Vaughn officially introduced as new Tide baseball coach
New Alabama baseball coach Rob Vaughn was introduced by athletic director Greg Byrne (right) and UA president Stuart Bell (left) during a press conference on Tuesday. (Unv. Alabama Athletic Dept.)
By GRAHAM DUNN
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – New Alabama baseball coach Rob Vaughn was formally introduced Tuesday afternoon, speaking in a press conference, promising to keep the momentum that the 2023 team started.
“There's a lot of excitement around your first few days on campus,” said Vaughn. “I've had the opportunity to spend the last day and a half around the young people from the 2023 team, around JJ (Associate Head Coach Jason Jackson) and the rest of the coaching staff just getting to be a fly on the wall and listen to the way they communicate. As you do that, it becomes very, very evident and very clear how they were able to do what they did (this past season), and I'm so proud to get to be a small part of that.”
Vaughn replaces Jason Jackson, who was an interim coach after Brad Bohannan was fired due to alleged gambling issues in late April.
Vaughn, who was the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year each of the last two seasons at Maryland, leading the Terps to back-to-back conference titles in 2022-23. In six seasons, he led the Terps to a 183-117 record, including an 84-54 mark in Big Ten play. He was part of the staff for the three winningest seasons in Maryland history, including the only 40-win seasons for the Terps in 2014, 2015, 2022 and 2023.
But the history and tradition, not only of the baseball program, but the entire athletic program drew him to Tuscaloosa.
“As I looked at ‘why Alabama?’,” Vaughn continued, “you have the easy stuff. You have the SEC and obviously this is the most competitive brand of baseball there is. As a young kid, you always aspire to play there and as a young coach, you always aspire to coach in and to have the opportunity to stand here to be a part of this and to get to coach these young people moving forward. That is something that we are so excited about. We understand what comes with that. There is pressure and a lot of expectations, especially based on what the 2023 team just did, but that's what we want. That's what we're built for.”
“Today is an exciting day for Alabama Athletics as we welcome Rob Vaughn as our new head baseball coach,” Alabama AD Greg Byrne said. “As I mentioned, a lot has happened with our program over the last six weeks, but I'm so incredibly proud of the way our team finished out the season. I've been around this game for a long time, and this is as fine a group of young men as I've been around in any baseball program. Everybody around the program knows it and even in our early conversations with Coach Vaughn, he says he can sense the same thing.”
A native of Humble, Texas, Vaughn played collegiality at Kansas State and later served as a volunteer assistant after spending the 2010 season as a student assistant for the Wildcats. He entered the coaching ranks following a two-year stint in the Chicago White Sox organization. Vaughn was selected in the 30th round of the 2009 MLB Draft. As a collegiate catcher, Vaughn helped KSU reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in 2009.
Vaughn’s 2022 team featured Big Ten Player of the Year and first team All-American Chris Alleyne. The fifth-year senior led the conference in homers, RBI and total bases while ranking second in hits and slugging, and third in stolen bases. Alleyne joined Ryan Ramsey and Jason Savacool in earning All-America honors with the trio helping to make up a collection of six players on the First Team All-Big Ten list.
Maryland finished 2021 at 30-18 against an all-Big Ten schedule, advancing to its first NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Vaughn’s 2020 squad went 10-5 during the pandemic-shortened season, one-year removed from a 2019 season that finished at 29-29. That 2019 team saw a then-program record six student-athletes earn All-Big Ten honors, including Big Ten Freshman of the Year Marty Costes.
Including Costes, Vaughn has coached 29 players who have been drafted or signed professional contracts during his time as a coach. The list of pro players under Vaughn is highlighted by Brandon Lowe of the Tampa Bay Rays along with LaMonte Wade Jr. of the San Francisco Giants.
“I want my program to be known for two things: culture and development,” Vaughn said. “It's what we're all about. It's what I care about as a coach. My goal is that this group of people that I get to coach and we get to work alongside, will finish their time here equipped to be unbelievable dads, unbelievable husbands and unbelievable leaders.
“I'm excited to get started. I'm excited to roll our sleeves up and work because the beauty of this thing is that the cupboard isn’t bare. I can tell you that there are some really talented players on this roster. There are some really talented players coming in, and I'm just excited to get to know them. I'm excited to come in alongside them, and I'm excited to put a staff together that's going to coach them to be the best version of who they can be. So, as we wrap this thing up, I'm very, very excited to be here. We are excited as a family to make Tuscaloosa home. This program has laid the foundation and now it's time for us to knock down the gates in Omaha and we're going to do that here real soon.”
After leading Alabama to the 2023 Super Regionals, Jackson was retained as the assistant head coach and pitching coach.