2026 MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 14, 2026

Skylar Meade

Noah Thigpen

Sean Darnell

Jabe Boroff

Troy Trojans

Postgame Press Conference

Troy - 12, Ole Miss - 8

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Troy head coach Skylar Meade and student-athletes Jabe Boroff, Sean Darnell and Noah Thigpen.

SKYLAR MEADE: Just an incredible baseball game. I can say it jokingly now. We had to get on the guys after the first inning. I didn't think we were ready to go. I hope there weren't any hot mics. Might get in trouble on that. But you have to do what you have to do to produce results.

And it's because these guys are so tough. And I don't think there's ever been a game more indicative on this stage, for our program, for the DNA of these players and obviously the players who are not up here as well. It really did take everyone.

And obviously the respect I have for Ole Miss is through the roof. It's the nature of elimination games, unfortunately, somebody goes home. But my respect for Coach Bianco and every person on that staff and his program -- we told the guys, I really do believe this, I think Ole Miss is the standard in the country for competing, just the way their guys have gone about it for a long time.

I've watched them from afar, and maybe having a glimpse of it in the league, but really not playing them that much. Their guys get after it. They have great kids. And so it means a lot to beat them in this atmosphere.

So just so happy for our guys. So happy that we do not play tomorrow because I'm sure everyone's exhausted. But just a tremendous day for the Trojans.

Q. Noah, you've had a lot of different roles this season -- been a starter, coming out of the pen, a lot of different hats you had to wear. What prepared you for today just being able to go out there and knowing you were going to get the ball at some point this weekend?

NOAH THIGPEN: Just staying confident in the process that we have. You never know when you're going to get the ball so you just gotta be ready to go at all times. And you just do your job for as long as you can, and then pass the torch to the next guy.

Q. Jabe and Sean, you are both from the state of Alabama. First program win in the College World Series. What does that mean for Troy? And what does that mean for baseball in the state?

SEAN DARNELL: It's awesome. And there's a lot of people watching from back home. So like being one of those guys that are able to come up here and get a win, it's amazing, because there's a lot of people walking from back home and a lot of people that are fighting for us.

JABE BOROFF: Yeah, I would honestly just piggyback off of him. I know the city of Troy is absolutely loving this. And that's really what means the most is everybody's got our back and everybody wants to see us win.

Q. Noah, you had fans chanting your name as you were walking off the mound there. What did it just mean to you to have that moment and that performance on this stage?

NOAH THIGPEN: It was definitely unreal. Probably one of my favorite moments of my life so far. I can't lie. It was pretty cool.

But I was just trying to give the fans a show and help my teammates because I knew the bats were going to come along and give us some run support.

Q. Jabe and Sean, the offense was red hot this whole postseason. But what today specifically was working for the offense when it felt like whoever Ole Miss had out there, you guys were able to get to them?

JABE BOROFF: We have an amazing coaching staff that prepares us really well whenever teams flip script or whenever they bring somebody out of the pen. We always are fed the correct information, or the best information to our knowledge of what we're getting and what we're getting ourselves into. So just being prepared and staying confident in the box.

SEAN DARNELL: So the confidence we have with each other as teammates, like, I know I've got Jabe behind me on deck and everybody knows he mashes. So I'm confident in myself because I know I've got him hitting behind me. So it's really just being confident with your teammates.

Q. Jabe, not sure you know this, but you passed the 20-RBI mark in the postseason here. Last player to do that was Adley Rutschman. What does that mean to kind of just perform like that for your teammates and be at the high level you've been in?

JABE BOROFF: Wow, no, it means a lot. It's awesome. That's an amazing accomplishment I think. But I'm not really thinking about all that. Whenever I'm out there, I just want to play good for the guys, and it's all about the team at the end of the day.

Q. Noah, what does it do for you you stamina-wise when the bats come alive like they did and your guys are able to take the lead? How does it help you were longevity on the mound?

NOAH THIGPEN: Well, you definitely get a little bit extra adrenaline with it, just seeing the guys hit balls 430 feet. I'm not going to lie, I got tired. And right before the eighth inning, I really had to pee. So I was trying to get through that inning as quick as possible so I could go pee. (Laughter).

Q. Your team's played with a lot of heart. Obviously you mentioned Drew's been banged up and Steven's played banged up as well. What does it say about the heart of this team just keep punching back after taking all these blows so far?

SKYLAR MEADE: It's the greatest compliment you can give is that you're tough and you're a winner, you know what I mean? We've had this kind of talk with our team in the sense that people, they don't remember your stats. They remember if you're a winner or not. That's the line of denomination, if you are remembered in a program.

And no one is going to say, you know what, I remember he hit .307. No one cares. They just want to know if you're a winner. And that's the ultimate thing. And that's what our guys are.

And you fight through things when you're actually a winner. Losers stop when it gets tough, and that's not what our guys do. And that's why they're getting everything they deserve right now and hopefully a lot more.

Q. Some of the guys on the dais there got off to slow starts this year and they had to fight through. You guys lose an early game in the regional and fight back. You even get down today. What is it about this team that, no matter how it's going, it seems like they're able to fight through it?

SKYLAR MEADE: Well, I mean, they take information. I mean, we talk about the offensive aspect. What Ben prepares them with -- and, I mean, it's a lot of preparation that goes into, you know, what goes on in this -- and you know when you get the information and then you apply, it means you have aptitude.

Probably the most exciting thing of the day, aside from the win for me, is it was 6-2. We definitely had botched some things up in some different ways, and Steven Meier, who unfortunately, kind of banged up his knee, I hear Steven Meier going, 6-2 -- this was the same score as Miami, same innings, same start. We'll win the game.

And I was like, I thought I was the only weirdo that remembers all those things. And Steve, like, he's our weirdo you know? And he remembers those things and he means it.

And it's everybody has their little niche of what they bring to the table, you know? And Steve having that sort of memory and saying that and really believing it. That's his role. Drew Nelson's fight through the things is his role and so on and so forth. Sean Darnell's steadiness. Right?

We got on our guys. We had a couple times where we did not run balls the level we should. And I mean it was infuriating. And we just said, no more. And so we would talk about it and reiterate it and pound our fist.

And Darnell scoring from first there is so massive and you only do that just when you're totally devoted to doing things that lead to winning. You don't think about the individualized stuff, as I kind of alluded to on the previous question. To me that's what's so impressive about our guys is they will not stop until the final bell is rung.

Q. That Noah was Thigpen's second longest outing of his career and it comes on a stage like the College World Series in Omaha. What did you see out of your righty today?

SKYLAR MEADE: Well, I mean just think about this. Noah Thigpen has been his finest the last six weeks. Cody Markham (phonetic), who has been on stage many times; Jabe Boroff, you know just to name a few. I mean, even Sean Darnell had has had his struggles. He hasn't maybe had the year that, going in, that he would have potentially projected.

But it says everything that those guys have continued to, A, stay the course individually; B, as coaches, you can't ever quit on guys because you never know when a guy -- look at Zaid Diaz. Zaid was our mojo guy at one point. We played him to create mojo for our team because we thought our guy was playing lethargic and it was unacceptable. So Zaid was our mojo guy.

And he accomplished what he did and there was some struggles so we had to pivot. But today we're debating in the dugout. Who do we put in defensively? We're like all right, well we need mojo so Zaid goes in there in the outfield and makes a pivotal play.

And to me it's just like -- I know everybody it's like, Coach McDonnell used to say a little, he always says, everybody wants to bat third and play short. I get that, but that's not how the real world works. And a lot of times we're in this era where we don't tell people that or when we tell people how the world works, they get offended.

For us, myself, I don't care who we offend. We're going to so to speak truthfully to our guys because we truly love our guys and we will do anything for them, absolutely anything.

But I think it's for me it's just a good reminder and lesson, do not deviate in this world of NIL and choices and all this stuff. You coach them as hard as you can until they say your season's over because that's how you have to optimize your team's skill set.

Q. I want to ask a little bit about Meier. Exactly what did he do? How does it look for him for next game? And how disappointing was it for him to have to come out?

SKYLAR MEADE: I'm sure it was incredibly disappointing. I don't totally know at this point. I'm not saying that to be coy. I don't know.

If you saw the -- I'm not sure if you saw the replay as I did, that grass here is really soft. It's beautiful, but really soft. If you saw left foot landed and then his right foot actually landed on the track, so it kind of jarred him.

I think he thought he was going to land on the grass. So I don't know -- it didn't appear to be like hyperextension in nature from the replays I saw. I didn't get a chance to speak to Steve, so I don't totally know.

However, I will say this. He's had two shoulder surgeries on his right shoulder. We thought his season was done in our ninth game of the year when it felt like it went out. So I say that to say, he'll find a way. He'll start Tuesday. If he's got to come out, he'll have to come out.

When he didn't catch that one ball that generally speaking for him he would routine, that certainly was he's got to go. For us, our trainer Amber, she doesn't get to sit on this stage she's been incredible. Knock on wood. I mean, just go through it. We got the same guys available that started the year.

So she'll do an amazing job with him. And he's a tough kid. He's been through some stuff now, just like the rest of them. So I'm at least going to put him in there and then if he's got to come out, he's got to come out.

Q. You kind of alluded that you got on your guys after that first inning, can you give us maybe like a PG version of what you said?

SKYLAR MEADE: It wasn't good, I can tell you that. Look, I just -- so before the game, we said, hey, look, they're Ole Miss. They're big. They're strong. They're probably going to hit a ball early in the game, 110, you have to either body up or have to have one of those hard hit balls and you're going to have to make a double play.

We didn't do that. Then we didn't kind of cut off a ball. We didn't block a ball. We didn't execute pitches. We walked the guy with two -- I mean it was gross. I was a really bad coach in that first inning. You know what I mean? I'm joking there. Like, it's how you feel, right? You're like, man, what an idiot. Who's running that team?

So I wasn't going to sit on it just as the head coach. So we had to up our level. I'm not saying our guys did this and I'm not saying this is why, but everybody's really nice to you in Omaha. They give you brunches, all the media talks to them -- great job, you're awesome. Well, I think for a second I think they thought they were more awesome than they were.

So we had to bring them back to remember that their edge that I've alluded to many times is why they're here. And I don't care that we're in front of 24,01313 people, we are who we are, and we're fighters and we're killers and we're going to get after it. And whatever that was in the first inning is nonrepresentative of what the power T is.

And we're going to be better and get after it. And that's why the guy did. And that while I'm the one that had to yell at them, it's all credit to the players. They're the ones that put the information into action and they did it. And I definitely can't say what I said because it was not good.