Itawamba Community College alumnus and Auburn University Head Baseball Coach Butch Thompson was inducted into the 2021 Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame, Apr. 27, 2021.

Thompson is the Auburn University head baseball coach.

A two-sport standout athlete at Amory High School, he had a difficult decision whether to continue his career in football or baseball. He starred as a pitcher at ICC for Coach Roy Cresap in 1989 and 1990 and was the closer in every game in which the Indians had a lead or tied, which amounted to approximately 70 games during the two years.

Thompson, who spent three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Auburn from 2006-08, returned to the Plains after seven seasons at Mississippi State as both associate head coach and pitching coach from 2009-15. He has also made stops as an assistant coach at Georgia, his alma mater Birmingham Southern and Huntingdon College and was the head coach at Jefferson State Community College.

He has coached 30 Division I All-Americans and 39 all-conference performers. Of his former pitchers, 16 have made their Major League Baseball debuts, including 10 since 2014. In 28 years of coaching at the collegiate level with 19 in the Southeastern Conference, Thompson has coached eight College World Series participants, including leading the Tigers to the program's first trip to the College World Series in 22 years in 2019. He has also coached one national champion and a national runner-up, won nine conference championships and made 17 postseason appearances. He has also served as an assistant under three National Coach of the Year recipients.

Thompson earned a bachelor's degree in history at Birmingham Southern and the master's degree at UAB. He is married to the former Robin Ashe of Birmingham, Ala., and they are the parents of three daughters, Anna, Olivia and Madelyn Gail.