Not long after the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks secured an 8-2 series opening victory over No. 12 Vanderbilt on Thursday at Hawkins field in Nashville, Tennessee, an SEC Network analyst was quick to forget the outcome of that matchup.
Todd Walker, a former LSU and MLB infielder, was on the SEC Network's 'SEC Now' show following Arkansas' win for a segment where he picked his four SEC teams that have the best chance to win a national championship this June.
The first name out of Walker's mouth was Vanderbilt — the same team Arkansas just beat and the same team that has lost back-to-back SEC series. Still, he had the Commodores as his fourth team with the best shot at winning the College World Series and it wasn't super unreasonable to start.
Walker then listed No. 5 LSU as his third best option, which is understandable for a team with a 41-12 overall record and potentially the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in this year's MLB Draft.
At No. 2, Walker listed fourth-ranked Florida, which is hot on Arkansas' tail for the SEC regular season title. The Gators have been great the past two weekends with a sweep over Vanderbilt and a 10-3 win over No. 19 Kentucky in the series opener Thursday.
Walker's first three teams were all reasonable and the only argument one might make would be whether or not LSU could go ahead of Florida. The fourth team — his squad with the best shot to win the national title — seemed like a pretty obvious choice, right? Nope.
The SEC team that Walker believes has the best shot to win a national championship is the No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers. While the Vols have a talented squad and the pieces to get the job done, it seems wild to not only not choose Arkansas in that situation, but to not even have the Razorbacks in the top four.
Arkansas currently sits atop the SEC with a 20-8 conference record going into the final two games of the regular season. The Hogs have played three of Walker's top four squads — LSU, Tennessee and Vanderbilt — and they currently have a 5-2 combined record against those squads. The Razorbacks also rank ahead of all four squads in the RPI as just Kentucky and Wake Forest are ahead of the Hogs in that metric.
It's worth noting that Tennessee isn't currently projected to host a Regional, while Arkansas has battled through injuries to still be in contention for the No. 1 overall seed. While this has less to do with Tennessee and more to do with the odd decision to not include Arkansas as one of the four teams, it is interesting to choose a squad like the Volunteers over four or five other SEC teams, including the Hogs.
"Well, I'm a big believer in Dave Van Horn," Walker said. "Of course, they've got some missing parts as well. But when Hagen Smith is on the mound or Hunter Hollan, they're very, very good.
"They've lost Peyton Stovall for the year. Jared Wegner is back, so the offense is looking a little better. I only had four choices, so I had to pick the four best ones."
So he believes in Dave Van Horn, he notes that Arkansas is very, very good when two of the three starters throw, he adds that the offense is looking better and then he goes as far as to say he had to pick the "four best ones." Considering the facts — Arkansas leads the SEC — and his statement that says Arkansas is very, very good for at least two games a weekend, the math doesn't add up.
While Walker likely meant nothing bad by leaving Arkansas out of this segment, it sure was a bold choice.
The Razorbacks will look to secure a series victory over Vanderbilt on Friday evening in Nashville. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
