HOOVER | There have been many good hitters in the history of Auburn's baseball program. However, none of them has hit more home runs in one season than Bryson Ware.

The senior third baseman knocked the first pitch he saw from Alabama right-hander Garrett McMillan in the sixth inning over the wall in left-center for his 24th dinger of the season, breaking the previous record held by Hunter Morris of 23 in 2010.

"It's a really satisfying feeling," Ware said. "Some outstanding athletes have worn this jersey that I'm wearing right now. It's a really cool to see some of that hard work that I've been putting in offseason, during the season, whatever that may be to pay off a little bit."

Coincidentally, Morris was in attendance to see his record broken. He currently serves as a volunteer assistant coach for the Crimson Tide. Morris and Ware posed for a picture together before Thursday afternoon's game.

"It's cool to have Hunter on the other side, the previous record holder, and I just couldn't be more thankful and I'm blessed for the opportunity," Ware said.

Ware has homered in five of the last six Auburn games, including in all three games in the SEC Tournament. The Madison, Miss., native has two multi-homer games this season, on March 18 at Arkansas and April 30 at South Carolina, respectively. Fifteen of his home runs have come against SEC competition.

The power surge for Ware came out of the blue this season after he finished with just one home run in 2022 and six dingers in 2021. He enters the NCAA Tournament hitting .356 with 11 doubles, one triple and 63 RBIs, along with 24 homers.

"He never quit on himself," Butch Thompson said. "It's just good for anybody to see, and not just baseball. He didn't run from his school. He didn't run from his coaching staff. It's one of the neatest things I've been a part of."