Auburn’s Ike Irish on College Sports Wire’s SEC Player of the Year watch list

Auburn baseball is coming off of a season that was undesirable, finishing 27-26 and missing out on the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2016. That does not take away from some of the raw talent that the team has had as of late though, and another player is making his case to be explosive in 2025.

Catcher and outfielder Ike Irish has been included on College Sports Wire’s list of “5 way-too-early 2025 SEC Player of the Year candidates.” He is also with Jace LaViolette and Gavin Grahovac of Texas A&M , Max Belyeu of Texas and Ethan Petry of South Carolina.

Irish has been valuable for the Tigers throughout his first two seasons, preparing to be an early pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

He has posted a batting average of .343 with 20 home runs and 109 RBI in his college career, making great use of his time at the plate. Despite having 53 less at-bats in 2024, he produced a lot more contact and power with eight more home runs and nine more RBI than in 2023.

Amongst his notable accolades in his time on the Plains, Irish was named to the 2023 SEC All-Freshman Team and received Freshman All-America honors from multiple national baseball outlets. He also earned First Team All-SEC honors in 2024.

Irish now prepares for a junior campaign in 2025 where he will likely see more time with catching duties, hoping to avoid the injury bug that plagued him last year. He is on pace to be a key veteran leader for a program that is trying to turn around after a big down year under head coach Butch Thompson .

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on Twitter @traley34