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Ahead of Alabama baseball's first game of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, UA student Tyler Wilcox prepared a cooler full of Silver Bullets and a ball with a message on it for coach Rob Vaughn.
Normally, it's Vaughn tossing scribbled-on baseballs to folks like Wilcox in right field of Sewell-Thomas Stadium. But Friday, May 29 was special compared to other gamedays.
It was Vaughn's first NCAA regional game at The Joe.
Alabama has made the postseason all three seasons of Vaughn's tenure since taking over in 2023. This year, however, the Crimson Tide is the No. 7 overall seed, securing not only a regional, but the chance to host supers should it survive the weekend.
Over the years, Vaughn built a uniquely personal connection with the 1,500 or so fans dubbed the "Right Field Ragers" who gather over the right field wall — and he did it through what has become a valued tradition between himself and the section in front of Gate 6.
FULL BRACKET: Full schedule for NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional featuring Alabama baseball, more
REQUIRED READING: Inside the $42M stadium renovation that reshaped Alabama baseball's future
"It was something I started my first year here," Vaughn said in the days before Alabama met Alabama State. "I wasn't sure if they thought it was stupid for a long time, but I was like, eh, it's kind of cool. I'll keep doing it."
"We caught onto it pretty quickly that this is a thing that he was doing to really get us involved, and it was very appreciated pretty immediately whenever we realized what was happening," Wilcox said, a lifelong Crimson Tide fan despite his Mississippi roots.
The whereabouts of the first baseball Vaughn wrote a note on are unknown. Nonetheless, the routine of the Crimson Tide's right fielder — often Brady Neal this season — tossing a ball up into the terrace soaked with beer and scattered with lawn chairs.
How do the Ragers decide who keeps the ball?
"If you catch it," Wilcox said.
There's a group of about eight, including Wilcox, that sits on the same spot at the front of the wall. If there's a ball with a message to be thrown, they're waiting like bridesmaids for a bouquet.
"I think we all have plenty," Wilcox said, laughing. "If there's anyone else that we noticed doesn't have one or hasn't caught one, we can distribute the wealth."
Wilcox has a few favorite messages, one being the ball Vaughn delivered on Masters Sunday 2025 when Alabama was playing Mississippi State. Vaughn wrote on a baseball that if Rory McIlroy — the eventual winner of the tournament — won, assistant coach Mike Morrison would name his incoming baby after the famous golfer.
One month later on May 13, Morrison's second child, Madden, was born.
"That one stands out to me because that is a promise ,and I'm not sure if Mo is aware that promise is held against him somewhere down the line," Wilcox explained.
Another noteworthy ball was the one Vaughn sent the night the Crimson Tide men's basketball advanced to a historic Final Four. Alabama hoops was facing North Carolina in the Sweet 16 as Vaughn's crew faced South Carolina at home.
"It was a message about going and beating both Carolina schools today and having a good old time, and it was one of those things that stood out to me because it shows that Rob isn't fully zoned in on, 'I'm here to run my baseball program,'" Wilcox said. "He's a lot more of a, 'I'm here at Alabama.'"
Vaughn’s embrace of the Crimson Tide since arriving from Maryland helped deepen the connection between the coach and the Ragers, a genuine bond Wilcox was glad to have when Alabama opened its regular season series against Florida.
The evening included two viral moments. One was ace Tyler Fay's historic no-hitter.
The other was when the Ragers raged so hard that a panel of the right field wall fell, stopping the game. Then, they thought it would be fun to send Vaughn a message back for the first time.
"We felt like we did, you know, owe an apology for a 30-minute delay in a game for that," Wilcox admitted. "Over the course of the last couple years, we felt we had a good enough read on his personality to know he'd appreciate the joke."
"It was actually kind of hilarious," Vaughn said.
Moments like that represent something bigger than an in-game bit. The exchange reflected the kind of fan investment that has helped reenergize the program.
"I expect this place to be absolutely jumping this weekend, but there's some games during the year on a Tuesday afternoon where it's not," Vaughn said.
He understands why fans are pulled to basketball next door at Coleman Coliseum, whether it be the product on the court or the comfort of the indoors on colder nights.
"But there's a contingent of people up there that show up regardless, are into it regardless, that have stuck with us when we had that dry spell.," he said. "They're the same ones leading the charge when things are good."
Many of the same fans roaming right field at The Joe were also there for the two seven-game win streaks, the three straight losing weekends in SEC play and gray-skied midweek games against lesser opponents.
"You have those people in it with you that you feel like were in it from the beginning," Vaughn said.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for The Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama fans, Rob Vaughn bonded through baseball message tradition
Continue reading...
Normally, it's Vaughn tossing scribbled-on baseballs to folks like Wilcox in right field of Sewell-Thomas Stadium. But Friday, May 29 was special compared to other gamedays.
It was Vaughn's first NCAA regional game at The Joe.
Alabama has made the postseason all three seasons of Vaughn's tenure since taking over in 2023. This year, however, the Crimson Tide is the No. 7 overall seed, securing not only a regional, but the chance to host supers should it survive the weekend.
Over the years, Vaughn built a uniquely personal connection with the 1,500 or so fans dubbed the "Right Field Ragers" who gather over the right field wall — and he did it through what has become a valued tradition between himself and the section in front of Gate 6.
FULL BRACKET: Full schedule for NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional featuring Alabama baseball, more
REQUIRED READING: Inside the $42M stadium renovation that reshaped Alabama baseball's future
"It was something I started my first year here," Vaughn said in the days before Alabama met Alabama State. "I wasn't sure if they thought it was stupid for a long time, but I was like, eh, it's kind of cool. I'll keep doing it."
"We caught onto it pretty quickly that this is a thing that he was doing to really get us involved, and it was very appreciated pretty immediately whenever we realized what was happening," Wilcox said, a lifelong Crimson Tide fan despite his Mississippi roots.
Some of Rob Vaughn's most memorable messages to the Right Field Ragers
The whereabouts of the first baseball Vaughn wrote a note on are unknown. Nonetheless, the routine of the Crimson Tide's right fielder — often Brady Neal this season — tossing a ball up into the terrace soaked with beer and scattered with lawn chairs.
How do the Ragers decide who keeps the ball?
"If you catch it," Wilcox said.
There's a group of about eight, including Wilcox, that sits on the same spot at the front of the wall. If there's a ball with a message to be thrown, they're waiting like bridesmaids for a bouquet.
"I think we all have plenty," Wilcox said, laughing. "If there's anyone else that we noticed doesn't have one or hasn't caught one, we can distribute the wealth."
Wilcox has a few favorite messages, one being the ball Vaughn delivered on Masters Sunday 2025 when Alabama was playing Mississippi State. Vaughn wrote on a baseball that if Rory McIlroy — the eventual winner of the tournament — won, assistant coach Mike Morrison would name his incoming baby after the famous golfer.
One month later on May 13, Morrison's second child, Madden, was born.
"That one stands out to me because that is a promise ,and I'm not sure if Mo is aware that promise is held against him somewhere down the line," Wilcox explained.
Another noteworthy ball was the one Vaughn sent the night the Crimson Tide men's basketball advanced to a historic Final Four. Alabama hoops was facing North Carolina in the Sweet 16 as Vaughn's crew faced South Carolina at home.
"It was a message about going and beating both Carolina schools today and having a good old time, and it was one of those things that stood out to me because it shows that Rob isn't fully zoned in on, 'I'm here to run my baseball program,'" Wilcox said. "He's a lot more of a, 'I'm here at Alabama.'"
The story behind the Ragers' first message back to Rob Vaughn
Vaughn’s embrace of the Crimson Tide since arriving from Maryland helped deepen the connection between the coach and the Ragers, a genuine bond Wilcox was glad to have when Alabama opened its regular season series against Florida.
The evening included two viral moments. One was ace Tyler Fay's historic no-hitter.
The other was when the Ragers raged so hard that a panel of the right field wall fell, stopping the game. Then, they thought it would be fun to send Vaughn a message back for the first time.
"We felt like we did, you know, owe an apology for a 30-minute delay in a game for that," Wilcox admitted. "Over the course of the last couple years, we felt we had a good enough read on his personality to know he'd appreciate the joke."
"It was actually kind of hilarious," Vaughn said.
Why Alabama baseball fans have special bond with head coach
Moments like that represent something bigger than an in-game bit. The exchange reflected the kind of fan investment that has helped reenergize the program.
"I expect this place to be absolutely jumping this weekend, but there's some games during the year on a Tuesday afternoon where it's not," Vaughn said.
He understands why fans are pulled to basketball next door at Coleman Coliseum, whether it be the product on the court or the comfort of the indoors on colder nights.
"But there's a contingent of people up there that show up regardless, are into it regardless, that have stuck with us when we had that dry spell.," he said. "They're the same ones leading the charge when things are good."
Many of the same fans roaming right field at The Joe were also there for the two seven-game win streaks, the three straight losing weekends in SEC play and gray-skied midweek games against lesser opponents.
"You have those people in it with you that you feel like were in it from the beginning," Vaughn said.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for The Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama fans, Rob Vaughn bonded through baseball message tradition
Continue reading...
