Autauga Academy's Jason Devaughn named county baseball coach of the year

Jason Devaughn’s award reflects more than one good season. It reflects a program he helped harden quickly, one that won the Class 1A Area 7 championship for the second year in a row and stood as one of only two Autauga County teams to reach the postseason. Autauga Academy was also the county’s only team to win a playoff series and move into the second round, a sign that the Generals have become one of the area’s most reliable baseball programs even while making only their second run through the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

The turning point, Devaughn said, came during a local spring break tournament he used to challenge his roster before area play began. He said the Generals were facing teams "way above our class and competition" and were exposed to "really good pitching and overall play." That choice mattered because it gave Autauga Academy a chance to see faster arms, cleaner defense and a higher level of execution before the pressure of the area schedule arrived. For a young program still adjusting after its move from the Alabama Independent School Association, that kind of early stress test became part of the coaching plan.

The results were clear in the numbers. Autauga Academy swept its area matchups with dominant wins over Notasulga, 12-1 and 24-0, and controlled Verbena with victories of 17-5, 12-2 and 1-0. Across those five games, the Generals outscored their area opponents 66-8. They then carried that edge into the playoffs with a 7-2 win over Woodland High School in the first round. The pattern points to more than one hot week at the plate. It shows a team built to limit mistakes, attack inferior pitching and hold up when the games tightened.

That approach has already produced playoff experience in back-to-back years. Autauga Academy has hosted and won a playoff series in each of those seasons, and the 2025 team advanced to the third round before this year’s group repeated as area champion and again won its opening playoff matchup. The players who benefited most were the ones who got those reps against stronger competition early, then turned them into wins when the schedule mattered most.

The next test will come with the new Private School Class A alignment, where Autauga Academy will face a different set of established programs under the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s 2026-2028 structure, which separates private-school baseball into Single-A Private and Double-A Private divisions. Devaughn said the Generals would be young but experienced and want to contend again. For Autauga County, that makes the standard plain: Autauga Academy has already shown it can adjust, compete and keep moving deeper into May.