasions in various exhibitions. Part of Vaughn's offensive M.O. is driving the baseball: home runs and extra base hits. It's helped the other side develop to boot. Quick said facing the Alabama bats has prepared the team's arms for the rigors of the upcoming schedule.
"It's a really good lineup," he said. "It gets you really prepared for the season." Confidence seems high, and it's evident from the top down. Vaughn and his staff, which includes former interim head coach Jason Jackson, believe in these players. "Having that energy come from a coach, any player wants that," Guscette said. "It helps us thrive out there on the field. We all know our coaches are very confident in us. That allows us to go out there and perform how we should."
One of the major goals of the 2024 campaign is a return trip to Omaha, which would be the first of the century for the program if this team can achieve it. Last season's team, winners of 43 games (more than 40 for the first time in over a decade), was tantalizingly close. Quick, for one, believes it can happen. "We've got great pitchers, great hitters, we're really close, like we've said. We can definitely make a very big run, bust down the gates of Omaha this year." Guscette isn't looking too far ahead, instead opting to compliment the team's mindset of going 1-0 on a given day, but acknowledges "everyone's dream is to go to Omaha [and] compete for a College World Series." The journey in store for this season starts at 4 p.m. CT on Friday, when Hess throws the first pitch across the diamond to the Jaspers to get things started.
