Auburn Tigers baseball

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Auburn Tigers
2024 Auburn Tigers baseball team
Founded1895
Overall record1,914–1,282–6 (.598)[1]
UniversityAuburn University
Athletic directorJohn Cohen
Head coachButch Thompson (9th season)
ConferenceSEC
Western Division
LocationAuburn, Alabama
Home stadiumPlainsman Park
(Capacity: 4,096)
NicknameTigers
ColorsBurnt orange and navy blue[2]
   
College World Series appearances
1967, 1976, 1994, 1997, 2019, 2022
NCAA regional champions
1976, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2018, 2019, 2022
NCAA Tournament appearances
1963, 1967, 1976, 1978, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023
Conference tournament champions
1978, 1989, 1998
Regular season conference champions
1905, 1916, 1920, 1928, 1931, 1937, 1958, 1963, 1967, 1976, 1978


The Auburn Tigers baseball team represents Auburn University in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Auburn athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers play their home games on campus at Plainsman Park, and they are coached by Butch Thompson.[3]

History[edit]

Auburn Baseball has won six SEC championships, three SEC Tournament championships, appeared in 22 NCAA Regionals, and reached the College World Series (CWS) six times.

Following the 2000 season, Hal Baird retired as a head coach. After 16 years at head of the Auburn baseball program, Baird posted an impressive 634–328–0 overall record.

On September 1, 1999, Steve Renfroe was named head baseball coach at Auburn University, as the successor to Hal Baird following the 2000 season. Renfroe was longtime assistant coach at Auburn before being named head coach, having begun his coaching career at Auburn in 1981 as an assistant and remaining in that position until 1995 when he was named assistant head coach.

On June 7, 2004, Renfroe was relieved of his duties as head baseball coach at Auburn. He posted an overall mark of 145–92, including a 60–60 SEC record, during his tenure.[4] Each of Renfroe's first three Auburn squads advanced to the NCAA Baseball Tournaments, with stops in Tallahassee, FL, in 2001, Tuscaloosa, AL, in 2002, and hosting a 2003 Regional in Auburn.[5]

On June 29, 2004, Tom Slater was named as Steve Renfroe's replacement. After only having 2 coaches in 38 years, Auburn was now on the second coach within a five-year period. Slater was previously an assistant at Auburn during the 1990s before taking a head coaching job at his alma mater Virginia Military Institute following the 2000 season. After the 2003 season, Slater left VMI to take an assistant job at the University of Florida where he helped lead the Gators to their first ever Super Regional appearance.[6]

On June 20, 2008, John Pawlowski was introduced as the 16th Head Coach of the Auburn Tigers baseball program. Pawlowski was previously the head coach at the College of Charleston. He took over that program in 2000, and posted a 338–192–1 record during his tenure. Under his direction, the Cougars made three straight NCAA post-season appearances, including their first ever appearance in 2004. He was named the Southern Conference coach of the year in 2004, 2005, and 2007, and coached 17 All-Americans during his tenure.[7] At Auburn, he took over a very young baseball team that included two freshman all-American selections, Hunter Morris and Brian Fletcher.[8]

Tigers baseball players during a game in 2010

On May 27, 2013, John Pawlowski was fired after finishing the 2013 season with a 33–23 record overall and a 13–17 record in the SEC. The Tigers failed to reach the NCAA tournament for three straight years. Pawlowski compiled a 167–126 overall record and a 71–79 SEC mark at Auburn. His 2010 team won the SEC West, but his four other teams had losing conference records.

Stadium[edit]

Main article: Samford Stadium-Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park

Plainsman Park[edit]

Samford Stadium-Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park is a baseball stadium located in Auburn, Alabama. It is the home field for the Auburn Tigers baseball team. Commonly known as "Plainsman Park", it is widely considered one of the finest facilities in college baseball and has a seating capacity of 4,096 not including lawn areas.

The field was named in 1997 to honor two former Auburn players, Billy and Jimmy Hitchcock. The Hitchcock brothers were popular athletes in the 1930s. Jimmy was Auburn's first All-American in football and baseball, and later coached the Tigers during the 1940s. Billy helped Auburn make its first bowl appearance in football, as well as, helping the Tigers claim their first SEC baseball title in 1937. He later became a manager in the MLB.

In 2003, the stadium was renamed Samford Stadium-Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park after W. James "Jimmy" Samford passed. Samford was a graduate of Auburn, a former board of trustees member, and was known for pushing the renovations of the stadium that began in 1996.

Head coaches[edit]

  • Records are through the 2024 Season
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct. NCAA tournament
1933 Sam McAllister 1 5–4–0 .556
1934 Herschel Bobo 1
1934–1939 Del Morgan 6
1940 Porter Grant 1 4–5–0 .444
1941–1942 Jimmy Hitchcock 2
1943–1946 Bob Evans 2
1947–1948 Danny Doyle 2
1949–1950 Johnny Williamson 2 21–23–0 .477
1951–1957 Dick McGowen 7 90–76–2 .548
1958 Joe Connally 1 17–8–0 .680
1959–1962 Erk Russell 4 59–37–1 .620
1963–1984 Paul Nix 22 515–376–0 .578 4
1985–2000 Hal Baird 16 634–328–0 .659 9
2001–2004 Steve Renfroe 4 145–92–0 .612 3
2005–2008 Tom Slater 4 115–113–0 .504 1
2009–2013 John Pawlowski 5 167–126 .570 1
2014–2015 Sunny Golloway 2 62–50 .553 1
2016–present Butch Thompson 9 274–198-1 .581 1
Totals 18 coaches 86 20

Year-by-year results[edit]

*Through 2023 season.
*Final rankings are from Collegiate Baseball Division I Final Polls (1959–2006)[9] *Auburn baseball history year-by-year results[10]

Auburn Tigers in the NCAA tournament[edit]

Since the NCAA Division I baseball tournament began in 1947, the Auburn Tigers have played in it 24 times and made it to the College World Series six times.

Year Record Pct Notes
1963
1967 College World Series (4th place)
1976 3–2 .600 Won the South Regional in Tallahassee; College World Series (8th place)
1978
1987
1989
1993
1994 College World Series (8th place)
1995
1997 College World Series (6th place)
1998 3–2 .600 Runner-up in the Tallahassee Regional.
1999 3–3 .500 Won the Auburn Regional; Lost to Florida St. in the Tallahassee Super Regional.
2000 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Stetson in the Atlanta Regional.
2001 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Florida St. in the Tallahassee Regional final.
2002 0–2 .000 Lost to Florida Atlantic and Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Regional.
2003 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Ohio St. in the Auburn Regional final.
2005 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Florida St. in the Tallahassee Regional final.
2010 3–2 .600 Eliminated by Clemson in the Auburn Regional final.
2015 1–2 .333 Eliminated by College of Charleston in the Tallahassee Regional semi-final.
2017 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Florida St. in the Tallahassee Regional final.
2018 3–0 1.000 Winner of Raleigh Regional. Eliminated by Florida Gators in the Gainesville Super Regional.
2019 5–3 .625 Winner of Atlanta Regional. Defeated North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Super Regional; College World Series (7th Place)
2022 5–1 .833 Winner of Auburn Regional. Defeated Oregon State in the Corvallis Super Regional; College World Series (5th Place)
2023 0–2 .000 Eliminated by Southern Miss in the Auburn Regional.
TOTALS

Auburn's first-team All-Americans[edit]

Player Position Year(s) Selectors
Larry Nichols Third Base 1962† ABCA
Q.V. Lowe Pitcher 1967† ABCA
Gregg Olson Pitcher 1987†, 1988† ABCA, BA
Frank Thomas First Base 1989† ABCA, BA
John Powell Pitcher 1993 BA
Jay Waggoner First Base 1994 NCBWA
Mark Bellhorn Shortstop 1995 ABCA
Ryan Halla Pitcher 1995 ABCA, NCBWA
Tim Hudson Pitcher 1997† ABCA, BA, CB, NCBWA
Todd Faulkner First Base 2000† ABCA, BA, CB, NCBWA
Gabe Gross Outfield 2000† ABCA, BA, CB, NCBWA, LS
Steve Register Pitcher 2003 NCBWA
Hunter Morris First Base 2010† ABCA, BA, & NCBWA
Ryan Bliss Shortstop 2021 NCBWA
Source:"SEC All-Americas". secsports.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved July 24, 2008.

ABCA: American Baseball Coaches Association BA: Baseball America CB: Collegiate Baseball NCBWA: National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association LS: Louisville Slugger
† Denotes consensus All-American

Player awards[edit]

National awards[edit]

Tim Hudson (1997)
Hayden Gliemmo (1998)
Pat Duke (1958)

SEC Awards[edit]

Tim Hudson (1997)
Hunter Morris (2010)
Hunter Morris (2008)

Coaches awards[edit]

SEC Awards[edit]

Dell Morgan (1937)
Joe Connally (1958)
Paul Nix (1963, 1967, 1976, 1978)

References[edit]

  1. ^ [1] Archived April 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine "Auburn Baseball Record through 2014 season
  2. ^ "About Auburn". March 28, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  3. ^ "AuburnSports - Thompson Time". October 22, 2015.
  4. ^ "Renfroe Relieved of Duties as AU Head Baseball Coach". cstv.com.
  5. ^ "AuburnTigers.com – Official Athletics Site of the Auburn Tigers – Baseball". cstv.com.
  6. ^ "Tom Slater Named Auburn Baseball Coach". cstv.com.
  7. ^ "John Pawlowski Named Head Baseball Coach At Auburn". cstv.com.
  8. ^ "Fletcher And Morris Named Freshmen All-Americans By Baseball America". cstv.com.
  9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Official 2007 NCAA Baseball Records Book
  10. ^ [2] Archived June 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Auburn Baseball History
  11. ^ "Auburn". auburntigers.com.
  12. ^ "Auburn". auburntigers.com.
  13. ^ "Auburn". auburntigers.com.
  14. ^ "Auburn". auburntigers.com.
  15. ^ "Auburn". auburntigers.com.
  16. ^ "AuburnTigers.com – Official Athletics Site of the Auburn Tigers – Baseball". auburntigers.com.
  17. ^ "AuburnTigers.com – Official Athletics Site of the Auburn Tigers – Baseball". auburntigers.com.
  18. ^ "AuburnTigers.com – Official Athletics Site of the Auburn Tigers – Baseball". auburntigers.com.
  19. ^ "Auburn Falls to LSU, 1–2". auburntigers.com.
  20. ^ a b "Auburn Baseball Falls To Ohio State, 9–7". auburntigers.com.
  21. ^ "Auburn Falls in Regular season Finale To No. 12 Arkansas, 15–3". auburntigers.com.
  22. ^ "Renfroe Relieved of Duties as AU Head Baseball Coach". auburntigers.com.
  23. ^ "Auburn Falls To #15 Razorbacks In Season Finale, 11–2". cstv.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
  24. ^ "Tigers Fall In Season Finale, 8–7, At Kentucky". cstv.com.
  25. ^ "Auburn Falls In Season Finale, 11–7, To LSU". cstv.com.
  26. ^ "Tom Slater Resigns As Auburn Head Baseball Coach". cstv.com.
  27. ^ "Auburn Baseball Season In Review". auburntigers.com.
  28. ^ "John Pawlowski Named Head Baseball Coach At Auburn". auburntigers.com.
  29. ^ "Baseball Season In Review". auburntigers.com.
  30. ^ "Auburn Ends Season with 3–2 Loss to Georgia at SEC Tournament - AuburnTigers.com - Official Athletics Site of the Auburn Tigers". Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  31. ^ "Auburn Eliminated From SEC Tournament By South Carolina, 5–3". auburntigers.com.
  32. ^ "Auburn Eliminated From SEC Tournament With 6–3 Loss". auburntigers.com.
  33. ^ "John Pawlowski out as Auburn baseball coach". AL.com. May 28, 2013.
  34. ^ "Auburn's season ends with 8–1 loss to LSU". auburntigers.com.
  35. ^ "Auburn aims high, hires away Oklahoma's Sunny Golloway to lead baseball program". AL.com. June 15, 2013.
  36. ^ "AUBURN BASEBALL FALLS SHORT ON SUNDAY IN TALLAHASSEE". auburntigers.com.
  37. ^ "Sunny Golloway dismissed as Auburn baseball coach - AuburnTigers.com - Official Athletics Site of the Auburn Tigers". www.auburntigers.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015.
  38. ^ "2016 Season Ends For Auburn Baseball". collegeandmagnolia.com. May 21, 2016.
  39. ^ "AUBURN HIRES BUTCH THOMPSON AS BASEBALL COACH". auburntigers.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  40. ^ "2017 Auburn Baseball Schedule". auburntigers.com.

External links[edit]

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