Rob Vaughn's First Alabama Team Has Potential to Go Far

The first team in a new era of Alabama baseball boasts much potential.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama baseball team was close to a berth in the College World Series last season—two wins away, in fact. It comes as no surprise that a program coming within arm's reach of heights not reached since last century wants more. The team's new head coach believes that kind of potential is in the cards.

It's now been a number of months since Rob Vaughn, whose teams won two Big Ten regular season titles and a conference tournament championship at Maryland, took over in Tuscaloosa. Just weeks remain until opening day, and the excitement in the clubhouse is palpable. "It's a good group, man, it is," Vaughn said. "The biggest attribute that these guys have, outside of their talent, is, they really like to compete... They love it. That's a good place to start."

Things will look a bit different come Feb. 16 when the regular season officially gets underway against Manhattan. The 2024 Crimson Tide's roster has undergone changes, losing a number of established names but also bringing in impact transfers and recruits. All told, the goal of this new-look lineup is reaching Omaha in what would be Alabama's first trip since 1999.

"Every day, we compete a lot," said newcomer Evan Sleight. "That's one thing that really is important, because no matter what we're doing, we're gonna try to win." Right-handed pitcher Ben Hess, who appears set to anchor the pitching staff in his third collegiate season, touched on the importance of culture in the face of major goals. "Everyone's gelled together really well, and I think that's what it takes to be a really good team," he said. "At the end of the day, we're all baseball players, we all want the same thing. I think it's really good having this new group here."

A strong team dynamic helped bolster Alabama in its quest through the 2023 postseason, which included a sweep of the first Tuscaloosa regional in 17 years. The journey embarked on by the 2023 team left its mark on the program as a whole, but now a new era is itching to get underway. Helping usher it in is another strong locker room, one described by Hess as being aligned as one unit that wants to win. "Sometimes, it can be challenging with a bunch of new guys," Sleight said, "because you can't fake that. But the returners were extremely open, and great, and a lot of the transfers and new guys were excited to just be here, with this coaching staff, be at this university... Everyone really just wants to win, and that's allowed us to mesh so well."

"[We've] got a really talented group of kids here. We've got more than nine guys that, at a lot of places, could start. We've got more than three arms that could be weekend starters," Vaughn said. "As coaches, we can help give the vision a little bit... but if it's gonna be authentic, if it's gonna be real, it's gotta come from them [the players. What I've witnessed from them, just watching, is this group loves to win. This group really wants to win." Taking vicarious joy in teammates' success, he said, is a key. "I've watched these guys live that." He believes in his players and believes that they will carry their team-first mindset into February and all that comes after.

The example he used to underscore his belief was the prospect of making it to the promised land. "I believe in who they are, and I fully expect them to go out... It's about us, collectively, going out and accomplishing a job and doing some things that hasn't been done here since the late 90s.

This group has the chance to knock that door down and do it."

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