Hall of Fame high school baseball coach retiring after 32 years, 4 titles

Hall of Fame Auburn High baseball coach Matt Cimo will retire following this season, his 32nd at the helm of the program.

Cimo was inducted in 2021 to the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He led the Tigers to state championships in 2009, 2010, 2018 and 2021.

“I’ve been very blessed with the administration and the teachers I’ve worked with and all my assistant coaches throughout the years,” Cimo told On the Mark on Fox Sports the Game on Thursday. “The loyalty and trust they’ve had in me has made my life very successful.

“It’s been very rewarding. It’s something I’ll miss.”

Cimo, a native of Pana, Ill., played college baseball at Eastern Illinois and was part of an NCAA Division II championship. Following his college career, he was drafted in the 14th round by the San Francisco Giants and played nine years in the minors. He began his teaching and coaching career in 1992.

“I’m pretty much at peace,” Cimo said of his decision. “I had three years of college baseball and was lucky enough to play nine years of minor league baseball and now 32 years of coaching. That’s 44 years of baseball. Some of the kids I’m coaching, their parents aren’t even 44 years old. It’s been a great run. Baseball has been a big part of my life.”

Cimo said one of his most memorable runs came in 1998 – a year the Tigers didn’t win the state title.

“That 1998 team went into the playoffs 18-22 and beat the No. 2 and 3 teams in the state and had Vestavia Hills, the No. 4 team, down in the final four and ended up losing,” he said. “That run kind of set the table. Wins and losses aren’t that important. It’s how you develop a team and getting them to understand you have to play together to win.”

Cimo’s current and final Auburn team is 19-8 and ranked No. 6 in the state in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 7A top 10. The Tigers face top-ranked Central-Phenix City (28-1) in a key three-game area series beginning this afternoon at Central.

It concludes with a doubleheader Friday in Auburn.