Greg Byrne reveals what stood out about Rob Vaughn during Alabama coaching search

Alabama athletic director revealed what stood out about new baseball coach Rob Vaughn as the Crimson Tide hired the former Maryland leader.

Vaughn was revered for his work with the Terrapins and really stood out when it came to supporting student athletes. That was the biggest factor in Byrne’s decision.

He talked about that during the introductory press conference where he said they vetted a lot of candidates.

“Rob’s name continued to rise up to the top time and time again,” Byrne said. “He did an incredible job at the University of Maryland. They went back to back regular season Big Ten titles in ‘22 and ‘23. He was back to back Big Ten Coach of the Year. They won their first conference championship this year, and he was part of the three winningest seasons in Maryland history.

“They also set many other records under his watch. Yet impressive accolades on the field and just as impressed with his relationships off the field. And the way he cares about the overall experience and development of the student athletes.”

Byrne dove into his process when he evaluated Vaughn as a logical candidate for the Alabama job.

“When I talked to our current team here at Alabama, one of the things that they said was they wanted someone who cared about them just as much as a person as they do a baseball player,” Byrne said. “It became very apparent right away, that’s Rob Vaugn. I’ve said this before, one of the tricks that I came up with a while back and coaching searches to call former student athletes of the candidate and all we say is, ‘hey, we’re doing some research on coaches and one of your coaches is somebody we want to look into.’ 

“And we talked to people who have played a lot, some who played some and some who have never got off the bench. And so it’s actually the most remarkable feedback I’ve gotten in all my times of doing that.”

Byrne described Vaughn stressing the importance of family with the players, their academic studies and really pushing them to graduate, especially if pro baseball is not in their future. Vaughn is the type of coach to put the student athlete before anything.

Vaughn will replace the outgoing Brad Bohanon at Alabama, who was fired amid a betting scandal earlier this season. Interim coach Jason Jackson took over and led the Crimson Tide to the Super Regional this season.

Jackson will stay on as the top assistant coach with Alabama baseball.

Vaughn was 183-115 overall as a head coach with the Terrapins. He coached the team starting in 2018 and was an assistant with the Terps from 2013-17. He also served as an assistant at Kansas State from 2011-12.

Over the last three seasons, Vaughn led Maryland to the NCAA Regional round. In 2023, Maryland won the Big Ten conference crown in the regular season, as well as the tournament.