AUBURN | Auburn will be relying on a host of transfers this season and one of them will take the mound for Friday’s opening game against Oklahoma in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown.

Tommy Sheehan, a graduate transfer from Notre Dame, earned the start after a strong preseason

“We’ve just made this a deal where the players make the lineup out. For this first weekend and with the way these guys have been competing with one another, Tommy Sheehan has kind of come out on top,” said Auburn coach Butch Thompson.

Sheehan will be on a restrictive pitch count as he returns from partial Tommy John surgery that limited his senior season at Notre Dame to just two starts. The left-hander struck out 10 in 8.0 innings. As a junior in 2020, he was 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 23.1 innings in a season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With Sheehan limited to a few innings, Thompson has not named a starter for Saturday’s game against No. 12 Texas Tech. The possibilities include sophomore right-hander Joseph Gonzalez, senior right-hander Jordan Armstrong, a transfer from Chattahoochee Valley Community College, or junior left-hander Hayden Mullins.

Junior right-hander Trace Bright will start Sunday’s game against Kansas State.

The closer will be junior right-hander Blake Burkhalter. Other pitchers that could have prominent roles out of the bullpen include senior left-hander Carson Skipper, junior right-hander Mason Barnett and a trio of freshmen right-handers: Chase Allsup, Parker Carlson and Ben Bosse.

Friday’s game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas is set for 11 a.m. CT. The Tigers will play Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. All three games will be on FloBaseball.

“I’m really excited. It’s going to be a great venue to play in at the Rangers ballpark. That adds even more to the excitement,” said Sheehan. “It’s going to be a big stage with a lot of good teams there. We’re going to be able to show ourselves as the first team on Friday and see what we can do.”