TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Despite admittedly sporting a few extra gray hairs on his head, Brad Bohannon is settling in at Alabama. The second-year manager will begin the next chapter of his coaching career Friday as the Crimson Tide opens up a three-game series against Presbyterian College.
In many ways, Bohannon overachieved during his debut season at Alabama. Taking over a team that went 19-34-1 the year before, he improved the Crimson Tide to 27-29 (8-22) and more importantly reshaped a locker room culture that had become toxic under former manager Greg Goff.
“I love where we’re at right now,” Bohannon said. “I love our kids. We have awesome people in the program. There’s kind of different layers to it. I think you have to start with high character. Also there’s a competitive piece and the work ethic, the desire to win and all those things. I’m really pleased with the type of people we have in our program.”
Bohannon returns his entire coaching staff as well as five starters from last season’s lineup. Senior pitcher Sam Finnerty will once again be the team’s Friday-night starter, while left-hander Garrett Rukes returns for his redshirt sophomore season after making 13 starts last year. Both pitchers will have a familiar batterymate in Sam Praytor behind the plate. Alabama also brings back two outfielders in center fielder Joe Breaux and left fielder Kieth Holcombe.
The rest of Alabama’s roster is still a bit wet behind the ears.
“I think we lost over 1,200 at bats from last year. So just by default there will be a lot of new folks out there,” Bohannon said. “I think Tyler Gentry in right field is a guy that has a chance to make an impact offensively. Morgan McCullough will play somewhere in the infield, he’s a really good player. Brett Auerbach will catch and play some third base, a really well-rounded, winning baseball player.
“You’re going to see a lot of new faces on the mound. We have a lot of returning pitching. We’re really excited about Tyler Ras, Connor Shamblin and Jacob McNairy, our three freshmen that have helped us so far. Then Will Freeman and Casey Cobb are some JUCO transfers that will be in the mix and get a lot of opportunity.”
Earlier this week, Bohannon announced Finnerty will get the nod for Opening Day on Friday, while Ras, a true freshman, will start Saturday’s game.
Finnerty, a 6-foot, 225-pound right-hander, went 4-4 last season, posting a 4.45 earned run average across 87 innings while striking out 29 batters and surrendering 14 walks.
Ras was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 33rd round of the MLB draft but elected to come to Alabama instead. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound right-hander was ranked No. 74 in the nation by Perfect Game and recorded a 1.56 ERA with 68 strikeouts and 15 walks over 40 1/3 innings during his senior year of high school.
Alabama hasn’t announced who will start Sunday’s game. While Rukes is a likely option, Bohannon mentioned the possibility of experimenting with several pitchers early in the season. Juniors Brock Love and Deacon Medders will also be in the mix as well as freshmen Shamblin and McNairy,
“If you had told me 12 months ago that our pitching staff would be in the position that it’s in, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Bohannon said. “Jerry (Zulli) and Jason (Jackson) did a tremendous job recruiting and J.J. does an awesome job with our pitching staff. So I feel really good about where our staff is.”
Gentry, a JUCO transfer, should join Breaux and Holcombe in the outfield. Last season he batted .379 with 18 home runs and 72 runs batted in over 64 games for Wallace State Community College.
Alabama will have less experience in the infield. Freshman Drew Williamson is a strong candidate to start at first, while McCullough, a JUCO transfer, could get the nod at second. Williamson was rated as the No. 10 player in the state of Alabama by Perfect Game. McCullough, who began his career at Oregon, was named the MVP of the JUCO World Series while helping Chipola College to its second straight national title. He hit .381 with a .471 on-base percentage over 66 games.
Alabama will likely turn to former JUCO players on the left side of its infield as Kolby Robinson and Auerbach should fill in at shortstop and third base respectively. Robinson earned a NJCAA Gold Glove while finishing with a .362 average for Wallace State last season. Auerbach, who could also play behind the plate, hit .362 with 17 doubles and 26 stolen bases for Saddleback Community College last season.
“Typically we’ve always kind of believed in playing a lot of people early,” Bohannon said. “The kids have had six months to earn the opportunity. Especially, you throw in the fact that have so many new people. I really think we have about 12 starters, so you’ll definitely see some guys in and out of the lineup the first few weeks.”
Friday and Saturday’s games are scheduled for 3 p.m. CT, while Sunday’s finale will be at 1 p.m. All three games can be streamed on SEC Network+.
