Kason Howell has experienced extreme ups and downs during his career at Auburn, from making the 2019 World Series to a season abruptly ending due to COVID to a losing record in 2021 and then back to the top with another trip to Omaha last season.

So when the Tigers struggled early in SEC play, and things were looking bleak, the centerfielder knew it was time for someone to step up. He did just that.

"I just said it's a Kason Howell effect or something like that, but it's been true," Butch Thompson said. "I think it was back to where you're five and 10, and everybody's looking around like, where do we go? What do we do? And Kason's like, 'Hey, I've been here before. I've done this before.'"

As his coach said, Howell was responsible for "circling the wagons" for this Auburn team and is one of the main reasons the Tigers won its last five SEC series and are now hosting a regional for the second-straight year.

Bryson Ware, another veteran leader in the clubhouse, has seen Howell's impact on newcomers and experienced players like himself.

"One of my best friends," the third baseman said. "I'm really, really glad to have somebody like that in the locker room, that veteran presence. It's a huge factor just to be able to get our guys going whenever we need to slap on the butt and whenever we're getting a little dead in the locker room or in the dugout during a game. He's the first one there to kind of pick us up and get us back going again."

Howell's bat has been consistent for Auburn – he's hitting .282 with 23 doubles, three triples, four homers and 38 RBIs – but it is his play as the quarterback of the outfield that has been more important. In 55 games, the Argyle, Texas, native has committed just a single error in 159 attempts.

Thompson leaves the clubhouse to his players, not overstepping or overcoaching, counting on the team's leaders to get the job done. Following a series loss to rival Alabama, the coach noticed a difference in Howell's leadership.

"I think that's where he got his team," Thompson said. "I think that's when he pulled them together, and he kind of said, 'This is about to get different. 'And probably as a single person, I think he's had the biggest impact on the second half and where this team is today going into hosting a regional. I still give him a ton of credit."