As we look back on another long season of Auburn athletics, there were again, a lot of bright spots. Even with the disappointing finish to Auburn football’s season, the athletics department gave reasons for the Auburn family to be tuned in and captivated by various teams and stars. Here is a look back at the 2021-22 Auburn athletics season.
Football: 6-7 (3-5) Lost Birmingham Bowl
For the first time since 2013 there was a new head coach walking the sidelines for Auburn. Bryan Harsin brought stylistic changes on and off the field, and while the team looked to be in a groove after a mid-season victory over top 25 Ole Miss, the Tigers slumped to finish the season, losing 4 in a row to finish the regular season including a blown late fourth quarter lead against Alabama. Another bad taste in the mouth was left after a Birmingham bowl lost to Houston gave the Tigers their first losing season since 2012.
Men’s Basketball: 28-6 (15-3) SEC Regular Season Champions, NCAA Round of 32
The men’s basketball team had the best regular season in Auburn history, led by one of the most talented players in Auburn history, Jabari Smith. The Tigers got ranked number 1 in the country for the first time in school history. Unfortunately, the Tigers had early exits from the SEC and NCAA tournaments, but a regular season conference championship was still proof of a fun season.
Women’s Basketball: 10-18 (2-14)
First year head coach Johnnie Harris stepped into a program that did not win a conference game the year prior, needless to say, a lot of work was to be done. While the team did not have a robust record this season, it made clear improvements with a couple of victories against top 25 teams. Aicha Coulibaly had a terrific sophomore season, and the Tigers look to build around her next season.
Gymnastics: 22-11-1 (5-1-1) NCAA Championship Meet- 4th place
Gymnastics became the talk of the town when Suni Lee came to the plains in 2022. The Olympian did not disappoint and was tremendous all season long. However, the team was much more than just her, as senior Derrian Gobourne wowed as she has her entire career, and freshman Sophia Groth was another key for the Tigers participating in most of the events. The Tigers earned their best finish in program history in 2022.
Softball: 40-17 (11-13) NCAA Regional
Year 5 of Mickey Dean saw the Tigers softball team make a stroke of improvement as the team found a power stroke behind freshman Bri Ellis, who set the freshman home run record, formerly held by Kasey Cooper. After a fast start in SEC play, Auburn started to fall down the stretch, largely due to injuries of 4 starters, including losing 2nd baseman Denver Bryant for the season. Most of the team were underclassmen, so the Tigers have a reason to be optimistic with the team moving forward.
Baseball: 43-22 (16-13) NCAA College World Series
Auburn baseball made some more history in 2022. After a solid regular season, Auburn exploded in the NCAA regional (which they hosted) scoring 51 runs in three games to advance to the Corvallis Super Regional. The Tigers were then able to beat the third ranked Oregon State Beavers to advance to the College World Series for the second time in four years. While Auburn was eventually eliminated, the program picked up their first College World Series victory since 1997, giving the Tigers a great feeling about a season in which they were picked last in the SEC West.
Best of the Rest:
Auburn soccer led by longtime coach Karen Hoppa made yet another NCAA tournament, while Auburn volleyball finished around .500 as Brent Crouch works to rebuild that program. By their lofty standards, Auburn equestrian was disappointed to be out in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, but it was still a very good team that did win the SEC championship. Both tennis programs made the NCAA tournament. The men’s team won a round before losing in the round of 32, and the women’s team won two tournament matches before losing in the sweet sixteen. Swimming and diving made strides under second year head coach Ryan Wochomurka, while both men’s and women’s golf programs made the NCAA tournament. The men’s team made the cut down to 15 before failing to qualify for the match play quarterfinals. While the women’s team advanced through to the Final Four after defeating UCLA in the quarterfinals.
