Sports Animal hires Eric Cain to replace Will West as afternoon show host

Eric Cain, a very familiar voice to fans of Tennessee athletics, will replace Will West as co-host of afternoon sports talk show on WNML The Sports Animal.

Cain, 33, will slide into the co-host role alongside Tyler Ivens on the newly-named show, "Tyler & Cainer," from 3-7 p.m. on weekdays starting July 13.

It’s official! 🟧⬜️

Beginning Monday, July 13th a new show takes over @SportsAnimal991!@_cainer returns to bring “Tyler & Cainer” to the airwaves each afternoon between 3-7pm! pic.twitter.com/4XDKM7htMw

— Tyler Ivens (@TylerIvens) July 8, 2026

West, 49, will remain at WNML. The longtime sports talk radio host accepted a promotion to digital sales manager in the Knoxville market for Cumulus Media.

WNML program director Jeff Jarnigan told Knox News on June 22 the that the search for a replacement wouldn't take long after receiving dozens of applications.

Cain has covered Tennessee athletics from a wide range of media for the past decade.

He has been a regular contributor, producer and host on WNML The Sports Animal. He hosts the daily podcast "Locked on Vols." He has been a writer and podcast host for Volquest and the On3 Network since 2019. And he's served as a TV sideline reporter covering "Rivalry Thursday" high school football games in East Tennessee.

Cain played football at Jefferson County and was a linebacker at Carson-Newman. He jumped into the Knoxville media market after graduating in 2017, getting his start on WNML and other area radio stations.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Sports Animal hires Eric Cain to replace Will West as afternoon show host