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Regionals Preview w/Ben McDonald · Johnny's World

0:21
SPEAKER_00: All right.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to a new episode of Johnny's World Podcast.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: This is your host, BW, along with my co-host Johnny.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: It is uh Thursday before the regionals get cranked up this weekend at NCAA baseball tournament.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: We're here to talk about that and a little bit about the Mississippi State coaching search.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: How are we doing, Johnny?
0:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we're doing great, BW.
0:41
SPEAKER_02: Uh it's hard to believe that school is over with and uh summer's approaching.
0:46
SPEAKER_02: We've got our baseball regionals and uh new coaching.
0:49
SPEAKER_02: So a lot, a lot of uh exciting things happening over here in Star Vegas.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, uh we will see, but things are seeming like they're picking up steam in terms of uh O'Connell being our next coach.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: Uh I keep wanting to say O'Doyle, O'Doyle rules, but it's O'Connell.
1:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:09
SPEAKER_02: Uh O'Connor.
1:10
SPEAKER_02: O'Connor.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: O'Connor, O'Connor, excuse me.
1:12
SPEAKER_02: Brian O'Connor.
1:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, Brian O'Connor.
1:14
SPEAKER_02: Uh so it's like Omar O'Connor.
1:17
SPEAKER_02: If you put O'Connor, just ah, yeah, I like it.
1:20
SPEAKER_02: Yep, yep.
1:21
SPEAKER_02: Uh, but man, he I really hope that he's the one.
1:25
SPEAKER_02: Uh, he's the guy I wanted all along.
1:28
SPEAKER_02: I I go back to when we hired Mike Leach, man.
1:30
SPEAKER_02: That's who I really wanted from the get-go, is Mike Leach, and it happened.
1:33
SPEAKER_02: And then from the very beginning, I was wanting Brian O'Connor.
1:36
SPEAKER_02: Um, and it looks like I don't want to jinx anything, but it looks like that's who is uh gonna get the job.
1:42
SPEAKER_02: He's been at Virginia for 25 years, so um it's kind of hard to leave a place like that.
1:47
SPEAKER_02: But I'd heard that last year um AM approached him and and he did not um he looked at that job, but he Virginia told him that they were uh up to Annie and they'd commit more to baseball, and I don't think they did.
2:01
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's uh the same sort of deal.
2:04
SPEAKER_02: Now he was in probably talks with State and Um and Virginia and Virginia, you know, said, oh yeah, we'll do it.
2:12
SPEAKER_02: And then they didn't do it last year.
2:13
SPEAKER_02: So it's like being custom because they're uh he wants all in on baseball, and Virginia's not committed, like Mississippi State would be all in on baseball.
2:20
SPEAKER_02: So uh I think that's the difference right there.
2:22
SPEAKER_02: And he's he and man, he's a he's a winner uh back-to-back World Series uh the past two years.
2:28
SPEAKER_02: Um he won the national championship in 15, played for it in 14, multiple trips to Omaha.
2:34
SPEAKER_02: Uh just out of all the candidates out there, he that's who that's what I wanted from the get-go because he has the best resume.
2:41
SPEAKER_02: He's won an actual national championship.
2:43
SPEAKER_02: All the other candidates had not.
2:45
SPEAKER_02: And uh, and he's not that old.
2:47
SPEAKER_02: I mean, he's 54, so he's been been around and he he knows what he's doing.
2:52
SPEAKER_02: I'd heard that possibly he's bringing uh great pitching coach along with him.
2:56
SPEAKER_02: So uh I think I read where it's wake forest, maybe I'm not sure.
2:59
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, uh all this is all speculation, nothing until we actually see that it's signed on the dotted line.
3:05
SPEAKER_02: But right now it's just uh trending toward that that's that's what's gonna happen, and it sure would be a big hire.
3:13
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's up there with with, in my opinion, it's up there with like the Mike Leach hire, um, you know, Jackie Sherrill Howard.
3:20
SPEAKER_02: I mean, these are proven head coaches, you know, like like Dan was an assistant when we hired him for football, and all these other coaches that turned out to be good coaches, we're all assistants, but the these guys are proven winners, and that's what we needed.
3:30
SPEAKER_02: We didn't need to go, I said that from the get-go.
3:33
SPEAKER_02: We didn't need an assistant coach route this this way this way.
3:36
SPEAKER_02: We needed a proven winner to step in and take it.
3:39
SPEAKER_02: And uh I feel like that's what what they did.
3:41
SPEAKER_02: And you know, Zach Selman's gotten a lot of criticism from state fans for not doing anything and and his tenure up here.
3:47
SPEAKER_02: But if he signs a deal, makes this thing up, and he deserves all the respect.
3:51
SPEAKER_02: I give him a hard time because he won't come on our podcast while he uh tried to get a ball multiple times, and he's like, Yeah, oh come on.
3:57
SPEAKER_02: And then middle people won't won't ever do it.
3:59
SPEAKER_02: So right.
4:00
SPEAKER_02: Uh so I'm I'm I'm mad at him about that, but it's uh, but you know, uh, but you got to respect the guy.
4:06
SPEAKER_02: If he makes this deal, then he he's he deserves every penny he's getting at Mississippi State, uh, because that's a huge, huge grand slam hire if uh if it becomes uh true.
4:15
SPEAKER_02: You know, uh the other two guys in the coaching search that uh kind of narrowed it down, you know, at the very beginning of the summer, they had the coaching search.
4:23
SPEAKER_02: We have former Mississippi State assistants popping up, and Nick me and Jones from Kentucky, Butch Thompson from Auburn, Elaine Burroughs, LaTeX, a lot of West Johnson at Georgia, a lot of guys that had state ties, and then they all kind of dwindled out.
4:37
SPEAKER_02: And um, and then at the the last hot board I saw was O'Connor first, and uh the guy from Oregon, Wasikowski, and then uh uh Fitzgerald from Kansas.
4:47
SPEAKER_02: And you know, I was skeptical about those two guys.
4:50
SPEAKER_02: Kansas is not known for baseball at all.
4:52
SPEAKER_02: Um, but however, he the guy he was a former uh coach at LSU, so he has that pedigree, and he's getting and Kansas is in the regional, so he's turning around and in Oregon the same way the guy's there is doing a good job.
5:04
SPEAKER_02: Uh, but O'Connor of those three, I mean, he has the resume, he's proven winner, he's what you need right now at Mississippi State.
5:11
SPEAKER_02: And I really hope that that's that's uh that's the deal.
5:15
SPEAKER_02: You know, the Oregon guy's name is like the guy in Mike uh um Monsters Universe, BW.
5:20
SPEAKER_02: I know you've got kids, you've probably seen that.
5:21
SPEAKER_02: Mike, what's Gowski?
5:22
SPEAKER_02: This guy was this Gowski or something like that.
5:26
SPEAKER_02: So uh I thought that was funny, but but yeah, um Brian O'Connor, uh gosh, I hope it's true.
5:32
SPEAKER_02: But we'll know I would think that they're gonna wait until State gets knocked out of the postseason to make this announcement because they don't want an extraction.
5:39
SPEAKER_02: And then if State goes on a run, you know, they're in a dilemma about I mean, you can't turn down Justin Parker.
5:44
SPEAKER_02: What if he loses uh our national championship?
5:47
SPEAKER_02: So uh they're kind of waiting to see how that goes, I would think.
5:50
SPEAKER_02: And same thing from from um O'Connor's stance, but uh all all signs lead to him being the new coach.
5:56
SPEAKER_02: And um I'm I'm I'm tickled about that.
5:58
SPEAKER_02: I really would be happy if that's the truth, uh, because I feel like we'll be going in the right direction.
6:03
SPEAKER_02: So that's where we're right now.
6:04
SPEAKER_02: But but this uh tomorrow night is regional starts.
6:07
SPEAKER_02: Uh I was actually gonna go to Tallahassee, but it didn't work out.
6:11
SPEAKER_02: Um, but uh uh it's gonna be interesting to see, you know, we play Tallahassee, Mississippi State does uh in Tallahassee.
6:18
SPEAKER_02: We play Northeastern, which is they've won like 27 straight games.
6:21
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
6:22
SPEAKER_02: Hottest team in college baseball.
6:23
SPEAKER_02: When I was watching this Lexing show, they said, Yeah, Mississippi State gets the hottest team in college baseball.
6:27
SPEAKER_02: Oh, great.
6:28
SPEAKER_02: Uh appreciate that.
6:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, appreciate that.
6:30
SPEAKER_02: But uh, I mean, we're an SC team, you should take care of them, but I don't know, it will be a tough game.
6:36
SPEAKER_02: And then you got Florida State, and they got uh this pitcher, Jamie Arnold, I'll be reading about, who is projected like top five pick in the country in the MLB draft next year.
6:45
SPEAKER_02: So he's really, really good.
6:46
SPEAKER_02: So I would think they would save him in the opening game uh and pitch him in the second game.
6:51
SPEAKER_02: That's what you usually do in with regionals.
6:53
SPEAKER_02: Uh so you know if we make it, if we get through the first game and have to play Arnold, uh it'll be it'll be a tough, tough deal.
7:01
SPEAKER_02: But man, we've had success.
7:02
SPEAKER_02: Past two times we played in Tallahassee, uh, we've come out of the losers bracket and won the thing.
7:08
SPEAKER_02: Uh if you remember 18 was the last time we were down there and we came out of the loser's bracket.
7:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh I can't remember the all the teams, Oklahoma, I know, was in that regional that year, and and we got smoked in that opening game.
7:19
SPEAKER_02: People were like, yeah, this is Mississippi State baseball is just a disgrace.
7:22
SPEAKER_02: This never happens and all this.
7:24
SPEAKER_02: And lo and behold, we won that game.
7:26
SPEAKER_02: I won the losers bracket game, and then we ended up playing Florida State and and uh Lyzer Maclin and me became big hit Mac on that that that season uh with that series and and sent us to the super regionals where he played at Vanderbilt, and that was a uh that was an instant classic uh series between Mystic State and Bandy, and we got to the World Series that year and made it all the way to third place.
7:46
SPEAKER_02: We almost won the dang thing in 18.
7:48
SPEAKER_02: That was with uh uh that was the disaster with Canazero leaving.
7:53
SPEAKER_02: We had uh Gary Anderson.
7:55
SPEAKER_02: Exactly, yeah.
7:56
SPEAKER_02: And so uh as an interim.
7:58
SPEAKER_02: And hey, it's kind of similar.
8:00
SPEAKER_02: Looking at the parallels, kind of similar.
8:02
SPEAKER_02: We we lose uh lose our head coach this year, Lamonis.
8:05
SPEAKER_02: We get Justin Parker as an interim.
8:07
SPEAKER_02: We had Henderson as interim that year, and he led us all the way.
8:10
SPEAKER_02: So I wouldn't be surprised if the dogs get hot and make it run.
8:13
SPEAKER_02: I mean, they're capable of doing it.
8:14
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you just you just never know uh how baseball goes.
8:17
SPEAKER_02: That's the weird thing about baseball.
8:19
SPEAKER_02: You anybody can beat anybody any day.
8:20
SPEAKER_02: There's nothing uh nothing, I mean, like Northeastern can whoop us, you know.
8:24
SPEAKER_02: There's no no telling.
8:26
SPEAKER_02: But uh, but yeah, it's it is odd the parallels between the 18 season and this year as far as the coaching deal, and you can sit to Tallahassee and all that sort of stuff.
8:34
SPEAKER_02: But uh, but as far as the purity among the league, I mean it's just like basketball.
8:39
SPEAKER_02: You remember how many teams we've got in March Madness?
8:41
SPEAKER_02: We've got 13 SEC teams in baseball regionals.
8:44
SPEAKER_02: Missouri, who was could have finished 0-30.
8:47
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, that's amazing that they that they swept AM and AM preseason number one in the country, and then even make a regional.
8:54
SPEAKER_02: I don't understand what happened, how they how they got swept by Missouri.
8:58
SPEAKER_02: I don't understand what happened at AM, but uh they didn't make it.
9:01
SPEAKER_02: And then South Carolina is in a rebuild mode with uh Paul Manares over there in his first year.
9:06
SPEAKER_02: So I look for them to be good in the in the near future.
9:09
SPEAKER_02: But but everybody else in SEC made a regionals, Ole Miss and Southern are both hosting.
9:14
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, I was hoping we were gonna get sent to Hattiesburg.
9:16
SPEAKER_02: I was real looking forward to that one, but we played down there before.
9:20
SPEAKER_02: But I mean, we beaten Ole Miss and Southern Miss this year in baseball, and they're hosting, but we just didn't didn't take care enough uh of our business early in the year with when Lamonas.
9:31
SPEAKER_02: And it's amazing how when Lamonas got let go, how the team kind of rallied around, Justin Parker and came on and won all those games and got us sealed into a regional because at that point we were not in the spot to make the reason.
9:42
SPEAKER_02: So uh yeah, they uh so yeah, it stinks and we couldn't host.
9:46
SPEAKER_02: Uh I think Lamonas' job was basically host or not.
9:50
SPEAKER_02: And when he saw it wasn't gonna host, might as well just cut cut strings with an album rather than play it out.
9:56
SPEAKER_02: And um, and I'm glad they did because like I said, we we got a little run and and uh we'll see what happens now.
10:02
SPEAKER_02: But I would think the coaching deal, they're waiting to see how everything plays out uh in the rituals.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's gonna be interesting.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: I saw that you know the Northeastern team has one of the best ERAs in the country, but they really they haven't played anybody.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: Right.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: We'll see.
10:18
SPEAKER_02: On the schedule, they play the Boston Red Sox.
10:20
SPEAKER_02: I had to look at that.
10:21
SPEAKER_02: I was like, is this the ball?
10:22
SPEAKER_02: What's going on here?
10:23
SPEAKER_02: But if you look at it, it was spring training.
10:25
SPEAKER_02: So they probably played the scrubs of the Red Sox, I would guess.
10:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, uh just to get ready for the season or something like that.
10:31
SPEAKER_02: But uh, but yeah, you're right.
10:34
SPEAKER_02: I mean, they're they're not, I mean, SEC teams every week beating each other up and just the premier conference in in all sports.
10:41
SPEAKER_02: And so SEC teams should take care of a team like North Northeastern.
10:45
SPEAKER_02: But like we just said, it's baseball, you never know how it's gonna go.
10:48
SPEAKER_02: But um, but I like our chances if we were able to get if we were able to get that and then control.
10:54
SPEAKER_02: Uh I heard Florida State's bullpen is not good.
10:56
SPEAKER_02: So if you can get to Jamie Arnold Arnold um and get and get wear him out and and not get behind too much into the bullpen, I like our chances then.
11:05
SPEAKER_02: And then if you win, you win those two, you're you're you're golden, man.
11:08
SPEAKER_02: You're sitting really good.
11:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
11:09
SPEAKER_02: Uh but like I said, we've gotten out of the loser's bracket before.
11:12
SPEAKER_02: Um, but I just don't know.
11:14
SPEAKER_02: You never know with this team and how it goes.
11:16
SPEAKER_02: But uh, I'm just happy to be in postseason baseball and talking about postseason baseball.
11:21
SPEAKER_02: Um you know, last year we played postseason baseball at Virginia with Brian O'Connor with the coach.
11:26
SPEAKER_02: So um that's kind of weird how all that came about.
11:30
SPEAKER_02: And then and then we had two years where we didn't even make the postseason after winning it all in 21.
11:35
SPEAKER_02: So uh so it's it stinks that Duty Noble is the premier baseball facility in the country.
11:41
SPEAKER_02: It's sitting empty again in June.
11:42
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's what people are so mad about.
11:44
SPEAKER_02: And I I totally agree with it because we they built that ballpark for it to host regionals and super regionals and all that, not sit empty in June.
11:53
SPEAKER_02: So hopefully the new coach, uh whether it be Brian McO'Connor or not, will get us back there soon, and maybe next next June it'll be filled up.
12:00
SPEAKER_02: So uh so we'll see.
12:01
SPEAKER_02: But I do like SEC is loaded.
12:03
SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm gonna talk to our guest here about uh what what we have going on with SEC baseball coming up.
12:08
SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, the teams this year, Texas, LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, and then Vanderbilt wins the SEC tournament.
12:16
SPEAKER_02: I mean, all those teams, all your Auburn, Georgia, I mean, they're all good this year.
12:20
SPEAKER_02: Top five, top ten teams.
12:22
SPEAKER_02: I think I read where six SEC teams were number one in the course of the season this year.
12:26
SPEAKER_02: So um, and then you don't count out count out old miss.
12:29
SPEAKER_02: Man, they get they get hot sometimes.
12:33
SPEAKER_02: And 22, that was the thing.
12:35
SPEAKER_02: You know, Mike Bianco was about to get get fired that year, and he led them to the national championship, and and uh and and they won it.
12:41
SPEAKER_02: So uh every SEC team is is I mean, never count any of them out, but uh I definitely think they paired some of them up to where they wouldn't they wouldn't all play each other in the in the super regionals or in Omaha.
12:55
SPEAKER_02: I understand that, but I do like uh a lot of the SEC teams advancing to Omaha this year, especially with the way the um the conference played out this this year this season.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think Southern is the last regional site, right?
13:10
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, are they paired with Vandy?
13:13
SPEAKER_00: Who are they paired with?
13:15
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, which Vandy though Vandy was not even Vandy's always been top every year, and they really were like they were kind of quiet this year, like they were good, but I didn't see them coming on winning the SCE tournament.
13:29
SPEAKER_02: That was crazy, and they secured the number one seed, I think, only because they won the SC tournament.
13:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they're always a good program, but they weren't the top top this year, like those other teams.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, did we play them pretty close?
13:39
SPEAKER_00: I feel like we did.
13:40
SPEAKER_02: Uh I don't think we played Vandy this year.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: We didn't play them this year, okay.
13:44
SPEAKER_02: We didn't we didn't play Vandy this year.
13:46
SPEAKER_02: No, we didn't.
13:47
SPEAKER_02: Um but yeah, we actually lucked out.
13:51
SPEAKER_02: We didn't we didn't have to play Tennessee, we didn't have to play Vandy.
13:55
SPEAKER_02: Um let's see uh Arkansas.
13:59
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I don't think we played I don't think we played Arkansas, yeah.
14:02
SPEAKER_02: We didn't have to play any of those tough teams, man.
14:04
SPEAKER_02: Like uh of course we played LSU and we played Texas and uh Florida, Alabama, um South Carolina.
14:13
SPEAKER_02: Georgia?
14:15
SPEAKER_02: Nope, didn't play Georgia.
14:17
SPEAKER_02: Okay, Kentucky.
14:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so we actually, man, if we had if we had it, I mean we we had the schedule for us in our favor this year.
14:25
SPEAKER_02: So uh but anyway, regardless, we we're we're in the postseason.
14:30
SPEAKER_02: I won't complain about that, but uh it does stink that we're not hosting, especially like what I said with the schedule uh in our favor this year.
14:36
SPEAKER_02: But um, but I do think an SEC team will take home the prize again.
14:40
SPEAKER_02: I kind of kind of rooting for Arkansas this year to win it all because uh because you know, uh I know their fans are kind of annoying and talking about the stadium and all that, but but man, in 18, you know, they had that national championship one.
14:52
SPEAKER_02: They dropped a foul ball.
14:54
SPEAKER_02: And and I know that just just stings because they're that close.
14:58
SPEAKER_02: And if you think about it, you know, um Florida won it in 17.
15:05
SPEAKER_02: Arkansas would have won it 18, Bandy, 19, 20 was postponed, 21 state, 22, Ole Miss, 23, LSU 24, Tennessee.
15:12
SPEAKER_02: Look at that, all different SEC teams since 2017.
15:16
SPEAKER_02: Every single one is a different one.
15:18
SPEAKER_02: So uh yeah, I hate that Arkansas didn't get that because Oregon State won it that year.
15:22
SPEAKER_02: But uh, so I'm kind of kind of hoping that they get that monkey off their back, even though their fans are kind of annoying.
15:28
SPEAKER_02: Uh, but they uh they they definitely deserve, and they're a good team, and their coach is uh really good.
15:33
SPEAKER_02: So we'll see how how everything works out.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: And then crank up the jukebox.
15:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, get Sam Pittman out there and cranking up the jukebox and see how that works.
15:43
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
15:44
SPEAKER_02: We'll be talking about football season before we know it meet BW season before we know it.
15:48
SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, y'all.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: Y'all get ready.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: Stay tuned for that because we'll be back in the in the fall talking football.
15:53
SPEAKER_02: Yes, doing our weekly, weekly picks and all that.
15:56
SPEAKER_02: I love that.
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SPEAKER_02: That's it's a lot of good stuff.
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17:37
SPEAKER_02: Um definitely get on there and and uh and help us out.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: Well we appreciate everybody listening today, and uh y'all stay tuned.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: Um may have a little bit more talk here about some baseball.
17:51
SPEAKER_02: We were gonna get uh we were gonna get Tanner Allen on this podcast, and something came up where he couldn't do it, and then uh uh I wanted to get Ben and Tanner Allen, Ben McDonald on there both to uh to talk but uh about regionals.
18:03
SPEAKER_02: But uh anyway, um I talked to Ben and he's uh he's calling the Bat Ridge Regional this weekend and uh at LSU.
18:09
SPEAKER_02: And uh so they have uh workouts today, and he uh is gonna try to jump on and and do an interview um when we jumped on.
18:17
SPEAKER_02: He was talking with uh LSU coach Jay Johnson.
18:19
SPEAKER_02: So hopefully I can get Ben on um and we'll do a I'll do an interview with him and we'll put add this on here uh to talk about regional, get his uh get his thoughts on the regionals and the Baton Ridge Regional he's calling and the Mississippi State coaching search.
18:32
SPEAKER_02: So I um that would be great to hear from him.
18:34
SPEAKER_02: But I understand if he can't come on, if he can't come on being uh having a busy weekend calling the Baton Ridge Regional.
18:39
SPEAKER_02: So if he comes on, stay tuned and listen to the rest of this podcast.
18:43
SPEAKER_02: If not, then we'll catch him next time.
18:44
SPEAKER_02: But uh thank you all for listening and your support of Johnnypacker.net and uh watch your watch the baseball regionals, have a great summer.
18:51
SPEAKER_02: We'll we'll probably get back on here uh later on this summer before uh football um comes back around.
18:57
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
18:58
SPEAKER_00: All right, Johnny, talk to you next time.
19:00
SPEAKER_02: All right, BW.
19:01
SPEAKER_02: Take care.
19:02
SPEAKER_02: All right, welcome back to a new edition of the Johnny Swirl Podcast.
19:04
SPEAKER_02: It's Johnny here.
19:05
SPEAKER_02: I'm doing an interview solo today.
19:07
SPEAKER_02: My co-host BW is checking on everybody's eyeballs at his clinic, but we are proud to be back here.
19:13
SPEAKER_02: And it's the summertime, so you know what?
19:16
SPEAKER_02: Uh school's out and June's here, and you know what that means.
19:19
SPEAKER_02: Baseball, NCAA baseball regionals coming up this weekend.
19:22
SPEAKER_02: And couldn't think of anybody better to have on the show than break it down the regionals and talk about a little coaching search we have than uh then than Ben McDonald.
19:30
SPEAKER_02: Ben's been on the show before, and he he's a great baseball guy.
19:33
SPEAKER_02: And thank you so much, Ben, for coming back on and taking some time with me.
19:36
SPEAKER_01: No problem, man.
19:37
SPEAKER_01: I my my pleasure and uh man, I'm excited about this time of the year.
19:41
SPEAKER_01: I don't get to do as many college games as I used to do, but I'm fortunate I get to do the uh the playoffs, man.
19:46
SPEAKER_01: And course regionals are around the country.
19:48
SPEAKER_01: Uh tomorrow I've been over LSU all day today because I got I've got the Baton Rouge Regional, uh, you know, and and looking forward to that.
19:56
SPEAKER_01: And uh should be a lot of fun, man.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: I tell you what, this is a great time of the year.
19:59
SPEAKER_01: And of course, super's next weekend in the college world series, so it don't get no better than this.
20:04
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, absolutely.
20:05
SPEAKER_02: Well, well, I know you've been uh you've been uh talking to the coaches and everyone.
20:08
SPEAKER_02: Talk a little bit about the Baton Rouge regional, what the Tigers are gonna be facing this weekend down there.
20:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I tell you, um, you know, everybody knows DBU.
20:15
SPEAKER_01: They're the number two seed in the Baton Rouge regional.
20:18
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, look, though, talk about DBU.
20:20
SPEAKER_01: I I think you talk about a program that is arguably uh the top, what I would call mid-major program in the country.
20:28
SPEAKER_01: I mean, this is their 11th consecutive regional that they've been in.
20:32
SPEAKER_01: They've been in the 13 of the last 14 years, and uh uh they just do a wonderful job, you know, a wonderful job.
20:38
SPEAKER_01: And look, they've been to a couple super regionals, they hosted a super regional, so they'll be a very, very tough uh number two seed.
20:45
SPEAKER_01: There's no doubt about that.
20:46
SPEAKER_01: You know, the four seed, of course, is Little Rock, and you know, Little Rock story is kind of strange.
20:51
SPEAKER_01: They they lost 13 of their last 14 regular season games and they were done for, and then went to the OVC, the Ohio Valley, excuse me, conference tournament and won five in a row out of nowhere, just won five in a row, and that's how they got in, you know.
21:07
SPEAKER_01: And then of course you talk about Rhode Island there out of the A-10, and of course, Rhode Island uh won the conference regular season title and the conference tournament title, too.
21:15
SPEAKER_01: You know, and so it's pretty good, it looks like, and uh, because it's always hence rain down south, as you know, but looks like we're gonna get starting tomorrow with uh with LSU and and um uh it'll be a really good game.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: It'll be a good environment.
21:29
SPEAKER_01: They'll take on Little Rock at two o'clock on the SEC network.
21:32
SPEAKER_01: So looking forward to that.
21:34
SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
21:34
SPEAKER_02: Now, who is LSU uh regional paired up with on the other side?
21:37
SPEAKER_01: I didn't look at that pair.
21:39
SPEAKER_01: That uh with that Clemson regional over there, uh it's gonna be a really good regional too.
21:44
SPEAKER_01: You know, you got Clemson over there is the one, obviously.
21:46
SPEAKER_01: UC upstate is the four.
21:48
SPEAKER_01: Kentucky's in that one, and West Virginia's in that one too.
21:51
SPEAKER_01: So that's gonna be a good one, of course, if LSU holds chalk and whoever wins that one will be next weekend for a for a super, you know.
21:58
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah.
22:00
SPEAKER_02: Well, that'll be good.
22:01
SPEAKER_02: Well, let's talk about the conference real quick.
22:03
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, uh with basketball season, we had, I think the record most teams in the NCA basketball tournament looks like baseball the same way.
22:11
SPEAKER_02: I mean, just from top to bottom.
22:13
SPEAKER_02: You know, we had so many teams, number one in the in the country this year in the SEC.
22:17
SPEAKER_02: What what are your thoughts on the on the conference as a whole?
22:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, the look, the SEC continues to dominate in just about every sport, you know, and baseball is no exception.
22:26
SPEAKER_01: As you know, uh, the SEC has won the last five national titles.
22:30
SPEAKER_01: There's been five different programs that have done it, you know.
22:32
SPEAKER_01: They've won seven out of the last ten and continue to dominate, you know, and with eight teams being top 16 hosts, and I think six of those eight are uh, you know, top eight national seeds, that means you're probably gonna see a lot of teams back in Omaha like it was last year.
22:49
SPEAKER_01: If I'm not mistaken, it was four SEC schools last year, four ACC schools last year as well.
22:55
SPEAKER_01: So that made up the eight-team Omaha field, but it just feels like it's gonna be strong like that again.
23:00
SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, it was no exception this year.
23:03
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Texas comes in and makes a statement, win the regular season title, you know, and their first year in the SEC, they go 22 and 8.
23:09
SPEAKER_01: That's a that's a big year, you know.
23:11
SPEAKER_01: But you're gonna enlist, and uh, you know, Vandy won end up being the number one uh RPI, number one top eight overall seed.
23:19
SPEAKER_01: They're really good.
23:20
SPEAKER_01: Of course, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Georgia.
23:22
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's six of your top eight right there.
23:24
SPEAKER_01: And so people say, well, who's gonna win?
23:26
SPEAKER_01: Who's gonna win?
23:27
SPEAKER_01: I was like, man, I don't know who's gonna win.
23:29
SPEAKER_01: I can tell you all those teams are capable of winning.
23:33
SPEAKER_01: To me, it's just gonna be the team that gets hot.
23:35
SPEAKER_01: You know, the team that gets hot best ball at the right time.
23:38
SPEAKER_01: Because look, all these teams, including, I mean, North Carolina's number five overall seed if you want to get outside the SEC.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: And of course, Oregon State is always a really good program.
23:47
SPEAKER_01: That's your top eight right there.
23:48
SPEAKER_01: And for me, it's I think all these teams.
23:50
SPEAKER_01: We know what's weird, George.
23:52
SPEAKER_01: We don't have a dominant team like we've had in past years.
23:56
SPEAKER_01: You can make a case, right?
23:58
SPEAKER_01: You know, last year Tennessee was the best team out there, and maybe the year before it was LSU and Wake Forest.
24:04
SPEAKER_01: But this year, man, it just feels like it's just wide open, it's just a wide field, which is fun.
24:08
SPEAKER_01: And I just think whoever makes it to Omaha and plays their best ball and gets hot, everybody's capable of winning this thing.
24:14
SPEAKER_01: So it's gonna be fun.
24:16
SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be a lot of fun.
24:17
SPEAKER_02: Kind of reminds me of 2022, you know, Ole Miss snuck into the NCAA tournament and won the whole thing thing.
24:22
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, you you never know.
24:24
SPEAKER_02: Like that's the good thing about baseball.
24:26
SPEAKER_02: When you don't have a dominant team in the year, anybody can beat anybody.
24:29
SPEAKER_02: So it's gonna be uh it's gonna be a lot of fun watching that, watching it take place and and uh and the world series.
24:35
SPEAKER_02: So uh really looking forward to that.
24:37
SPEAKER_02: But uh uh for our listeners, I mean I'm a Mississippi State grad, follow the Bulldogs all the time.
24:41
SPEAKER_02: We we got we had a uh you know, we got into the tournament this year.
24:45
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, it just stinks that the state's not hosting.
24:47
SPEAKER_02: You got that fine ballpark, do the noble sitting empty again in June.
24:51
SPEAKER_02: I think that's part of why Coach Lomonos was relieved of his duties.
24:54
SPEAKER_02: But and Justin Parker really came on strong as a as interim and and got the Bulldogs into the postseason.
25:00
SPEAKER_02: And uh, you know, where it is today, it's not official or anything, but Brian O'Connor is the is the top top choice everyone's talking about um as the candidate for the new job at Mississippi State.
25:11
SPEAKER_02: Uh, talk a little bit about that.
25:12
SPEAKER_02: What were your thoughts on the coach and search and Brian O'Connor and what do you think the Bulldogs need to do to get back to hosting?
25:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I tell you, it's uh let me just say this college baseball is best when there's regional baseball in Stark Vegas.
25:25
SPEAKER_01: I can tell you that.
25:25
SPEAKER_01: It's just uh it's a place.
25:28
SPEAKER_01: It's uh it's a beautiful ballpark, a wonderful fan base.
25:31
SPEAKER_01: I know that personally, and so it's better.
25:33
SPEAKER_01: You know, state just got off to a little bit of a rough start this year, you know, losing their first three.
25:37
SPEAKER_01: But man, did they ever finish strong?
25:39
SPEAKER_01: If I'm not mistaken, they they won five of their last seven SEC series, man, which is a load to do.
25:45
SPEAKER_01: They did that.
25:45
SPEAKER_01: They end up getting in the NCAA tournament.
25:47
SPEAKER_01: And look, if it if the rumors are true and you're hearing the same thing I am, Brian O'Connor could be the next coach down at state.
25:54
SPEAKER_01: That's a win-win all the way around.
25:56
SPEAKER_01: You're talking about a guy that's been around the game a long time.
25:59
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think he's been to what, three of the last four years?
26:02
SPEAKER_01: He's taken Virginia to the World Series.
26:04
SPEAKER_01: He's been there seven times.
26:05
SPEAKER_01: He won the title, I think it was in 15.
26:08
SPEAKER_01: And so you're talking about a coach that's got a ton of experience, that's been to Omaha seven times, has won a national championship, that understands fan bases, uh, and the SEC because he's played against the SEC enough, you know.
26:20
SPEAKER_01: And so if those rumors are true, that's gonna be a big pickup for state.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: And uh, I love the way they finish this year.
26:26
SPEAKER_01: We'll see if they if they can make some noise in postseason play, but the future certainly is bright uh at Mississippi State, you know, there in Starkville for sure.
26:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I man, I like it, you know, I like our chances in Tallahassee.
26:38
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you remember 2018, we were in the losers bracket uh in in Tallahassee, far away back and big hit Mac, Elijah McMahon.
26:46
SPEAKER_02: That's kind of when he got his name.
26:47
SPEAKER_02: And he he sent us to Vandy, and and then one boy made some noise in bandy, made it to the College World Series and finished third that year in 18.
26:54
SPEAKER_02: So and we had an interim coach that year.
26:56
SPEAKER_02: Kind of the parallels are kind of really, really weird.
26:59
SPEAKER_02: Uh how that's how that's coming to be this year.
27:01
SPEAKER_02: So, like I said, you never can't don't count them out.
27:04
SPEAKER_02: You never can't tell when it comes to baseball, but uh it'll be fun, fun to see for sure.
27:08
SPEAKER_02: Um, but yeah, really, really excited about the about you know, uh O'Connor.
27:14
SPEAKER_02: I was really hoping if it if if it comes to be true, that uh I'm I'm so happy.
27:18
SPEAKER_02: That's the guy I kind of was warning all along because I feel like you need a and Ben, you can attest to this.
27:22
SPEAKER_02: You need, of course, you you there are upcoming assistants everywhere, but when you get a proven head coach that's been there, done that, won a national championship, that's uh it that's that that goes a long way uh as far as recruiting and all that.
27:35
SPEAKER_01: It does, you know.
27:36
SPEAKER_01: And and and look, young kids coming out.
27:38
SPEAKER_01: Hey, you know, you you got the backing at Mississippi State, you know, you you got the fans there, you you got some NIL money to deal with.
27:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, uh, you know, and look, that coaching job, Mississippi State, clearly it's one of the top five coaching jobs in the entire country.
27:52
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's what it is, you know.
27:54
SPEAKER_01: And so to bring a veteran coach in that's kind of been there and done that before, you know, is going to be a big, big plus.
28:00
SPEAKER_01: And they could have gone young, could have gone the younger route, or maybe stayed in-house with it.
28:04
SPEAKER_01: But I think this is the right move to get that program rolling again and get Mississippi State back on top and you know, in the conversations being one of the best teams in the country.
28:12
SPEAKER_01: Because certainly the way they you can recruit there with the ballpark, the NI, you know, the NIL piece, as you know, is so important now.
28:18
SPEAKER_01: I mean, kids love the tradition, they love the national championships and what you bring, but they also like a little money in their pocket these days, you know.
28:26
SPEAKER_01: And uh you gotta have a little money to spend too, you know.
28:30
SPEAKER_01: And uh, but money, look, we know money can't buy you love, but it can't buy you wins all the time either.
28:35
SPEAKER_01: Just ask Texas AM.
28:36
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Texas AM number one NIL program in the country, over three million dollars, what I was told, and they're sitting their fannies at home right now, you know, and so uh it doesn't always buy you everything.
28:47
SPEAKER_01: It is basically at the end of the day, but um, yeah, I I think this is gonna be a big win.
28:52
SPEAKER_01: I'm anxious to see because then look, it's important to get your coach named early because obviously the transfer portal has opened up.
28:58
SPEAKER_01: It is opened up right now.
28:59
SPEAKER_01: Right, kids are looking for places to go.
29:02
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I know it's a difficult time for all the coaches out there because you're trying to find your way to Omaha, but you're also starting to navigate the transfer portal and everything that's going on.
29:11
SPEAKER_01: It's it's a very difficult time to be a head coach right now.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: And so uh it's good that that rumor is slipping out if it is true, because now the kids are sitting back.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: Hey, the recruits that you have signed, they want to know who the next coach is gonna be because they got a chance to transfer now.
29:25
SPEAKER_01: So they know it's gonna be a proven coach, they'll stay in house.
29:28
SPEAKER_01: And all these portal kids are starting to hit the portal right now.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: It's big that they know who the next coach is gonna be at state.
29:34
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, I agree 100% with you.
29:36
SPEAKER_02: That's a that's good.
29:37
SPEAKER_02: Uh it's it's a different world we're living in now, especially with the days from when you were playing with the NIL and all and the transfer portal and all that.
29:45
SPEAKER_02: It's just um it's it's so different nowadays.
29:47
SPEAKER_02: And like you said, you just got to be on the ball with on the top of it because if you let that slide, then the program goes under.
29:53
SPEAKER_02: And so uh yeah, just really excited.
29:55
SPEAKER_02: I think I think uh Bulldogs will be hosted back in June's uh here sometime soon, once again, get everything rolling again.
30:01
SPEAKER_02: So really looking forward to that.
30:03
SPEAKER_02: But but uh yeah, I'm I'm currently in my neighborhood just cruising around and I just passed Coach Polk's house.
30:08
SPEAKER_02: And uh man, I whenever I think about Coach Polk, I think about Skip Bertman and uh talk a little bit about y'all's relationship.
30:14
SPEAKER_02: I know I know you're I know uh Skip's a dear friend was your coach, and and and and Coach Polk and Bertman are just you know, you think of those two, you think of college baseball.
30:22
SPEAKER_01: Talk a little bit about that.
30:24
SPEAKER_01: Oh, there's no doubt about that, you know.
30:26
SPEAKER_01: And uh if your fans don't know, I mean, my choice out of high school came down to Mississippi State or LSU, you know, because at the time when I was coming out of high school, Mississippi State had the program.
30:36
SPEAKER_01: It was the best program in the SEC.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: It was about one of the best programs in the entire country, you know.
30:41
SPEAKER_01: And uh I took a visit over to Mississippi State twice.
30:44
SPEAKER_01: I visited twice on recruiting trips over there.
30:47
SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, they had Thunder and Lightning, Will Clark and Palomero and Thig Pen and Bradley, and we're going to the College World Series.
30:53
SPEAKER_01: And man, that's all I knew, you know.
30:55
SPEAKER_01: And uh, so I was very I love Coach Polk to death.
30:58
SPEAKER_01: I love him to this day.
30:59
SPEAKER_01: He still writes me Christmas cards, he still writes me birthday cards.
31:03
SPEAKER_01: He is just an awesome man, you know.
31:05
SPEAKER_01: And uh, of course, I got to really know him a lot better in 1988 on the Olympic team.
31:10
SPEAKER_01: He was one of the assistant coaches on that team with Coach Bertman, and Mark Marcus was the head coach at Stanford.
31:15
SPEAKER_01: So I got to spend three more months with him uh and really get to know the man.
31:19
SPEAKER_01: And what a what a wonderful baseball man, but he's a better human being uh as well, you know.
31:25
SPEAKER_01: And uh there was some guy by the name of Skip Bertman, uh, my junior year at LSU that came over to LSU, you know.
31:31
SPEAKER_01: I nobody knew really knew who he was in Baton Rouge.
31:34
SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, he went to the College World Series my senior year, which is Skip's second year on campus, and I went, oh, maybe this Bertman guy is gonna be okay.
31:43
SPEAKER_01: So maybe he'll be all right.
31:45
SPEAKER_01: And uh so I ended up going and wearing the purple and gold.
31:47
SPEAKER_01: Of course, I wanted to play basketball too, and I went on a basketball scholarship to LSU, and I was gonna just kind of figure out which one would win out, you know.
31:54
SPEAKER_01: Of course, baseball ended up winning out over time, you know.
31:58
SPEAKER_01: But uh yeah, man, I was really close to going to state.
32:01
SPEAKER_01: Really, really close.
32:02
SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, man, I grew up like a lot of kids around Starkville.
32:05
SPEAKER_01: I grew up wearing gold and going to basketball games and football games and baseball games as a kid.
32:12
SPEAKER_01: And uh, and when Bertman came along, I felt like, okay, there's a chance maybe this guy might know what he's doing and might be able to get us to some college world series.
32:20
SPEAKER_01: Little did I know that he would win five of them in nine years, you know.
32:24
SPEAKER_01: But uh we were blocks in my time uh there.
32:27
SPEAKER_01: And then of course they would start winning them right after I left.
32:30
SPEAKER_01: We went twice in three years that I was at LSU, but uh those two guys, I mean, uh Coach Polk put baseball on the map.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: He put the SEC on the map, and then obviously Skip Bertman came along and took it to a whole different place, you know.
32:44
SPEAKER_01: And both those guys believed that if you build it, they will come.
32:48
SPEAKER_01: If you build a fan base, you put a good product on the field that you could make money in college baseball.
32:54
SPEAKER_01: Because back then there was nobody making money in college baseball.
32:57
SPEAKER_01: And today, honestly, there's 300 D1 teams, and there's probably about five or six programs out there that are actually making money because it's so expensive these days.
33:06
SPEAKER_01: But LSU does, state does, I'm pretty sure Ole Miss does, Texas does.
33:11
SPEAKER_01: You know, there are a few schools out there that are making money, and it's because of the blueprint that Ron Polk put out there, that blueprint that that Skip Bertman put out there as well.
33:20
SPEAKER_01: And and look, you can see uh their coaching tree, you can see their blueprint, you can see it all around college baseball, even today, you know.
33:29
SPEAKER_01: And so those two guys will go down, in my opinion, as two of the most important people ever when you talk about college baseball.
33:38
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
33:38
SPEAKER_02: I I believe you 100% on that.
33:41
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I can't think of one without the other.
33:42
SPEAKER_02: I think I think college baseball, I mean, you say college baseball, you immediately think of Coach Burman and Coach Polk, and just uh they're just uh did so much for the game.
33:51
SPEAKER_02: And like you said, you you can see it today, the coaching tree and uh just what college baseball has become.
33:56
SPEAKER_02: They put it on the map.
33:57
SPEAKER_02: So right, really, really cool stuff.
33:59
SPEAKER_02: Uh uh, Ben, talk a little about MLB real quick.
34:02
SPEAKER_02: Are you still calling game for the Orioles?
34:03
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, yeah.
34:04
SPEAKER_01: I I'm doing nine years, so they're keeping me running.
34:07
SPEAKER_01: I got 90 to do.
34:08
SPEAKER_01: I've probably done about, I don't know, 35 so far, but I've been with the Orioles uh a lot.
34:13
SPEAKER_01: Uh been on a two and a half week trip, just got home the other day.
34:16
SPEAKER_01: My O's are struggling, man.
34:18
SPEAKER_01: They were supposed to be one of the league, and man, it hadn't worked out too many injuries and just not playing well.
34:23
SPEAKER_01: And so they got time to turn it around, but they better quickly, quickly turn it around.
34:28
SPEAKER_01: You know, the Cardinals have been a big surprise in the National League.
34:31
SPEAKER_01: They weren't supposed to be very good this year.
34:32
SPEAKER_01: They're off to a really good start, you know, and the Yankees are obviously doing what the Yankees do and other teams around.
34:38
SPEAKER_01: So it's you know, it's it's early.
34:40
SPEAKER_01: We're still just about two months into the LB season, but uh, you know, we always start look at the standings around the all-star break because then you know you got about two months left, a little over two months left, you know.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, it's it's been good so far.
34:51
SPEAKER_01: It's been fun, it's been a little bit cold, kind of like it's been around here.
34:54
SPEAKER_01: It's been a little bit chilly up in the north, the Midwest, and uh still a little bit chilly.
34:59
SPEAKER_01: But look, summer's coming, man.
35:00
SPEAKER_01: The boys of summer are rocking and rolling.
35:03
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
35:03
SPEAKER_01: So it's uh always forward, man.
35:05
SPEAKER_01: I love doing MLB games, but my my favorite, my heart's always in the college game.
35:09
SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna get a feeling next three weeks, it's gonna be it's gonna be a good time.
35:13
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
35:14
SPEAKER_02: Well, well, talking about the hoes, I always keep up with those because Jordan Westburn being a state guy on the team.
35:19
SPEAKER_02: I think he's been been hurt for a while, but uh uh talk a little bit about Jake Mangum.
35:23
SPEAKER_02: You know, and earlier in the year, I mean, I've been everybody, all the state fans have been pulling for this guy to get to the big look, get to the and we're like, is he never gonna get caught up?
35:30
SPEAKER_02: What's going on?
35:31
SPEAKER_02: He gets caught up, and man, he went for a little while, he went on a tear, he was really, really good.
35:35
SPEAKER_02: And then I think he he had a groin injury.
35:37
SPEAKER_02: He's back in Durham right now.
35:39
SPEAKER_02: I hope he gets another chance at at the big leagues.
35:41
SPEAKER_02: But uh that guy, man, uh, it's just uh he works his butt off, and and I'm just so happy to see that he got rewarded and got caught up for that one.
35:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm gonna talk about Westy first, Jordan Westbrook, who I saw at state for three years, played shortstop.
35:55
SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you what, he's in my opinion, one of the biggest reasons why the Orioles are struggling.
36:00
SPEAKER_01: Like he he is a good guy, like he's a dude, as y'all know, he's kind of quiet, but I call him the silent assassin, man.
36:07
SPEAKER_01: That dude stepped in the box and he just works on pitchers, man.
36:11
SPEAKER_01: And we're missing him big time.
36:14
SPEAKER_01: The good news is that uh he's on a rehab assignment right now in Triple A Norfolk with Colton Cowser, who came out of Sam Houston State, and they are both down there rehabbing.
36:23
SPEAKER_01: Two of our big offensive pieces has been out.
36:25
SPEAKER_01: But Westy's a difference maker, man.
36:27
SPEAKER_01: When he comes back and playing third base with his bat in the lineup, he's a guy, he's a glue guy for the Orioles, you know.
36:33
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm pulling for him.
36:34
SPEAKER_01: I always love him.
36:36
SPEAKER_01: Uh, not only because of where he played college baseball, but I love him because he's one of the hardest working kids I've ever I've ever seen.
36:41
SPEAKER_01: You know, yeah.
36:42
SPEAKER_01: When you talk about Jake Mangum, I mean, we said it about Jake Mangum when he was playing at state that probably wasn't gonna be a huge draft pick, but he would find a way to wield himself to the big leagues.
36:54
SPEAKER_01: He would find a way to get there, and lo and behold, he did.
36:58
SPEAKER_01: And boy, did he ever get off to a good start.
37:00
SPEAKER_01: You know, I think you know, uh watching him play, man, his first two or three games were just off the charts.
37:05
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm not shocked he made it.
37:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I know he'll get another shot, you know, because the injuries happen all the time, and you need a guy like that.
37:12
SPEAKER_01: You know, that I mean, that's a that's a what I call a dude, a guy that shows up every day, wants to beat the socks off of you, and gonna claw your eyeballs out to do it.
37:20
SPEAKER_01: And that's just Jake Bangham uh at his best.
37:22
SPEAKER_01: And um, I don't know why they hadn't built a statue out there of him yet.
37:25
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure they will at some point.
37:27
SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm sure it's getting close to being built out there.
37:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
37:29
SPEAKER_01: Because what I think about Mississippi State in recent years, I mean, you got Clark and Palomero, and deservingly so, but in recent years, we talk about turning down a program or turning around a program and getting a program hitting the right direction and being a cornerstone of a program, Jake Mangum comes to mind right away, you know.
37:47
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm happy for him.
37:48
SPEAKER_01: He's living a dream of making it to the big leagues.
37:51
SPEAKER_01: I hope he gets another shot at it.
37:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, me too, man.
37:54
SPEAKER_02: He he he he he definitely uh earns it because he he, like you say, works his butt off to get up there and so glad to see he got his chance and hopefully he gets back.
38:01
SPEAKER_02: I always think of Westy man, a banana boy.
38:03
SPEAKER_02: Remember that?
38:04
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
38:06
SPEAKER_01: I wonder if they they still reference that with the hose.
38:08
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
38:09
SPEAKER_01: They did.
38:09
SPEAKER_01: First year he came up, there were some state fans around.
38:11
SPEAKER_01: They had some bananas out there, but so they they had about that.
38:17
SPEAKER_01: But uh yeah, when Westy gets back, it's gonna make our team a whole lot better.
38:20
SPEAKER_01: I can I can promise you that.
38:22
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, definitely.
38:24
SPEAKER_02: Well, Ben, I can't thank you enough.
38:26
SPEAKER_02: Uh I'm looking forward to seeing you uh listen to you call the games against with LSC Baton Ridge Regional and looking forward to all the regionals this weekend and and then Supers next week and then and then back to Omaha.
38:37
SPEAKER_02: Can't wait to to watch the World Series again, College World Series, best time of the year.
38:41
SPEAKER_02: And uh I know you're a busy man.
38:42
SPEAKER_02: And thank you so much for taking some time out of your busy schedule to jump on and talk some baseball with me today.
38:46
SPEAKER_02: I really appreciate it, man.
38:48
SPEAKER_01: Man, always enjoy catching up with you.
38:50
SPEAKER_01: And uh, man, I uh just say hello to all the folks out there around uh Mississippi State and old Miss for me, all my Mississippi people, but Southern Miss is in the hunt again this year.
38:58
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, Southern Miss.
39:00
SPEAKER_01: They're hosting a regional in Hattiesburg, too.
39:02
SPEAKER_01: So we got all three of our big Mississippi schools in the uh in postseason play, so that's gonna be fun.
39:08
SPEAKER_01: It sure is, sure is.
39:09
SPEAKER_02: Can't wait to see how everything turns out.
39:11
SPEAKER_02: Where if you're ever back in store Vegas, man, hit me up, man.
39:14
SPEAKER_02: And it's always good to see you and everything.
39:16
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for everything.
39:17
SPEAKER_02: Take care of you.
39:18
SPEAKER_02: Okay.