AUBURN, Ala. – Butch Thompson doesn't know when his next face-to-face meeting with his team will occur, but he knows what he'll say. The same thing he said the day he became Auburn's head baseball coach five years ago.
"It's going to be okay," he said. "That's the first thing I told our locker room when I walked into Auburn in the middle of the year in late 2015. I said it's going to be okay."
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A week ago, the Tigers were preparing to host Texas A&M to start SEC play. Within a matter of days, the season was postponed until March 30, then April 15, then cancelled altogether amid nationwide efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.
"It was ripped out so quick, so abruptly, I still think we were all in a state of shock," Thompson said. "I've never seen anything in my career that moved so rapidly."
On Friday afternoon, when under normal circumstances the Tigers and Aggies would have been getting ready for the SEC opener, Thompson held a final meeting before sending the team home as Auburn University transitioned to remote instruction.
"I told our seniors, 'This is not goodbye,'" he said. "We'll find the appropriate time, if this thing gets worse, to say our goodbyes, and do it appropriately. Now is not the time.
"There are just some things that are bigger than baseball, and we found it. We found a tipping point. This virus is bigger than baseball and a lot of other things right now. The safety of our citizens is more important."
The day Auburn was scheduled to play its SEC opener, the NCAA announced it would allow an additional season of eligibility for seniors whose spring sports seasons ended prematurely.
"It seems like that was a great step to try and do the right thing," Thompson said. "They'll have to drill down on deciding the rest of it, starting Friday."
Whether that eligibility relief will extend to freshmen, sophomores and juniors is one of several issues to be addressed, along with the impact of the potential delay of the Major League Baseball draft.
"We're not there yet," Thompson said. "Everything has been about safeguarding, protecting, continuing education, and we're just not there on next year, or what that roster looks like.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to help Auburn baseball, and this is probably our best roster on paper in our five years, but that's nothing to cry about. We'll continue to try to do that and try to put the best roster we can together."
While saddened by the season's sudden cancellation and the void it leaves, Thompson and his assistant coaches communicate daily with their players, encouraging them to focus on the impact their actions can still have away Plainsman Park.
"I don't just like these guys. I love these guys," he said. "I try to tell my guys when I talk to them, 'Let's think about others.' This is a great opportunity for us to grow and improve. Look for opportunities to make a difference while we follow every precaution.
"We can get back to what we do. We can get back to what we love and that's being a part of Auburn and trying to make it great."
Throughout his playing and coaching career, Thompson's mentors shared a similar message.
"Play this game like it's your last one," he said. "I think going through this experience, there's going to be some growth and improvement and some understanding for us to never take things for granted again. I think that's going to be a lesson learned through this process."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer