By Billy Watkins
Walker Hooks is a natural-born left-hander.
“Does everything left-handed,” says his dad, Brian. “He even thinks left-handed. Turns the air down in the house to 65 degrees. Doesn’t lock the door when he leaves. You know. Quirky. Their brains work a little different.”
In some cases, so does a left arm. Hand an athletic southpaw a baseball and it’s often difficult for him to throw it hard without the ball moving this way and that.
That’s certainly the case with sophomore Walker Hooks, who earned two saves for Ole Miss (41-21) in a sweep at Auburn in the Super Regional last weekend to send the Rebels to the College World Series for the second time in five years. Last time, in 2022, they won it all.
The title quest begins again Friday at 6 p.m. against North Carolina in Omaha. Four other SEC teams earned their way to the eight-team championship: Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas.
Hooks, 3-1, has been a major part of the Rebels’ turnaround that began the first weekend in April. He is tied for second in the SEC with nine saves. In 55.2 innings, Hooks has allowed 36 hits and 11 walks while striking out 61. He has converted eight of his last nine save chances. Opponents are batting .188 against him.
On Wednesday, the 20-year-old Hooks was named second-team All-America by Perfect Score.
And in the final game of the Super Regional, Hooks did something that all great pitchers learn to do: Get outs when you don’t have your best stuff.
“I could tell he wasn’t extremely sharp,” Brian says. “I think that’s one reason he was more emotional than usual that game. Of course, realizing you’re going to Omaha probably had a lot to do with it, too.”
“Walker has always been a guy to not show a lot of emotion,” says Todd McInnis, his pitching coach at Brandon High School. “But don’t underestimate him. He’s the ultimate competitor. He showed that when he led us to the 2024 Class 7A state championship. He can handle the big moments.”
Adds Brandon head coach Daniel Best: “As a staff, we always knew we had a chance to beat anyone with Walker on the mound. He has always had elite pitch ability. He’s one of the best I’ve had the privilege of coaching. Even as a ninth grader, you knew the potential and ability were there for him to play at the collegiate level out of high school. It’s pretty awesome now to see him pitch on the biggest stage in college baseball.”
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Hooks, who is 6-foot-4, 265, never had a huge growth spurt.
“He was just always big,” Brian says. “He started pitching when he was eight, and he could throw it really hard but didn’t always know where it was going.”
Hooks was 16 when his age was finally higher than his shoe size.
He was a two-sport star at Brandon through his sophomore year. He played tight end on the football team, but that ended when he caught a pass one night and suffered a torn ACL and meniscus while being tackled.
“I really believe Walker could’ve played college football if he had stayed healthy and chosen that route,” McInnis says. “He could’ve gotten faster and he had really good hands.”
But he was a natural in baseball, physically and mentally.
“Teachability is one of the things that really set Walker apart,” says McInnis, who was a standout pitcher on the 2009 Southern Miss team that went to the College World Series. “Even in high school, if you throw 91 or 92 (miles per hour) and that’s all you’ve got, they’re gonna hit it. Walker understood that. He developed four pitches (fastball, curve, slider, changeup) that he could throw at anytime for a strike. He kept hitters off balance. That’s when you start missing barrels and getting weak contact.”
Hooks’ recruiting story is short: He wanted to go to Ole Miss. “That was his dream school,” Brian says. “Funny story, though. He mostly talked with (assistant coach) Carl Lafferty, and Walker was not a hard sell. I was listening and thinking ‘Son, maybe at least play a little hard to get.’ ”
It helped that Brian and his wife Bethany were longtime Ole Miss fans. Walker grew up attending football and baseball games in Oxford. He even got a foul ball when he was four.
Brian says their son couldn’t have found a better fit.
“I like the program and the culture that Coach (Mike) Bianco has built,” Brian says. “You don’t see them doing all the extra celebrations like a lot of teams do now. I don’t think Coach Bianco would put up with that. He’s teaching them the right things. He ’s helped raise a lot of kids during his time there.”
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One of the things Hooks likes to talk about makes some people uncomfortable: His faith.
He’s been seen wearing a powder blue “Jesus Won” t-shirt in interviews. His walkout song is “Awesome God” by R-Swift. And he’s not shy about giving his testimony.
His maternal grandfather, the late Ray Bridges, was a Baptist preacher who also coached several sports at numerous schools, including Delta State, Holmes Community College and Indianola Academy.
“Walker was raised in the church,” Brian says.
“We are proud of him for wanting to share his faith and can’t wait to hear that walkout song in Omaha,” his mom says.
Brian adds: “He’s naturally a quiet kid, so it takes a lot for him to stand up and speak the way he does.”
“As a coach, it’s hard not to get emotional about a kid like Walker,” says McInnis, his voice cracking. “He’s such a great kid. His family raised him and (younger brother) Cooper (who has signed to pitch at Pearl River CC) to be good in their faith.
“Walker has always had his priorities in line. Baseball is something he enjoys doing. But at the end of the day, God and faith are what he cares about most. His roots are firmly planted in Jesus Christ.
“All these young kids around Brandon love baseball. And the guy they’re looking up to now is Walker Hooks. They all want to be like him. That’s a great thing.”
The respect is mutual between player-coach. Bianco asks his players each season to write a letter of gratitude to someone other than their parents who has been instrumental in their lives. Hooks wrote McInnis his freshman year. This season, he wrote to his maternal grandmother, Dell “MeMe” Bridges, who will be in Omaha to watch her grandson.
The family’s faith helps them get through pressure situations when Walker is on the mound.
“It can be nerve-racking. I just keep praying over him,” Bethany says. “Whatever comes, we will praise Him.”
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