Alabama Baseball’s Rob Vaughn Era Finally Set for Opening Act
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — It’s practically a holiday for baseball players, coaches, and spectators on Opening Day. A fresh start with a plethora of options arises with the conclusion of the sports offseason. The first day of 2024 will be unique for the Alabama Crimson Tide, who were one postseason series victory away from a College World Series berth last summer. They were placed 17th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 19th in the D1Baseball preseason poll.
This is because Rob Vaughn’s first official game as Alabama’s head coach will eventually occur on Friday in the team’s opener against the Manhattan Jaspers. Employed from Maryland in June 2023, Vaughn, 36, has begun implementing his philosophy and vision into a program that has significant promise in the near future. But as far as Opening Day goes, he’s just eager to get going.
“Right now, all I want from the guys is for them to go out there, be free, and shoot it. To have faith in your preparation and training,” he remarked. There are several of our players who possess both the talent and the preparation to perform at a very high level. I’m happy we don’t have to compete with one another. We should go play someone wearing a different uniform, in my opinion.
SEC Network+ will broadcast all three games of the opening series, the first act in the Vaughn era. From Friday through Sunday, Ben Hess, Riley Quick, and Aidan Moza will be the starting pitchers, in that order. Hess fills in as the staff ace and Friday starter; the responsibilities of the latter two players have been expanded after they were in the relieving corps during the previous season. This season’s pitching staff has a lot of promise. Following the previous season, there were losses in that category as well, including as Luke Holman’s transfer to LSU and the departure of Garrett McMillan, Jacob McNairy, and Hunter Furtado to the professional ranks. In an effort to maintain his health, Hess aims to anchor this position group. Both Moza and Quick
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
