Auburn Baseball Fall Notebook

by George Nunnelley
Auburn Baseball Fall NotebookAuburn Baseball Fall Notebook
David Gray

AUBURN, Ala. – Having recently completed its fall schedule, which included a pair of exhibition wins against Florida State and Valdosta State and both a player-led and coach-led Fall World Series, Auburn baseball turns its full attention to the 2025 season following the holidays. First, let’s take a look at some of the standouts this fall.

“It’s been great to bring in a highly-rated recruiting class and to see us trying to get up off the mat and get back to doing what we’ve done the couple of years prior,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “We’ve had a good, healthy chip on our shoulder. Guys have worked hard all fall. So now our attention as a staff, and hopefully our players too, turns to ‘What do we outline for us now that we’re 86 days from our season opening?’”

20241117_BSB_Scrimmage_NI_2183AUBURN, AL - NOVEMBER 17 - Auburn's Eric Guevara (8) during the Scrimmage at Plainsman Park in Auburn, AL on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. Photo by Noelle Iglesias/Auburn Tigers

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER OF THE FALL

#8 Eric Guevara | So. | IF | Parque Lefevre, Panama 

After bouncing back from a torn ACL in short order and playing the last two months of his freshman season, Guevara was the Tigers’ breakout performer of the fall. He led the team with a .500 average, collecting a team-high 33 hits in 66 at-bats, and tied for the team lead with 21 RBI. The sophomore infielder, who took the majority of his reps at third base but also saw time at both middle infield positions, also ranked third on the team with six doubles and added a home run. In the team’s notable exhibition doubleheader sweep against Florida State, Guevara went a combined 3-for-6 with a double and two RBI.

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MOST VALUABLE POSITION PLAYER OF THE FALL

#18 Ike Irish | Jr. | C | Hudsonville, Mich. 

Auburn’s leading hitter each of the last two seasons, Irish really honed in on the defensive side of his game this fall and took the next step as a leader behind the plate. Along with his improved catching ability, Irish led the team with five homers and tied for the team lead in doubles (seven) and RBI (21) while ranking second in hits (25). He enters the 2025 season rated by multiple publications as a top-10 college prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft. Irish went a combined 3-for-5 and scored four runs in the Tigers exhibition doubleheader sweep against Florida State.

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MOST VALUABLE PITCHER OF THE FALL

#22 Hayden Murphy | Jr. | RHP | Chula, Ga. 

After finishing games in each of Auburn’s final two series of 2024, including earning his first career save in the series-clinching win vs. Alabama, Murphy flourished this fall as he served primarily as the team’s closer. The junior right-hander led the team by throwing 67.4 percent strikes and also led the way with a 35.2 called-strike-plus-whiff percent. He turned in a clean seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts and earned the save in game one of Auburn’s exhibition doubleheader vs. Florida State. He also made an appearance in each of the two Fall World Series and finished the game on both occasions.  

TEAMMATE AWARD WINNERS OF THE FALL

On a scale of one to five, the following five players were rated the highest by their teammates based on their character, integrity and trustworthiness.

  1. Cooper McMurray – 4.93
  2. Parker Carlson – 4.91
  3. Samuel Dutton – 4.84
  4. Eric Guevara – 4.84
  5. Cale Stricklin – 4.84