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Rob Vaughn on Alabama’s quick NCAA Tournament exit: ‘We weren’t good enough’

Danby: Daniel Hager06/01/25DanielHagerOn3
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Mar 29, 2025; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn watches as his team palys Oklahoma at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Oklahoma evened the series with a 6-5 win. | © Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With its 6-5 loss to Southern Miss on Sunday, Alabama became the first SEC team to be eliminated from the SEC Tournament this season. The Tide led 5-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, until the Eagles plated three runs to take a late 6-5 lead.

Southern Miss junior right-handed pitcher Colby Allen remained in the game in the ninth, where he allowed Alabama to load the bases with two outs. Allen however forced a Richie Bonomolo Jr. fielder’s choice to end the game, cementing the win for the host team in Hattiesburg.

Alabama’s Rob Vaughn, who just wrapped up his second season as the head coach in Tuscaloosa, discussed the loss postgame.

“Nothing we’d do differently,” a dejected Vaughn said postgame. “I thought the guys were ready and I thought they competed hard. I think people may underestimate how hard it is for a guy like Bryce [Fowler] to come to a place that his career started and not make it more than it needs to be. He played his heart out this weekend and played his heart out today. It was incredible today. Absolutely incredible.”

Fowler spent two seasons at Southern Miss (2022-23) before transferring to Pearl River C.C. for the 2024 season. He then landed in Tuscaloosa this season for his redshirt junior year, where he hit for a .267 average with 43 RBI. In Saturday’s loss to Southern Miss, Fowler went 3-5 at the plate with a two-run home run in the seventh inning.

“We’ve got a tough group of kids,” Vaughn continued. “We weren’t good enough and ultimately that is my responsibility to make sure we get better. That we prepare them better. That we coach them better. We have to do all of that stuff. But what I can tell you is they gave me every tiny thing of what they had.”

Alabama finished the season with a 41-18 record, totaling its second most wins in a season since 2011. The Crimson Tide however have now failed to advance past the Regional in six of its last seven NCAA Tournament appearances.

“Man these journey’s are fun,” Vaughn said. “Every year is different and every years has its ups-and-downs. Every year you’ve got a different group, a different mentality and a different culture really that’s building. I’ve got a lot of kids out there hurting right now because it meant a lot to them and they poured their heart and soul into Alabama baseball.”