It’s not something that Auburn redshirt sophomore RHP Alex Petrovic ever imagined would be in the cards for him after two seasons with the Tigers. Despite pitching in just 14 games with five starts while dealing with injuries, the Texas native caught the eye of his teammates in the fall with the way he approached the game and showed leadership.
That was enough to put him as one of four Auburn players that were selected as the legacy leaders for the Tigers in 2026. While having Lucas Steele, Chris Rembert and Eric Guevara as part of that group wouldn’t be a surprise, Petrovic being selected might surprise some outside the program but watching him come back from an injury last season earned the respect of his teammates.
“It means a lot having them pick me,” Petrovic said. “There really wasn’t a thought in my head that it would happen. Butch mentioned guys that were making a difference and standing out at some point in the fall and guys mentioned my name. That made me make more of an effort to actually accept that role. It’s big. It makes me want to work harder for the guys.”
Pitching in seven games as a true freshman and throwing 11 innings before an injury ended his season, Petrovic came back last year and pitched well for the Tigers until having issues again. Starting five games, the 6-4, 241 Petrovic went 1-0 with a 4.34 ERA. His best outing came in a win over UT Martin when he allowed just one run on one hit in 5.1 innings of work.
Going home to get healthy, Petrovic has picked up where he left off last season. Throwing strikes and commanding the zone, he has been one of the early bring spots on the mound for the Tigers.
“Coming back from freshman year and sophomore year injuries and working over the summer and being able to have my first fall to compete, really just diving in and trusting my identity. Throwing strikes is what we believe in here. It has been a blessing.”
That’s ultimately what Petrovic will take into this season following two frustrating seasons at Auburn. There aren’t many more difficult things in college sports right now than being a young pitcher in a sport that is getting older and older like football and basketball. Petrovic said those growing pains have him prepared and ready for his opportunity this season and he’s ready to go.
“I think it’s really helped open my eyes to digging my feet into the ground where strikes are the main priority,” Petrovic said. “If we can throw strikes then we can manipulate the ball and miss the barrel. That’s the name of the game. My freshman year I threw strikes but didn’t miss barrels. My sophomore year I started missing some barrels. I think it’s all clicking.”