Auburn Tigers hitting coach Gabe Gross is the scapegoat for the fanbase after the Ole Miss Rebels marched into Plainsman Park this weekend and swept AU out of the Super Regional. The Tigers' bats went 1/10 with runners in scoring position, 3/15 with runners on base, and 0/8 with two outs in a season-ending 5-3 loss on Saturday. On Friday, Auburn went 2/9 with runners in scoring position during a 6-4 loss.
Saturday was the 19th game this season the Tigers were held to three runs or fewer. It completed the second straight year Auburn was also swept in the Super Regional, with the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers winning both games last year. CCU's series-clinching win was a one-run outing for the Tigers.
Patience is gone with Gross from the fanbase. Even before the issues at the plate in the Super Regional, the SEC Tournament in Hoover saw the team score four runs in two games. You could find calls all over X to have the AU alum removed from Butch Thompson's staff after an uneven postseason run this May and June that at least had its moments.
To that, this writer says: pump the brakes, Tiger fans. You've wanted to upgrade from a good thing before, not realizing that the grass wasn't greener on the other side.
Auburn baseball should be in no rush to fire Gabe Gross
Perhaps there are lessons to be learned about moving on from a great thing on the Plains after what the last few years have shown us.
In 2020, everyone was tired of Gus Malzahn's inability to recruit linemen good enough to contend with the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs. Malzahn was fired in December 2020, Bryan Harsin was hired, and the rest is history. And not the good kind. Impatience has damaged the football program. It still hasn't recovered, but at least it seems on the mend with Alex Golesh now in charge. Nothing is guaranteed, though.
There were very few, but they existed, who were itching for Steven Pearl to take over the basketball program from his father, Bruce, because of Steven's brilliant work with the 2024-25 Final Four team and Bruce's political aspirations. Those few got their wish. AU had a rough season, with notable leadership gaffes, in 2025-26 without Bruce and ended up in the NIT. At least the Tigers won it, though.
Let's not repeat these kinds of mistakes on the diamond. Gross got the team to No. 4 in batting average and No. 6 in home runs in the SEC this past season. Auburn had 205 home runs in the seven seasons before he arrived. The Tigers have topped 80 HRs every year since 2021.
The bats could be more timely, but Gross has transformed this program. His voice is invaluable to recruits, as the second-highest draft pick in program history as a hitter. Moving on too soon without a coherent succession plan has caused enough damage over the years.
Let's just stay the course and keep things together. Gross is a throwback to a better time, when the program was in the Men's College World Series. Let's not eradicate yet another working cog until there's a coherent plan for what's next.
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