I don't see how this comparison makes sense. RPI is not the best tool admittedly, but Forbes's teams have ranked in the top-10 three times and in the top-15 four times in that metric. Brown's best ranking in FEI was 25th in 2020 and four of his six years were 40th or worse.
Fox rarely held a pitcher for the winner's bracket game, though, right? Certainly Campbell would take the option off the table, but the NCAA still leans on geographical proximity as a key component of regional makeup.