Clint Myers has coached in nine of the past 11 Women's College World Series.

AUBURN, Ala. – On college softball’s biggest stage, left fielder Tiffany Howard sprinted back, leaped high in the air, reached over the left field fence and stole a home run off the bat of Oklahoma’s Shay Knighten. It was a signature play in a signature Auburn softball season. It opened the door last June for the Tigers to beat Oklahoma in the second game of the national championship series.

"We've worked on it so much,” Howard said when it was over. “I'm talking about we would have bruises on our arms working on the wall in practice, so we've done it a gazillion times.”

That’s softball, Clint Myers style – leave nothing to chance, prepare for everything, play with heart and passion, win.

The Tigers didn’t win the national championship, falling 2-1 to Oklahoma in a gut-wrenching final game, but they were there fighting, believing until the end. Ranked No. 2 in this preseason, the highest preseason ranking in school history, they’ll have an opportunity for a measure of revenge Thursday when they open their season against No. 1 Oklahoma in the Triple Crown tournament in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Auburn players celebrate SEC Tournament championship.

For the first 17 years of the Auburn softball program’s existence, the national stage was mostly for others. Auburn was good enough to get to NCAA regionals most seasons, but in the SEC, most teams do that than don’t. The powers of the game were on a different level.

That all changed in June of 2013.

Myers had been to seven College World Series in eight seasons at Arizona State and won two national championships. But one son was in Oakland and another in Birmingham. Auburn offered a tantalizing opportunity to bring the family together. And so it was that Myers, wife Katie, sons Corey and Casey and long-time assistant Scott Woodard made the move.

Auburn softball was transformed almost overnight. Games once played in front of mostly parents and friends were played in front of packed stands at Jane B. Moore Field. Auburn became a national power, winning two SEC Tournament championships, going to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series in 2015 and to the final game in 2016.

Myers told his players from the start that it would happen.

“I think there are two things,” Myers said. “I think it’s that the kids buy in to what we teach. The second thing is what we teach. I’m going to let the reporters and the fans decide what kinds of coaches we are, but I will tell you point blank that we are great teachers. We teach the game.”

Meredith Jenkins, Auburn’s senior women’s administrator, has seen the transformation up close. And it’s nothing like she’s witnessed before.

“They are all teachers,” Jenkins said. “They really are. They really do an unbelievable job of teaching the game and getting into the nuances of the game. Some things other coaches might take for granted, they don’t. They go through it and go through it and go through it until every person on the team knows it.”

No part of the Auburn softball program escapes Myers’ scrutiny. No detail is too small.

“If we have a marketing meeting, he’s there,” Jenkins said. “He wants to know to everything that’s going on. He doesn’t leave anything to chance. His attention to detail is amazing.”

When Myers arrived, Auburn was coming off a 7-17 SEC season. Tina Deese, the only coach the program had known, had been let go. He made it clear in the first team meeting that things were about to be different.

“When he came to that first meeting and showed that at national championship ring, you saw their eyes light up,” Jenkins said. “Did they believe that very day? I don’t know. But once they get into practice and saw it and listened to him, they did. The girls that played on that first team said they learned more about softball than they had in their entire lives.”

Myers’ first team came up a game short of making a superregional. The next two teams went on to the WCWS, breaking records as they went, winning games and losing 22.

Junior catcher Carlee Wallace left her home in San Diego to go across the country and play for Auburn because she wanted to play for Myers.

"He won’t let us settle,” Wallace said. “He will give you your props and tell you did well, but there is always something you can do better. He doesn’t let us settle for anything less than greatness. He is such a great advocate for greatness in your life. He doesn’t let you settle for anything less than great. We eat, sleep and breathe trying to be great every day.”

He won’t let us settle,” Wallace said. “He will give you your props and tell you did well, but there is always something you can do better. He doesn’t let us settle for anything less than greatness. He is such a great advocate for greatness in your life. He doesn’t let you settle for anything less than great. We eat, sleep and breathe trying to be great every day.”

Myers makes it clear he doesn’t do it alone. It’s almost like a family business.

“Obviously, they are very, very close,” Jenkins said. “They have this camaraderie. When you are in meetings with them, they don’t always agree, but they respect each other and everybody knows their roles.”

And that filters down to the young women who play the game.

“They instill confidence in these players,” Jenkins said. “Our players know they can do it. It becomes almost routine because they’ve done it so many times in practice. When they get in the big stage, it’s not that much different than what they do every day.”