Rob Vaughn Introduced as Alabama Head Baseball Coach
6/13/2023 5:05:00 PM | Baseball
Vaughn comes to Tuscaloosa following six seasons at Maryland
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Rob Vaughn was formally introduced as Alabama's head baseball coach Tuesday afternoon, speaking in a press conference alongside Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne.
"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, who was the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year each of the last two seasons at Maryland, was announced as Alabama's head baseball coach on Monday before being formally introduced Tuesday afternoon at a press conference inside the Mal Moore Athletics Facility.
"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," 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."
Vaughn comes to Tuscaloosa after spending the previous six seasons at the University of Maryland. He led the Terps to a 183-117 record, including an 84-54 mark in Big Ten play, finishing atop the conference standings in both 2022 and 2023 while earning Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in consecutive seasons. 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.
"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.
"So, thank you and I have wanted to say this all day – Roll Tide."
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