Rob Vaughn excited for start of first season with Alabama baseball

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Rob Vaughn era at Alabama begins Friday when the Crimson Tide baseball team opens the 2024 season with a weekend series versus Manhattan College.

Vaughn, who took over the Alabama program in June, is excited to start his first season.

“I think the guys are ready,” Vaughn said on Thursday. “They’re prepared. Now, my biggest goal for these guys is to go be free. They’re ready. Go play aggressive, go have fun, go play really hard. It’s going to be really interesting. No story goes out here just as smooth as can be. There’s going to be bumps. There’s going to be struggles. There’s going to be injuries. There’s going to be different things throughout the year.

“But the thing I’m excited about is this group loves to compete, they’re prepared and I’m ready to go sic them on the rest of college baseball now.”

Vaughn arrived at Alabama after 11 years at Maryland, where he spent the last six seasons as the Terrapins head coach and posted a 183-117 record. He led Maryland to three straight NCAA Regionals and will look to make the Crimson Tide a regular postseason participant.

Alabama finished the 2023 campaign with a 43-21 (16-14 SEC) mark while overcoming a head coaching change after Brad Bohannon was involved in a gambling scandal. The Tide welcomed back 15 letterwinners, eight pitchers and two starting position players from last year’s team and added 27 new players (13 freshmen, 14 transfers) to round out its roster.

While practices were open throughout the fall and spring, Alabama fans will get their first look at Vaughn’s team this weekend, and the new coach is eager for them to see his squad.

“More than anything, just to see the work these kids put in,” Vaughn said. “I think that everybody wants to be in the position these guys are in. Everybody wants to be a weekend starter. Everybody wants to compete in the SEC. Everybody wants to be the starting catcher. But man, if they really saw what these guys have put in it for the last eight months, you’d probably have about half of those falling off because being elite, being what these guys are is not an accident.

“It’s not some fairy dust that we have. These guys put so much work into this from the early morning workouts, to the meticulous arm-care routines to just the daily grind that it takes to be a college athlete. And I think everybody sees Friday night, everybody sees SEC weekends and, in their head, thinks that they want. But they don’t know what all goes into that. And I think these kids, they’re ready. They’ve worked their tails off, and man, I want it.

“It’s going to be a fun show out there, I’ll tell you what. They’re going to have some fun. It’s going to be a fun team to pull for – just like last year’s was. … I think this team is going to feel a lot the same way. I think the town of Tuscaloosa, the former players, the alumni of Alabama, they’re going to be really proud of what this team represents. Not because they win a lot of games; I think that will take care of itself.

“But they’re going to watch the way these guys go to work every day, and they’ll be able to hang their hat on that regard.”

Vaughn announces opening weekend rotation

On the mound for Alabama on opening weekend will be junior RHP Benn Hess on Friday, sophomore RHP Riley Quick on Saturday and junior RHP Aidan Moza on Sunday.

“Good little three-headed monster there,” Vaughn said.

Hess was sidelined by injury after his start at Arkansas last season and did not return to action for the rest of the year. He finished with a perfect 4-0 record across seven starts and maintained a 3.22 ERA. Quick was 1-1 with two saves and a 3.68 ERA across 16 appearances. Moza, who started his career at UAB, missed the first month of the season but finished with a 3-1 mark in 14 relief appearances in 2023, maintaining a team-low 3.09 ERA for relievers.

Quick joined Vaughn and catcher Mac Guscette for interviews leading up to the opener and said he made a lot of changes after undergoing surgery between Years 1 and 2 at UA.

“Getting a spot in the rotation is obviously awesome, but I was ready to help the team in whatever role I had,” Quick said on Thursday. “… My confidence is high, as always. Just go out there and compete every pitch and have trust in my guys behind me.”

Alabama’s 2024 season will begin on Friday, Feb. 16, at 4 p.m. CT and continue with Game 2 on Saturday (2 p.m.) and Game 3 on Sunday (1 p.m.). All three will air on SEC Network+.

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