Everything Rob Vaughn and Alabama Baseball Players Said After Being Eliminated in the Hattiesburg Regional

Hattiesburg, Miss. - Alabama baseball ended on the wrong end of a one-run game, losing to Southern Miss 6-5 in the third game of the 2025 NCAA Hattiesburg Regional.

Alabama baseball head coach, right fielder Bryce Fowler and starting pitcher Tyler Fay spent time with the media to discuss the loss and the finality of the end of the year.

Rob Vaughn Opening Statement

"Man, these journeys are fun. Every year is different. Every year has its ups and downs. Every year you have a different group, a different mentality, a different culture that's building. I've got a lot of kids hurting out there right now because it meant a lot to them and they poured their heart and soul into Alabama baseball. I came here two years ago now and there's guys, especially in the world we're in right now, that could cut and run, could've gone and found brighter, shinier things and they chose to stay. There's guys that came in like Bryce that believed in what we were doing and wanted to be a part of it. There's a lot of kids that laid the foundation for what Alabama baseball's going to be. I remember standing in centerfield after a game like this in East Carolina when I was at the University of Maryland and I told that group the same thing I told this group out here, 'is man we are going to dog-pile. We are going to be the ones standing at the end at some point and we don't get there without the group that laid the foundation first'.

That's the group that toed the rubber for us last year, that's the group that showed up and punched the time card every single day this year. These journeys are so hard when they end. They're so hard because you do, you love these kids. There's guys that will move onto professional baseball, we have plenty of draft picks running around on the field out there. What I am most proud of, and I told them this at the end, what I am most proud of is the men that they are and who they are as people. I get that our job is to go develop baseball players and win games and it's my job to get us to that next step. What we did this year, as good as it was, isn't good enough and we're going to be better. But at the end of the day, I've got a group of 40 guys in there that are going to be unbelievable husbands one day, unbelievable dads one day. At the end of the day, that's what our job is all about is helping young people grow. Man, I've got a special group of them. It's been a really fun ride with them. It's crazy, I felt like they just got here in August and now we're sitting up here, kind of at the end and it goes fast, but I love them and we'll be back."

How do you evaluate your postseason preparation after going 0-2 in NCAA Regionals for the second year in a row and would you do anything different in hindsight?

"No, nothing we'd do differently. I thought the guys were ready. I thought they competed hard. I think people may underestimate how hard it is, and that's just the world we're in now, but how hard it is for a guy like Bryce to come to a place where his career started and not make it more than it needs to be. I mean he played his heart out this week and played his heart out today and was incredible today, was absolutely incredible today. That's toughness, man. We've got a tough group of kids. We weren't good enough and ultimately that is my responsibility to make sure that we get better. That we prepare them better, that we coach them better that we do all that stuff. But what I can tell you is they gave me every tiny thing of who they had. I thought my staff - I mean Pap's up at one o'clock in the morning watching video, trying to prepare for how we're going to go against Middleton. I thought he gave our guys a great game plan. I thought as good as that dude is, and he is elite, I thought we hit him as good as anyone in the country, which that tells you how good he is that it wasn't enough. I wouldn't change a thing about any of that. Ultimately, it's my job to get this program to the next step and we're going to do it."

What went into choosing Will Plattner to DH today and him rewarding that choice with a home run?

"Yeah, we have a sign that hangs in our dugout that says just be tougher than they are. Will Plattner may be the toughest dude on this team. When you look up and you look at your season on the line and you look at trying to fight one more day, I'm going to ride with toughness all day long. He did that, gave us a great at-bat there in the first, got the first homer, got the first run on the board and Will Plattner's going to be right in the middle of what we're doing next season. When push comes to shove I'm going to go with toughness and Will Plattner is toughness."

Tyler Fay when did you find out you would start and what went into your mindset today?

Tyler Fay, "I found out for sure last night after the game, but I kind of figured I would start, especially if it was Southern Miss, but I just was ready all week, preparing for this, and gave it all I had."

No hesitation in intentionally walking Carson Paetow, would you do it again?

"Yeah, no hesitation, I mean, I thought as weird as that inning was, you get the leadoff homer and you go to Ozmer, who should be the stopper the year, I mean that guy lead the country in saves and was incredible, and he goes hit-by-pitch, walk. Very uncharacteristic, but goes hit-by-pitch, walk. We execute a perfect crash play and get the lead out, you're sitting there first and second again and you get to two outs right there with a base open and you've got the left-right matchup. Stockton had good at-bats all day, that's not a knock on Stockton, but Paetow's got serious power, there's some real, real power there and you like the right-right matchup with Ozmer. He's tough on righties. You've got to credit Stockton. He got to two strikes, he didn't panic. Slider, I'll have to see it on video, probably just stayed up just enough and he put a great swing on it. So you've got to credit him for beating us there, but zero hesitation, I'd do it again."

Bryce Fowler what did you see from JD Middleton that you were able to capitalize and have good at-bats?

Bryce Fowler, "You've got to hit his mistakes. He didn't make very many mistakes today. That's why he was so good and that's why he's been good all year. After the first two ABs, just going up there and hunting the mistakes. I got a couple of them luckily and just capitalized on them."

How do ya'll feel about the program and where it's heading going foward?

Bryce Fowler, "Yeah well this is my first year, so. We've just got a bunch of tough guys. I think we all came in in August with a goal. Yeah, we got to a regional, we wish we would've gone further, but that's just part of it. It is what it is. The sun comes up tomorrow, so we'll get back after it. We've got a summer to plan, to get ready for things like that and we've got some guys coming back, so I think we'll be fine."

What was it like for you to be back at Southern Miss where you started your career?

Bryce Fowler, "It's just another baseball game. You can't get too big, you can't let the moment get too big. We talked about it before the game just give it everything you've got. I told everybody in the dugout that I'd have to get carted off the field before I lose and unfortunately we came out on the wrong side, but I don't have any regrets. I wouldn't change anything. Southern Miss is a good ball club. They made some good swings at big moments."

How do you want the 2025 Alabama baseball team to be remembered?

Rob Vaughn, "I'm going to remember the people in this group for a really long time. Will Hodo is going to be a guy that I talk about for the rest of my career. There's seven or eight guys throughout the course of my coaching career that just stick with you, Will Hodo is certainly one of them. Kade Snell is another. We have number three as our captain every year and that's something that we are very selective with and man, he led this team as good as anyone I've ever seen. It's unbelievable the way he blended being able to communicate with absolute immense toughness while also having a career year. There's just some special, special people in this group. That's what you remember. Right now it hurts, because we all want to raise a trophy in the end. Alabama deserves that. We've got to be better and give them that, but at the end of the day it's all about relationships. When you get those wedding invitations and baby announcements and things like that at the end of the day as much as we all want to win. Man, when my time on earth is done, I want to be remembered as someone that helped build people and helped build relationships and we did that. Now, it's time to continue building on what we're doing. This group won 40 games for the first time since 2002. Everybody talks about 'yeah it was fine' and I get the fans want more. We all want more. We're going to get more. I can promise you that. But this group laid that foundation. If you want a strong program, if you want a strong culture, man everybody likes the microwave. We're in a microwave society where it's immediate, I want it now, quick fix here, quick fix there. Quick fixes blow down when things get rough. This thing ain't going to blow down. We're going to build this thing the right way. We're going to build it with the right people and the last two years have been the foundation of that. Now it's time to keep moving forward."

Is it more deflating to lose these games in heartbreaking fashion?

Rob Vaughn, "Yeah, maybe. Sometimes when you get run out of the yard and you're never in it it's like a slow, painful death whereas that one was kind of ripped away from you late, it does. I told every one of those kids that went up in the ninth inning, to just be present. Just be in this moment and be present. Win, lose or draw just go send it in this moment. We've talked about that from the rip. We've talked about the man in the arena. It's not the critic who counts. I get that there's a lot of voices, especially in our league, there's a lot of people with opinions and thoughts and all that. Those people don't matter. What matters is the 40 dudes out here, and it says that in the thing, who at the greatest learn the triumph of high achievement who at their worst at least fails while daring greatly so they don't live with those cold and timid souls that neither knows victory or defeat. That's what our guys did. We feel defeat and it hurts and it sucks, but it's not because these kids didn't send it. They'll be able to put their head on the pillow at night and know that they emptied the tank for us. Now it's my job to take us to the next level."