Alabama Baseball Passes On Successful Interim Coach, Hires Maryland Head Coach Rob Vaughn

Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne has been busy.

On Monday, he announced the hiring of a new baseball coach just a day after Alabama and interim coach Jason Jackson saw their season end. The Crimson Tide lost to No. 1 Wake Forest in the best-of-three Super Regional in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 22-5 on Sunday, after falling 5-4 on Saturday.

Byrne is going young. He hired Maryland head coach Rob Vaughn, who is 35 and a rising star in the coaching ranks. Byrne didn't just do this over the weekend. It was likely finalized days or weeks ago.

Alabama Keeping Interim Coach

Jackson, though, is not leaving Alabama. He will remain as associate head coach after leading the Tide to a 13-6 record since taking over on May 4.

Jackson, Alabama's top assistant coach since 2017, replaced Brad Bohannon. Byrne fired Bohannon for his role in a betting scandal. Authorities said Bohannon bet on the Alabama baseball game at LSU on April 28 in Baton Rouge. Bohannon became coach in 2017.

"We are thrilled to welcome Rob Vaughn as the next head baseball coach at The University of Alabama," Byrne said Monday. "I talked to a number of people throughout this process and was so impressed with Rob from the start. He is one of the young, bright talents in college baseball and has done an excellent job leading Maryland's program."

Crimson Tide Hires Rising Young Coach

Vaughn took over as Maryland's coach in 2018. After a losing season at 24-30 and 9-14 in the Big Ten, he improved to 29-29 and 12-12. Then he took the Terrapins to three straight NCAA Regionals, going 30-18 and 28-16, 48-14 and 18-5, and 42-19 and 17-7. Maryland won the Big Ten in the 2022 and '23 seasons, and Vaughn received Big Ten coach of the year honors after each season.

A Maryland assistant from 2013-17, Vaughn was an assistant at Kansas State in 2011 and '12. He is a Corpus Christi, Texas, native, and played at Kansas State from 2006-09.

"I could not be more excited to join the Alabama Crimson Tide," Vaughn said. "The culture, the people and the program speak for themselves. Watching the team from afar, I could tell just how special it is, and I cannot wait to get started and help get this group back to Omaha. The fact that Coach Jackson will be here by my side makes me even more excited because he's done such an incredible job and will be a big part of what we do going forward."

Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne meets with the Alabama baseball team and interim coach Jason Jackson on May 4 - the day he fired Alabama coach Brad Bohannon for his role in a gambling scandal. (Getty Images).

Alabama Reached Its 1st Super Regional In 23 Years

Jackson led Alabama to its first Super Regional appearance since 2010.

"I could not be prouder of the job Coach Jackson did in serving as our interim head coach for the final six weeks of the season," Byrne said. "He was incredible at managing a tough situation and ultimately leading this team somewhere it had not been in quite some time. He has great relationships with our team, the department, our fans and beyond. And we are thrilled to keep JJ here in Tuscaloosa and elevate him to associate head coach."