From the University of Georgia, to Auburn University, to Mississippi State and now back to Auburn, competing in the SEC is nothing new for Auburn baseball coach Butch Thompson.
Likewise, neither is being in Alabama.
Alabama is where Thompson received his education, earning his bachelor’s degree in history at Birmingham Southern College in 1992 and a master’s degree in sports administration at UAB four years later.
While still in school, Thompson began his career as an assistant coach at Birmingham Southern following a brief, one-season stint at Huntingdon College, where he helped the Panthers go 296-134-1 in seven seasons.
Shortly after completing his education in 1996, Thompson accepted the head coaching position at Jefferson State between his time at Birmingham Southern and led them to a 39-12 record in his only season as head coach, including a World Series berth.
Most recently, the Mississippi native was the associate head coach as well as the pitching coach for Mississippi State, where he coached for seven seasons and served on the 2013 team that finished second in the College World Series.
Thompson is well-known specifically for his expertise on the mound and his recruiting ability — 23 former players under Thompson have been selected in the MLB Draft, nine of which have pitched professionally.
In addition, Baseball America and the American Baseball Coaches Association named him the National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2014.
But before all of this success, Thompson had to grind. His first job as an assistant at Huntingdon paid $150 per month, along with a meal card and a dorm room. He didn’t quit, simply because he loved the game.
Once he earned his way into the SEC in 2002 at Georgia, he embraced the competitive atmosphere that came with coaching in the SEC and turned down multiple head coaching offers from smaller schools.
He refused those offers not because of the pay, but because he enjoyed competing in the SEC so much. So when Auburn offered him the head coaching position in October of 2015, it was “a dream come true,” Thompson said.
Thompson’s contract with Auburn is a five-year deal, worth $350,000 per year. It’s easy to say that his new contract is a step up from his first gig.
Good things come to those who wait.
Thompson was hired after the firing of former Oklahoma head coach Sunny Golloway. Golloway served as Auburn’s coach for just two years before being released, following a 36-26 overall record and an NCAA Regional berth.
Because Auburn’s athletic department claimed Golloway violated team rules, Golloway was not able to collect his $1.25 million contract termination buyout. He is currently fighting the University, claiming to have been let go without reason, and is pursuing a settlement of some sort.
Thompson has high expectations for the team this year, his reason being that not only has he competed against these players and knows their capabilities, but talks about his assistant coaches in the highest regard.
As far determining a starting lineup, “We’re going to let the older guys rule the day,” Thompson said.
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