MASSIVE: Auburn is a MAJOR Part of a LOADED SEC Baseball

0:00College Baseball is back in the SEC is absolutely loaded. You are locked on SEC. Your daily podcast on the southeastern conference. Part of the locked on podcast network. Your team every day. We are squatting up to talk SEC baseball for the first time ever. I'm Zach Blackerbie host of locked on Auburn joined by Stephen Wilson. Locked on Ole Miss John neighbors of locked on razor backs. Clint Shamlin of locked on bulldogs. Eric Kane locked on Vols and Corey Burton of locked on Vandy. We made it pretty much its baseball season. John neighbors. I assume you're the happiest of all of us. Is that is that right? Why would I be happy? Is this something Arkansas is good at? No, well, yeah. That's true. No, we are actually good at it. It's a lot of fun. I am excited about baseball season if you can believe it.

1:01But yeah, this is this is kind of our time to shine. You know, where Dave Van Horn's 118 SEC games are more every year since 2017. And constantly been a national seeds and all that. Only thing missing is the thing that matters the most is the college world series title. Hey, maybe this is the year. I'm going to say it's going to be all putting if I say something because Arkansas and Arkansas are going to be out in Super's last year. But I don't remember that. I don't remember that at all. What happened in that? I don't think anybody is pushing back on you being off putting there. Of course, Arkansas seventh according to the D1 baseball preseason pole. I mean, the SEC is absolutely loaded as far as those top 25 season. Especially in the top 10. LSU, though, of course, I mean, not surprising the highest ranked. Is LSU still the king of this conference? The king of college baseball and y'all's mind. I think you're in a situation to where LSU has to lose. They're kind of the darlings at the moment.

2:01If you want to beat the man, you have to beat the man. And this is a absolutely ridiculous conference to where some team that is really, really good is about to throw up a 13 and 17 in conference play. And I think everybody needs to be prepared for that. And somebody that may not be ranked could in turn out to have a really good team over the course of the season. And this is just SEC baseball. I mean, but until LSU gets knocked off, yeah, they're kind of the top dog. Yeah. Yeah. Corey Burton, you're your Vandy boys squad that you guys lean into. Obviously, a lot of excitement. Very much. Yeah. Tell us about that. Well, you got a guy that was preseason all SEC on the pitching staff, Connor Fennel, he's going to be really good looking to be an ace there. Austin Nye, a bigger role there. He's looking like he's going to be the number two pitcher. And then I think Nate Taylor, who we got from Clint's Georgia Bulldogs,

3:02that to come over, he's probably going to be the third starter. So maybe he's going to have a really good pitching staff. I believe it's going to be, it's going to come down to who can hit the ball, who can join Braden Holcomb, who was the other all SEC selection from, from this team, who can hit the ball, who can drive in the runs? Can there be some consistency here with this lineup? It's, it's just very up and down when the pitchers were off, so were the bats and when the pitchers were on, the bats were on. You know, just, just right. Yeah. Right complimentary baseball there. Yeah. Clint Shambon, we haven't heard from you yet. You're Georgia Bulldogs ranked 15th in the preseason pole, according to D1 baseball, which is wild, because I mean, there's still so many SEC teams ahead, but I mean, that's the, that's the truth of this conference this year. I mean, absolutely stacked. And Georgia is a part of that. Georgia is a part of it. We are stacked ourselves. The SEC is stacked. And what's going to come down to is that starting pitching. Starting pitching is just the biggest question mark. We have no idea. And anybody that tells you they can tell which way it's going to go.

4:02It's crazy. The bats should produce. We're going to have runs. We're going to have power. We're going to have contact. I believe in that. And the transfer portal itself did produce guys that have already had success. So they're not unknowns totally. It's the grind of the SEC where you talked about. So can I think we'll be in every game? Yes. Can we do the late innings and then trust our bullpen? That's going to be the question. Because if Georgia can be in close games with the bullpen in the offense we have, we might be looking at the best team in the SEC just on those two things alone. Yeah. I mean, it's going to be, it's going to be such a battle each and every week. I mean, just going through the top 25 here. Once again, D1 baseball is what we have pulled up here. LSU at two. Texas at three. Mississippi State at four. Arkansas at seven. Auburn at nine. Florida at 13. Tennessee at 14. Georgia at 15. Kentucky at 18. Vandy at 23. And then Texas saying at 25. Did anybody get snubbed here?

5:02Guys, are any of these way too low in your opinion? Or not on this list? And they should be. I think just after all the offseason, the court, not even the offseason, just, you know, a three week span in the fall. The where Tennessee baseball program just, you know, was on a rollercoaster ride. I think because Tony Vattello is now in San Francisco with the Giants, first sitting college coach ever to take over a managerial position. Frank Anderson went with him, quit never hard, who's a major league baseball strength conditioning coach who's been with Tennessee for the last couple of years. He goes with him because of all that. I think just from the outside noise as a goal, Tennessee is going to take a massive step back. And I think if Tony were here with this roster that he and Josh Elander, who's now the head coach, constructed the transfer portal class, the freshman class. I think if Tony and Frank were still here in Knoxville, I think Tennessee, instead of being 15, probably be somewhere around 11 or 10. Just my opinion. Instead of being six predicted over a finish in the SEC, probably top five, I'd say probably four.

6:02So I'd say Tennessee got slide in a little bit. But again, not, not saying Tennessee should be out there on the top five. And if I wait till I go way too high or way too low, Georgia, I just talked about the bats and the power arms, the bullpen, those two things in and of itself should rank us higher. But I think it's the unknown and the end ceremony, this way in which we were booted out of contingent last year, kind of surprisingly with what the expectation was. So I think yes, Georgia is going to shock some people by the end of the season with how we're ranked right now, because I do think we are a top eight team easily. I think maybe we'll just happily rate it. I mean, they had a chance last year as the number one overall seed to really make a run and they didn't. They got booted in the regionals and just very, just went cold at the plate. And so I understand the ranking. I think they're going to surprise a few people this year as far as starting at 23rd and just working their way up, because I do think the bats, when they do find a groove, they'll be good. Yeah, and just because we haven't mentioned anything about the team.

7:03I cover yet Auburn at nine. I think feels about right. I think there's still plenty of questions as far as the rotation. The lot of bats returning the line up. They had a lot of freshman year ago. Can they limit these sophomore slumps? And I just think with butch tops and at the helm, they're going to figure out the rotation. It just kind of always seems to work out with him as the coach. I think he's kind of earned that respect. So for what it's worth, I think Auburn just inside the top 10 is fair. And then they just ran into the bus all that was coastal a year ago. When they won like a thousand games in a row, which was. I think for Tennessee, you know, a lot of questions about pitching. I feel pretty good about the starters. Tegan Coons who, you know, was kind of the Sunday. Yeah, last year's a true freshman. He's a second year. He's a two year sophomore. Meaning he'll go to the draft. He'll be a first runner this year. Mixed back results last year. Went to the Cape this summer was phenomenal. It's been really good this off season.

8:03He's going to be the Friday night guy. Land in Matt coming over from Rutgers. Really solid debut season in the big 10 coming over to Tennessee. Got a little bit of Liam Doyle, but in terms of the intensity on the mound. But the cop has kind of chased Dole lander. And when you're obviously lumped into that category. It's a Tennessee pitcher. A lot of high expectations. He's going to pitch on Saturday. Then he got to have a Blanca who used to be a Friday night guy for Virginia. An Omaha team in 24. He's going to pitch on Sundays. Brandon Arvinson coming back to be the swingman of the bullpen. I have more questions about the bullpen for Tennessee. But I think that's the case for everybody, especially in this era with the transfer of portal. Guys leaving. Guys looking for other opportunities. Tennessee did bring him Brady Frederick of ETSU, a submarine guy. Socon pitcher in the year brought in Bo Rudy at Kennesall State. I think those guys are going to play pretty well. But I don't have any major concerns about the lineup because the way this team is built. You're in and you're out with Vatelo and Elander. I mean, they're going to just hit the crap out of the ball. My questions is the pitching staff, the bullpen specifically.

9:03Who kind of steps up where? But again, I think we can all say that right now, you know, sitting here in preseason. Yeah, that's. That's the biggest thing. That's the biggest thing I think for like you said, every team. Because like Arkansas, I know this is a shock, but Arkansas is too low at seven, in my opinion, because not everyone sees all of you lost the Golden Spikes award winner, Vahiva, Louis. You know, you lost your, your starting pitcher and Zach root. You know, you lost these guys. But here's thing is Dave Anhorn had one of the best recruiting classes in the country. He's still got a transfer portal, but it's always about the bullpen. There's a lot of uncertainty there for everybody. But here's the deal is that Arkansas has the preseason SEC freshman of the year in Carson, Rumball. He's just starting shortstop. That's a lot of expectation. But I think he could step up into that role. They have a guy like writer, Helfer coming back as a catcher who's on the Golden Spikes award winning watch list. You have Gabe Gackel, who's also on that spot. He's going to be their ace pitcher this year. So it's, it, here's the deal is like they're so, they've lost so much from last year. I think that some people are saying, oh, well, you know, that's, that's you're just going to take a step back. Are they going to have a Vahiva alloy on the team? Probably not. But the thing is is that it's always about who's, are these guys going to step up?

10:04Are they going to be able to have the guys take those next steps from a year ago in their development? If that happens, Arkansas will be one of the best teams in the country and probably will be the favorite to win the SEC when it's all said and done. All right. I want to ask you guys a big picture zoomed out question about the transfer portal in the state of college at baseball and how I think the SEC personally benefits from it. And then I also want us to all hop around and preview what's happening this weekend around the conference. That's next on this SEC baseball squad brought to you by our friends at Mazda. This is Mazda is moving the game forward for those who show there's more to a score than what's on the screen. I'm going to call somebody out. Eric Kane, give me someone from Tennessee that's moving the game forward. Yeah, I think a name that everybody's going to know not only in the SEC, not only in this little group here, but really in college baseball. It's going to be Blaine Brown transfer ever from transfer from rice. Two way prospect left you on the mound hit about ninety seven ninety eight and the scrimmage heading into the season.

11:08The pizza series that they call it. But he's going to be a bat in the lineup top of the order, you know, one, two, sweetest swing from the left side. Power can spray it all over the field. This guy is going to be an all SEC type player. Blaine Brown know the name two way prospect. He moves the game forward for Tennessee. And really when you're this the new venture in college baseball moving the game forward to the 34 man rosters. Yeah, I think that's a great answer. Moss puts the same passion into every model highlights make the real what it takes to get there makes it count. There's more to a mosque because there's more to you. Today's show also brought to you by our friends at Wayfair. Raise your hand if you love Wayfair. Just real quick for those listening on audio. Everyone's raising their hand. It doesn't matter if it's for you know bedroom furniture. My dining room table is actually from Wayfair. I've ordered multiple bookshelves that are in my home from Wayfair. Just did a crossover Corey Burton a flocked on bandy. It's where his patio furniture is from. Wayfair has everything. It has everything. Get organized refreshed and back on track.

12:09This new year for way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That is W-A-Y-F-A-I-R dot com Wayfair. Every style. Every home. And today show brought to you by our friends at TurboTax. I'm actually just figured out why John neighbors is suddenly happy again. It's not college baseball season. It's because he finally did his taxes. He hit up TurboTax and he's like you know what? I'm tired of this burden of having to pay my taxes follow me around. I'm going to be happy again. And thanks to TurboTax our buddy John neighbors is actually happy again. For a limited time only you can have your taxes done by a TurboTax expert. Just for $150 all in. If a TurboTax expert did not file for you last year just make sure you file with them before February 28th. Take taxes off your plate like John neighbors did. And get back to your life. You can be happy again. Visit TurboTax.com slash local to book your appointment today. Thank you so much for making all of our SEC shows your first lesson every single day.

13:12And if you want more. If you want add free feeds. If you want exclusive discord which I'm sure will be bumping during the baseball season. Check out all of our shows. Through the every day or club just the name of the show. So for me to be locked on Auburn dot super cast dot com. All of us will have our links and our respective show notes down below. If you want more info on the every day or club. Steven I'll start with you. Actually let me ask the zoom dot question first. You guys feel like we've all referred to transfers so far to this point. If you're a transfer portal candidate. And you're a guy who clearly can play up a higher level of competition in the SC in college baseball. Do you think the SEC could potentially benefit more in baseball than other sports. The Italian acquisition through the portal. What are your thoughts on that? Thousand percent. Not even close. We're playing a different sport than everybody else's conference wise here. I mean, I speak for themselves too. I mean, it's, it's there.

14:13Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The SEC is one of the few. It's one of the few places that have schools that actually have baseball programs that either break even or even in some cases make money. I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's a different game. It's a different change. Look at those stadiums. I mean, for crowd out loud. It's like, can't get that. And you go pro and you go play out. And this is your boy again. And you're not getting any of those types of places and facilities. So yeah, it's not even close. Yeah. I was going to have Tennessee real quick is from last year. Tennessee dropped was a foul 163,000 in the hole. This upcoming year, they're going to break even a baseball because Tony Vatelos, you know, separation pay is going to kick in. But I mean, the fact that baseball is going to make money at Tennessee. It's insane. I mean, it's ridiculous. So you're further in John's point. I mean, not many places around the country, not in the South where you can't do that. Baseball itself has the best opportunity to progress players towards the MLB. Unlike other sports that you have to come in ready made baseball.

15:15And of itself turns into we got entertainment baseball. We got minor league baseball. College baseball in and of itself is incredibly entertaining. I mean, just the atmosphere in these stadiums are unlike anything else. Plus the development of these kids as are coming through and transferring. I think baseball makes the absolute best sense transferring. The SEC turns into a far better feeder program for MLB and the draft to prepare them well. And all the teams that we talked about that we represent are well positioned to do that. Yeah, yeah. So these like John said, the facilities, the coaching, the money that's being circulated to this conference is starting to become bigger than a minor league contract. So you get drafted by the white socks and you get sent to I, or I don't know where they play, but I'm just going to say Iowa City. I think that's the cubs, right? So they get sent to Iowa City. And would you rather go there or would you rather go to Arkansas who has top notch facilities are available to us top notch facilities. On down the line.

16:15Yeah. And you're only playing four games a week. You're not having to travel everywhere. You're a star on your campus like. And you're getting. Yeah. And every stadium has track man attached. There's a reason that MLB put that in everywhere in the. That's right. That's right. All right, let's hop around and discuss what our teams are doing this week. I'll start just quickly because I don't think it's one of the probably least interesting matchups, but Auburn host Youngstown state, which is not a state. And this is one that Auburn should absolutely run away with despite, you know, some of the questions with the bullpen and all that. I think butch tops will be able to kind of mix and match and. And experiment a little bit, which is, which is good. So we'll just go in order Steven Willis. What's the what's Ole Miss got this weekend? Ole Miss has the Nevada Wolf pack on this weekend. And it'll be nice for Hunter Elliott to kind of get going one of the better pictures and call of college baseball. But the question is going to be what's behind the.

17:15Essentially and they're going to have to figure out a Saturday starter and a Sunday starter. And get their fielding percentage freaking better than it was last year. They did too much bad news bear stuff. And is this team a three outcome hitting team? Or can they play a little bit of small ball? They got the transfer Dom Decker coming in from Murray state. That's going to play second base this year. There's questions with this team. That's the reason I'm not upset about them being under ranked by not being ranked. But I do think if everything comes together, they're going to be a lot better than what they think. And what they think they're going to be this year. All right, John neighbors with Arkansas. Yeah, so Arkansas and I'm going to of course going to talk about it. But while you guys are sitting there with the pours playing in some random teams, we're actually going to be in some place better called Glowbife Stadium. And playing in something called the Shriners Children's College Showdown. Well, we'll be there too. Yeah, well, no one cares baseball doesn't matter. Except for the first week in the anyways. But still, Arkansas is going to be playing against Oklahoma State

18:16to open that up on Friday night at 7 p.m. And then they play the top 10 team TCU, which Arkansas and each time they play purple teams, it's always been pretty, pretty rough at times. Whether it's LSU, TCU, Kansas State. Don't know what it is. Purple is just not a very good color in Arkansas. So hopefully I raise your eggs, get a little revenge there. And then they play Texas Tech also this weekend. So really normally, Arkansas's had actually some games before they went down here to Glowbife because Dave Ann horns made a deal where they go to Glowbife every year. But to start the season where you know, you got scrimmages. But this is it right here. I think it's really going to showcase just how, about how this team's mindset is in the start. But should be a great thing. Should it should be a great atmosphere. Rage Rack fans usually take it over because we have nothing better to do in our lives. So yeah, it's going to be awesome. Yep. Corey Bandit's also a part of that and you guys actually open against TCU. Yeah, we're opening against TCU and then we play similar schedule there. So it's just a great way to piggyback on what John said. It's just a great way to open the season because you're, I mean, you're shot out of a cannon with that competition. And it's like, okay, here we go. We're going to get in a meeting.

19:16We're going to get some immediate answers on a the starting rotation. B your bullpen, which is a giant question mark for everybody. And then see for Vanderbilt. Who's like I said, what's the line I'm going to look like? Who's going to be your hitters? Where are you going to get your runs from? How are you going to find some consistency? And you get all of those answers against starting out against TCU. And then you run that gauntlet of the Shriners children's base. Baseball showdown. Yeah. And for what it's worth, Oklahoma is out there. Yeah, Oklahoma. And who cares? Yeah. They're not here. Okay. Yeah. Eric with the balls. Yeah. We'll, we'll be a globe live here in a couple of weeks. You're going to play. You're going to host nickel state. But I think they drop the state or they don't like to be referred to. Not a state. They're not. It's either. It's weird. It's confusing. So should be a nozzle tune up weekend. Again. I think they're going to play better non-conned. But the fact that they do go. I mean, they went to Houston last year. They were in Arlington a couple of years ago. Phoenix three years ago.

20:16It's kind of getting a warm up for a couple of weekends before you go. But yeah, looking forward to seeing Tennessee. Look at the starting rotation. You know, this weekend, Teacon Coons on Friday. As I mentioned, Evan Blanco on Sunday. And of course, Landon Mack on Saturday. Henry Ford, the transfer from Virginia might be hitting lead off. If not hitting lead off, probably hitting third in the order. Excited about him. Mitch and Blaine Brown earlier in the show. Levi Clark is going to be a stud in this league. Hitting in the heart of the order, playing first space for Tennessee. Catching a little bit. So yeah, I'm excited to see how kind of all the pieces come together. And how this team. I mean, all those questions are going to be answered this week. But it'll be our first sample size. So looking forward to that. And what should be a sweep and a couple of one rule games. All right. The Georgia Bulldogs. Horizon lead. Come on down. Right state. Also not a state. So this is a common thread throughout the entirety of it. This is what want to see happen. West Johnson has his fingerprints on pitching. If the pitching is improved to the starting pitching throughout this series, goes ahead and gets well in the game, keeps it going.

21:16And if branch felps and jacks and go ahead and hit as we anticipate them to do, those come out of this. Then I think the whole season is before us and great. I have no fear of the pitching staff because of that acumen that Johnson has. It's going to be fantastic. And I think should be handling one games. Anybody have any final notes to wrap up our first ever SEC baseball squad? Yes, Steven Willis. Thank you for raising your hand. Yes. Did Eric say Henry Ford and is his nickname Model T? It better be, man. That is his name. We got to get a we got to throw a power T on the side of that Model T baby. But yeah. What all name team, right? That's great. That's great. All right. So yeah, we're going to be doing this every week throughout the season. Okay. All right. Okay. For today's Tuesday afternoon. So be sure to to check those out. So Corey Burton of locked on Vandy, Eric Cane of Lockdown, Voles. About I'm Zach Blackerb yeah host locked on Auburn.

22:17We'll see you next time on the lock on SEC baseball squad. Thank you. Thank you.