Alabama RHP Tyler Fay Closes 2025 Season with Case to be 2026 Starter

Alabama baseball's elimination game against Southern Miss on Saturday did not go the Crimson Tide's way, as its season ended in a 6-5 defeat. Starting pitcher Tyler Fay left the mound with a quality start: six innings, three runs and a trio of punchouts.

It was the second straight appearance for Fay where he went six innings. On May 20, he matched that output in a one-run showing against Missouri at the SEC Tournament. In two consecutive must-win games, the redshirt sophomore gave his team a shot.

"I kinda figured that I would start, especially if it was [against] Southern Miss," Fay said Saturday. "I was ready all week. Preparing for this. Gave it all I had."

The Nebraska native spent all of 2024 and the first part of 2025 as a reliever. He appeared in 23 games during the 2024 campaign, a team high, and threw the ball better than his 7.94 ERA would suggest. 14 SEC games as a redshirt freshman is effectively trial by fire.

Fay made eight starts this season, finishing with a 4.69 earned run average in 55.2 innings. His first collegiate start was on April 13 against Mississippi State. He turned around days later on April 17 and went first in the weekend rotation at LSU.

He maintained the Friday spot for the remainder of the season, until Riley Quick was tabbed to start first at the Hattiesburg Regional this past Friday. The Crimson Tide was 2-6 in Fay's starts, but a majority of those results are not his fault. He was the pitcher of record in only three 2025 games; he pitched in 20 contests overall (but was 0-0 as a relief option).

With Quick heading to pro ball (he will be a high MLB Draft pick later this summer), that leaves a gaping hole in a potential 2026 Alabama weekend pitching stable. There will be plenty of candidates vying for weekend spots, but Fay has one of the clearest paths among them.

The right-hander, for starters, was significantly better this year after being removed from the bullpen mix. When a third arm was needed in league play, he was there, even if it was a short-rest situation. When it was do or die on Saturday, Rob Vaughn and Jason Jackson flipped him the ball.

Fay has also shown the ability to minimize pitch counts. Part of that is stylistic. Strikeouts aren't as much of a focal point in his game as they are to some pitchers. He'll pitch to contact with his trademark sinker and force other teams to hit grounders. That opens the door for double plays and shorter trips to the plate for batters.

His performance for the final stretch of the 2025 season was commendable. Fay faced an all-SEC slate in his starts up until dueling with Golden Spikes semifinalist JB Middleton, one of the best pitchers in the Sun Belt (and the country), in the Hattiesburg Regional Saturday.

College baseball rotations don't always look the same from the start of a given season to the end of it. Fay is proof. However, he put himself in a position to be considered as someone to look out for on weekends next season in 2026.

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