Where Senior Alabama Reliever Braylon Myers' Nickname Comes From

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— When Alabama baseball head coach Rob Vaughn talks about senior reliever Braylon Myers, it's not uncommon to hear him refer to the veteran reliever as Shaq.

Myers, who is second on the Crimson Tide team in strikeouts (43) and saves (two), has been an indispensable high-leverage option for Vaughn's squad this season. His 2.59 ERA is also second among Crimson Tide pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings.

The nickname, an homage to all-time basketball great Shaquille O'Neal, was bestowed upon a freshman Myers back in 2022 by former teammate Landon Green. It was because Myers' first jersey number during his time at the Capstone was O'Neal's iconic 32.

"Landon Green started calling me Shaq, cause of number 32, and it kinda just stuck from there," Myers said last Friday after working to a three-inning save against Missouri. He has fanned 22 batters in his last four games, the same number as his current jersey: No. 22.

"Looks very similar [to O'Neal]," joked Vaughn.

No. 18 Alabama (35-10, 12-9 SEC) has one of the best closers in the SEC in Carson Ozmer (13 saves, 1.24 ERA), but there is no such thing as too many experienced bullpen arms in baseball. Myers has been used in different roles, including long relief and late-inning capacities. He had the lowest ERA for a Crimson Tide relief pitcher in 2024.

"It's not like he's just come around. You look at his numbers last year, he was elite for us," Vaughn said Friday. "Just has continued to get better... It's the stuff we talk about. It's a slow heartbeat with him. If you're gonna go beat Braylon, you're gonna have to string six or seven hits together."

That's a tough ask, given both Myers' recent form and his experience. For every step the Crimson Tide wants to reach in the near future, he has been there before. He's been on more than one team that won multiple times at the SEC Tournament and was a sophomore on 2023's regional-title team that made a super.

"He's gonna do his thing. He's gonna execute pitches," Vaughn said. "He's gonna move the fastball around. It's a breaking ball and a changeup that he can command whenever he wants. It's just a really tough at-bat for hitters. I see our guys hit against it all the time, and it's just a tough AB."

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