AUBURN | Two trips to the College World Series in the last three postseasons after the Tigers had been just four times in the previous 72 years.

Auburn’s only two Super Regional wins in program history and hosting a home Regional for the first time in 23 years.

The first No. 1 overall MLB draft pick in program history when Casey Mize was selected by the Detroit Tigers in 2018.

The most season tickets sold in program history in 2022.

That’s just a sampling of what Auburn baseball has accomplished in seven seasons under Butch Thompson. He’s confident even better times are ahead.

“I absolutely know you can look at pen to paper from the time we've been here to this second and see some growth and stair-steps and continuing to be able to do that with our program,” said Thompson Tuesday night just minutes after being eliminated from the CWS.

“I absolutely think we are on the cusp of doing amazing things consistently. And that will be the driving force to try to leave this program in a better place.”

Thompson along with his staff believes strongly in investing in Auburn’s program and their players. They focus on winning, of course, but player development on and off the field are also top priorities.

“It's an incredible feeling to be able to come to a place with such joy and happiness to the whole college baseball world more than one time,” said senior pitcher Carson Skipper, who was a part of CWS teams in 2019 and 2022. “And all that stems from Coach Thompson. Great leader. Great man. Along with all the other coaches and staff members, everybody from top to bottom has made such an impact on me personally. And I know for all the other guys it's made a big impact on them, too.”

One of the most important things Thompson will do over the next two days is spend time with his players including Skipper and senior shortstop Brody Moore, who both joined him in the postgame press conference.

“These two guys right next to me are two of my strongest men and people, and there's a whole locker room full of it,” said Thompson. “We'll just start the next 48 hours spending a lot of time with them and continuing the good work. And hopefully we stair-step this program, and we can keep fighting and having the feeling the best is yet to come.”

Thompson and the Tigers are scheduled to arrive back in Auburn Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT.