I just got back from attending a high school graduation party for a neighbor’s kid who will be attending Auburn this fall on a full academic scholarship. He was offered the same at Ole Miss and Mississippi State. His grades and SAT scores were such that he would most likely have gotten into Tulane but he wanted a true Engineering school. Moreover, he would not have received an Academic scholarship for sure and his parents would not have qualified for any other help. I mention this because the kid plans to walk on to play baseball at Auburn after hitting .475 this past season in high school. Since he’s a catcher I’m guessing he will be greeted with open arms. Anyway, this got me thinking about Auburn baseball.
In 2015, they had the #26 RPI team in the nation and were eliminated in the Tallahassee regionals finishing with a 36-26 record against the #4 SOS in the country. Their coach retired and they hired a 23- year assistant coach with no head coaching experience named Butch Thompson. Thompson’s first year at Auburn was a disaster. They had eight returning starters but only two of their top seven pitchers. The team went 23-33 and the RPI dropped to #148 in the country. Fans were irate. But, the Athletic Director stayed with him and in his second year (just completed) Thompson went 37-26 and finished #38 in RPI with an almost completely rebuilt team that he recruited. They once again lost in the Tallahassee regionals. Who knows what his future will bring.
I have no idea how Coach Jewett will fare in the coming years either but there is an eerie similarity to Butch Thompson’s history. We’ll see.
Roll Wave!!!
In 2015, they had the #26 RPI team in the nation and were eliminated in the Tallahassee regionals finishing with a 36-26 record against the #4 SOS in the country. Their coach retired and they hired a 23- year assistant coach with no head coaching experience named Butch Thompson. Thompson’s first year at Auburn was a disaster. They had eight returning starters but only two of their top seven pitchers. The team went 23-33 and the RPI dropped to #148 in the country. Fans were irate. But, the Athletic Director stayed with him and in his second year (just completed) Thompson went 37-26 and finished #38 in RPI with an almost completely rebuilt team that he recruited. They once again lost in the Tallahassee regionals. Who knows what his future will bring.
I have no idea how Coach Jewett will fare in the coming years either but there is an eerie similarity to Butch Thompson’s history. We’ll see.
Roll Wave!!!