Best of the rest from Butch Thompson and the Tigers ahead of the College World Series
The Auburn baseball team is almost 24 hours away from first pitch on Saturday night against SEC foe Ole Miss. Thompson and the Tigers met the media on Thursday.
And here’s another story on Sonny DiChiara, his impact on Auburn and his teammates.
(You can’t help but love Sonny D)
Here’s the best of the rest from Butch Thompson, Kason Howell, Sonny DiChiara and Carson Skipper.
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Butch Thompson on returning to the CWS
This our sixth trip to Omaha. We’re ecstatic. We have a few players that returns and those are some of our best players. We’ve had an amazing journey through the SEC and we’re still going to have to compete against some of those foes. This is personally year 30, and maybe my finest journey for me, and that’s because of our student-athletes.
Thompson on his love for Kason Howell
A winner. Kason recruited us. He had Big 12, some awesome teams, but they were in Auburn, Alabama when he was 10 or 11 years old, and he left and they lived-in Texas. He called and said I have some offers, would you look at me? I called him back like two hours later and said, ‘yea, come on.’ That catch at Jacksonville State over the wall, but it’s all those intermediate plays that looks like he’s not even hustling. Kason Howell makes us a World Series team. My best guys, that’s three of them, they do more for our team than what you see them do. Kason Howell would run through any wall for us. He’s a steady presence. He’s been unbelievable and he recruited himself to Auburn. When someone is a really good player and he’d rather be at your place than anywhere else in America, that’s going out of style right now.
Thompson on his deep appreciation for Tim Hudson
He’s a gifted, phenomenal athlete. He coaches a different ballgame. I think somebody could see Tim Hudson doesn’t have to be grinding to make ends meet. How cool is it that he gets to be here? He’s grown himself and he’s made a difference with these players. They would run through a wall for him. I’ve seen him grow so much, but all he wanted to do is get back to Auburn. Tim Hudson can walk into the room and stay there for eight hours. There’s some special, elite stuff with him for what he’s done with our program. I’m going to enjoy this every day that he wants to do this for our program. He wanted to give back to Auburn because Auburn springboard him. I told him today how much I respected him and appreciated him, and how excited I am that he gets to coach an Auburn pitching staff in Omaha. It’s a nice piece for his Auburn deal. And he graduated, so he has an Auburn degree and he’s leading this pitching staff.
Sonny DiChiara, Kason Howell and Carson Skipper on Butch Thompson, Auburn program
DiChiara said: I think it shows a testament to this man right here. He loves investing into us and more people to come. I didn’t know Coach Thompson that well and he just invests in his players.
Howell said: Coach Thompson means everything to this program. You could tell something was happening. You could tell it was starting to roll, and if you didn’t want to be a part of it, you could go somewhere else. That all started with Coach Thompson.
Skipper said: He has the desire to make us not just better baseball players, but better men.
Howell on being overwhelmed during the 2019 CWS appearance
In 2019 as a freshman, it took me three innings to realize what was going on because I was amazed. Now, the leadership this team has, the motto of not done yet and we have to prove it, the low expectations, that’s driven us all year. This team is very unified and we have a great chance to do it.
