Smith pulled after two innings. Maybe Dave Van Horn is finally realizing there are more important things than winning the SEC.
Looks like the Hoover Hogs are putting up the surrender flags in the SECT
- Thread starter Barkman Turner Overdrive
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I read that back in 2021, Dave Van Horn's goal was to win the SEC, SECT and the national championship. I was like, that's kinda lofty buddy.....especially for a team that hasn't won a title yet.
I don't know that any team has done that except Vanderbilt 2019, they are one of the best teams of all time, and probably THE best of the modern era (25 years or so, whenever they started the current format). Maybe Miami 1999 is right there with them.
Edit: LSU 2009 did it too. Point is, LSU and Vandy had long since gotten that national title monkey off their back. Van Horn has the dropped fly ball - and he's over here talking about being the most dominant team of all time.
I don't know that any team has done that except Vanderbilt 2019, they are one of the best teams of all time, and probably THE best of the modern era (25 years or so, whenever they started the current format). Maybe Miami 1999 is right there with them.
Edit: LSU 2009 did it too. Point is, LSU and Vandy had long since gotten that national title monkey off their back. Van Horn has the dropped fly ball - and he's over here talking about being the most dominant team of all time.
To be fair, I don't think that's why they lost the Super two weeks later.
I do think SECT runs can negatively impact regionals. The most painful example is State 2012: Six tough games in brutal heat before underperforming in Tallahassee as a 2-seed.
No doubt. That Arkansas team was loaded, and just got unlucky with 2 1-run losses to a team that maybe would have beaten us if not for the Vid. Although I do kinda just think it was our time.
On our 2012 team....I mean, yeah, that was a grueling, random, emotional run in Hoover. Most aren't like that. And we also weren't really that great that year. Good team, yes, but not host level. That Samford team could rake, and we weren't beating FSU even if we did. They just got unlucky running into a hot Arizona in Omaha.
Yes. But that has not been DVH’s mindset. He put a premium on winning the SEC regular season and tournament.
I wouldn’t say there is zero difference in the 1 or the 8. While I believe all bets are off once you hit supers you’d obviously rather be matched with the 16 than the 9. But I also wouldn’t go all out in the sect to try to sway that
We had a great pitching staff in 2012 but other than Adam Frazier we could not hit whatsoever. That was before Renfroe had really developed.
Ole Miss was one and done in 2022. They walked off the field believing their season was over, and then they watched bubble teams lose all week.
I don't think people appreciate just how lucky Ole Miss and Bianco were to win a national title.
Yep that was peak Cohen-tinkering days. And I don't blame him, had to manufacture runs any way we could.
True......bet they were also predicted to be in Omaha preseason. I said at the beginning, if we could get through that last COVID back-stacked year with all the seniors they had, without them winning a natty, then Bianco would be near the end and we could step on his throat.
But.....NOPE, dead ones had other plans.
Whose results would you prefer (as a fan of their program)?
Dave Van Horn:
Dave Van Horn:
- 8x SEC West titles
- 3x SEC regular season titles
- 1x SEC Tournament title
- 9x Super Regionals
- 7x College World Series appearances
- 1x College World Series runner-up
- 4x SEC West titles
- 1x SEC regular season title
- 2x SEC Tournament titles
- 8x Super Regionals
- 2x College World Series appearances
- 1x College World Series title
Dave Van Horn. He has had the most consistent program in the SEC over the last 20 years and, unfortunately, I think he will eventually win it all in Omaha.
Bianco’s without question. A national championship is hard to top versus piling up other accolades.
This is a stupid take. That championship only lasts 365 days. Give me Van Horn every time. Good chance you wind up with more national titles with him anyway.
He's 64 and in his 22nd year. Hopefully his current streak in Omaha continues for whatever short time he has left
Piggies ran into the better team today. That's all.
If the question was who is a better coach or who would you want to lead your program going forward, it’s Van Horn without question. But that wasn’t the question in my mind, it was which of those two results would you rather have over a multi year timeframe. And I’d want the resume that includes the experience of a national championship. The question could also simplify to, “Would you have rather Mississippi State made 5 more trips to Omaha over the last 15 years if it meant we had to still be living without ever having won a national championship? My answer to that is an unequivocal “HECK NO!” Something that unforgettable doesn’t just have a 365 day shelf life.
Still Van Horn. Not even close. Why do all the Mississippi fans want Bianco fired just 2 years after that title? Because that expired a year ago. LSU fans will be all over wanting their coach gone next year if he misses the tournament too.
I don’t see how that’s related. If Arkansas has a losing record in 2025 and 2026, there will be a large majority of the Razorbacks that want DVH fired and that list of accomplishments he has will also have expired.
I think people tend to play off the SECT as if it isn't a big deal and that it's ok to go 0-2. It's still typically won by a team that goes on to post season success. The stats don't back up that it negatively impacts regionals.
63% of winners go onto a Super
42% of winners go to Omaha
33% of winners go to CWS Semis
21% of winners go to CWS Finals
13% of winners win the national championship. Take this with a grain of salt because 7 of the last 10 SEC national champs didn't win the SEC tournament.
Point is still the same though. Performing well in the tournament has no bearing on how you will do in the NCAA tournament.
To be clear, I'm not saying success in the SECT is bad or that it's better to go 0-2. There are a few examples of a lot of energy being expended in Hoover before a regional flameout: State 2012 and Ole Miss 2018, for example. But I'm not saying those examples are the rule.
My position is that it isn't an indicator one way or another.
It's not close, but not how you think. I would take the championship every time. Every. Single. Time. Most fans would too. No one cares about college baseball outside of a few weeks at Omaha. To win that is infinitely more valuable than 100 SEC regular season championships.
Maybe if you are a program like LSU with a bunch of national titles, you’d rather have 5 more trips to Omaha than the next national title. Omaha runs are fun because of how relevant you are and being in the middle of the chase. But for a program that’s never done it, it’s not a debate for me. If you offered to trade me Mississippi State Baseball’s current resume of 12 CWS and 1 national title for one with 17 CWS and 0 titles, I’m holding onto that 2021 national championship no question. It’s not a debate.
I guess I feel a little differently about it. After 67 years of waiting that baseball Championship will last me a lifetime.
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