Next step for baseball

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247sports.com

Pitching questions and the NIL factor a big next step for Auburn baseball

Jason Caldwell

4–6 minutes

AUBURN, Alabama—Following a season that saw Auburn's pitching struggle in every area, coach Butch Thompson knows that's where things must start for the Tigers with the offseason now in full swing following the end of the 2024 regular season. With Joseph Gonzalez gone following a disappointing final year with the Tigers after shoulder surgery, Auburn will have some pieces to replace when you talk about guys like Tanner Bauman, Chase Allsup and Will Cannon all being draft possibilities. 

"Tanner Bauman wound up doing a nice job down the stretch," coach Butch Thompson said. "We moved him to the rotation and I thought he did good. Best outings for him and Allsup were at the end. Allsup's last four outings will absolutely get it done. With Allsup and Gonzalez, we hung our hat on that and it didn't materialize for us. That was a one and two. I think most clubs that are doing good had that one and two for the whole year. That was the biggest challenge for us this year."

That lack of starting pitching for much of the season impacted Auburn's depth on the mound. Coming into the year, that was thought to be the strength of this team but with more and more work needed because of short starts, that advantage went away in a hurry.

Now the questions start with what does Auburn do about it going into next year? The first thing it probably means is more input from Thompson, who is a pitching coach at heart and knows the importance of that part of the game. Coming off a year that featured a new pitching coach for the third-straight year (Everett Teaford) along with input from veteran Scott Foxhall, will there be more changes again after this season? That remains to be seen, but one change is going to be more involvement from the head man in that area.

"We all know the biggest challenge we had this year was being able to settle ball games on the mound," Thompson said. "This whole sport is built around that. When we can do that and stay healthy, we're good, or anybody. When they're not healthy and you're not able to take care of the mound and find peace there, I think confidence and settling games really is the first step before you get into sequencing, etc. 

"That was our biggest challenge and it continued to be one all the way until our last ball game. It's learn and grow. I have to figure out the solutions on what I can do to help in that area that I have spent a lot of time in my career doing."

There are some pieces to build around heading into next season, namely true freshman Cam Tilly, but Thompson and the Tigers know there is going to be a big need to go out and find experienced pitchers capable of being weekend starters in the SEC. That means becoming a bigger player in the transfer portal market this summer. And, that means NIL.

Whether that's used to attract top transfers capable of coming in and making an impact or potentially getting guys to school that would have otherwise gone in the draft in past years, Thompson said it's a part of life in college athletics now and they've got to find a way to better use it moving forward.

"NIL, that space, whether I hit the mark or fell short on that of the estimation, trying to find a commitment there that matches the peers in our league," Thompson said. "We finished fifth in this league the last two years and I thought once we got to a certain level of depth in our pitching staff, there's a water mark or a level of acceptability in our league. I thought we threw too many innings in our league beneath that from a talent standpoint.

"When you start talking about a top-ranked class, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh depending on all of the different publications, which ones can you get to school? They are about like a Tilly and what he can do. Some special young guys. It's a special class because of the arms that are young. You also know experience is a huge piece. What does the portal present?

"I think we're pretty attractive because we play in the Southeastern Conference. We're trying to take a trip to the Dominican with the club over Thanksgiving. We play a series in Arlington, Texas back in the dome in February in addition to those 10 SEC weekends. There's huge opportunity. We're hopeful that when we get to the first of June that we have our ducks in a row. That's our singular focus is on this roster that we can put all of our attention to that and see if we can attract some guys that help us g