Auburn, Ala. – September 11, 2026 -- Auburn University's Sports Medicine and Movement Laboratory is capturing markerless motion-capture data on every pitch and every swing at Plainsman Park, converting real-time biomechanical footage into injury-prevention and performance analytics for collegiate and professional baseball.
Lab expands to three integrated sites tracking live game data
Director Gretchen Oliver's team operates an in-house facility inside the Kinesiology Building plus dedicated in-game and in-bullpen labs at Plainsman Park. Hidden cameras record markerless motion-capture data on pitchers and hitters during every home game and bullpen session, generating datasets on shoulder and elbow force loads that feed directly back to coaching staff.
Data pipeline links researchers directly to coaching decisions
Oliver's group works jointly with Auburn Head Coach Butch Thompson, Pitching Coach Everett Teaford, athletic trainers and strength-and-conditioning staff to translate statistical modeling into individualized athlete feedback. The lab uses the data to compare mechanics, monitor fatigue, flag injury risk and track development, applying methods Oliver says mirror analytics used across Major League Baseball.
Teaford credited the program's reputation for attracting high-level students to Auburn, calling the biomechanics operation "one of the top programs in the country" and a factor in the team's pitching success.
Lab produces talent pipeline into four MLB organizations
Graduates of Oliver's program now work within the Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Florida Marlins organizations, alongside alumni employed across the biomechanics industry and university athletics research settings. Oliver said the lab draws on 15 years of accumulated research data to train new researchers to identify unresolved biomechanical questions.
Program earns NCAA national spotlight after 2026 Super Regional run
Following Auburn Baseball's 2026 Super Regional appearance and a pitching staff ranked among the nation's best, the university selected the lab-baseball partnership as one of only five Auburn programs featured in an NCAA Public Service Announcement broadcast during athletics events. The lab's focus remains narrow by design, concentrating exclusively on baseball and softball biomechanics, with elbow injuries dominant among pitchers and shoulder injuries more common in softball athletes.