While a celebration nearly 70 years in the making was underway with hollering fans and a dogpile of Wake Forest players partying near the mound, the 2023 Alabama baseball team huddled together for the last time on a field. As he’s done for the last five-and-a-half weeks, UA coach Jason Jackson kept it consistent. He told them he was proud of them.

Tide athletic director Greg Byrne was there following Jackson’s first upset win over Vanderbilt on May 4, hugging Jackson and congratulating players. Byrne was also in attendance this weekend at the NCAA Super Regional in Winston-Salem, N.C., as the Tide season ended after two losses to Wake Forest.

Byrne and the Tide’s decision-makers need to decide if Jackson will lose the ‘interim’ label next spring.

“I would love to come back,” Jackson said after the Tide’s 22-5 loss. “I love this university. I love these players. I love the guys that are here. I love coaching this team. I love all of them. It would mean a whole lot to come back.

“As a player, as a coach, you got to show up every day and you got to work and you gotta prove yourself. These guys do that. … You give them everything you have all the time. They deserve that and I know I’ve probably made more than my fair share of mistakes. I probably made plenty of mistakes today. But the one thing I know is that they get everything that I have all the time because that’s what they give me. I think when you do that it’s easy to have mutual trust with each other.”

Jackson had been Alabama’s pitching coach for five seasons when Brad Bohannon’s alleged gambling scandal put the program under national scrutiny. To say Jackson steadied the ship is an understatement. He led the Tide to a 13-6 record and its deepest postseason run since 1999.

While the Tide had been competitive prior to his appointment, it was hard not to see the looser, more exciting brand of baseball Alabama produced under Jackson as it picked up two SEC tournament wins and hosted a regional for the first time in 17 years. But if the results weren’t enough proof of a turnaround, just ask the players who rallied around their new skipper after the old one allegedly bet on them to lose.

“We were in, as you can imagine, quite a big pickle. From literally the first day, he’s stepped up and just a perfect, perfect leader,” senior infielder Jim Jarvis said. ” … We don’t get here without him that’s for sure.”

Graduate student Drew Willamson went a step further: “He couldn’t have done any more perfect of a job. And I can say that honestly. I would go to war for this guy. I’ve loved the time that I’ve got to spend playing for him. I hope that somebody would give him a shot somewhere else cause they won’t regret it. He’s a great dude, a great coach. Just great all around.

“I mean, I don’t get to make any hiring decisions but if I did, I promise you this would be my guy. I’ll say that.”

As Jarvis and Williamson made their case during their last times wearing the uniform, Jackson clasped both their shoulders. His eyes watering, he described the impact they’ve not only had on him but his eight-year-old son Tyler.

While opposing coaches wouldn’t comment on the gambling scandal — which has since expanded into Cinicinatti’s ballclub — they weren’t shy about giving Jackson his credit.

“There isn’t any question. He’s done an incredible job with that team,” Wake Forest coach Tom Walter said. ” … And I hope they give JJ the job. I think he’s earned it. I think he’s earned the opportunity to lead that program and I hope it goes his way.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].