It's only the end result that matters, and Auburn baseball knows that better than anyone.
It entered last season predicted to finish at the bottom of its own division. Forget being ranked – Auburn was supposed to be a bottom feeder in a ruthless SEC West. That was never the case. Auburn used the doubt to feed into its own intrinsic motivation.
That will be a season that stands as an example for years to come because the Tigers made the College World Series for the second time in three complete years.
It's an example inside the clubhouse, but outsiders must not have heard – Auburn baseball has been here before and come out on top.
Again, it goes into the 2023 season unranked in several polls, predicted to finish sixth of seven in its division in the Preseason SEC Coaches Poll. But Auburn isn't lowering its goals or expectations – it is working to prove them wrong, again. It's a situation that's all too familiar for Auburn, a spot the team says it is comfortable in.
"I think we're used to [being underrated]," said assistant coach Karl Nonemaker. "There's a lot of good teams in our conference. We're used to it. I think we know that it doesn't matter what anybody thinks for our season. That's why you play the games."
Auburn lost eight players to last year's MLB Draft. Three starting pitchers, two relievers and three position players were taken, including First-Team All-American Sonny DiChiara. That provides reason for some caution, but a No. 6 recruiting class, consisting of 24 newcomers, is proof that head coach Butch Thompson doesn't plan on falling off.
Like any winning program, Auburn is going to have key players go on to the next level, but with that comes a reload of talent to keep its winning ways intact. Thompson has maintained success before — in three of the last four tournaments, Auburn has made the NCAA Super Regionals despite 36 MLB Draft picks in his tenure.
He has been involved in 15 top-10 recruiting classes since 2003, and this year's incoming class is the fifth-rated group in program history.
Auburn has 56 games to play, in what Nonemaker said "undoubtedly will be one of the top five hardest schedules in the country." It is ready for a grind – one filled with successes and failures, but one thing is certain. Auburn knows what it is about to get into. This is nothing new.
"It's a cliche thing to say, but do you let you let your guard down if everybody tells you're going to be great – if everybody pats you on the back?" Nonemaker said. "It wouldn't change a single thing if everybody thought we were going to win the league... The only thing we care about is the end-of-season rankings. We know we have a lot of work to do, but that is the only thing we're concerned with."
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