To get to the College World Series, teams had to win at least five games over two weekends without losing more than once each round. Three of the eight qualifiers swept their way to Omaha, while one (Oregon State) had to play eight times to secure a spot.
None of that matters anymore, as a new double-elimination round starts Friday with a pair of 4-team brackets at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Win your side and you make it to the best-of-3 championship series.
On paper, the bottom half of the bracket is much tougher as it features the top two overall seeds (No. 3 Arkansas and No. 6 LSU) and those SEC foes have to meet in their opening game. The top half only has two seeded teams, but unseeded Arizona and Murray State had to win Super Regionals on the road to get to Omaha which speaks to their abilities.
Because of this, the two “best” teams might not mean in the final. Here’s how the entire field stacks up against each other.
1. LSU
- Record: 48-15
- Batting average: .300
- ERA: 3.80
- Odds to win: +230
- Opening game: vs. Arkansas (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
The Tigers were in Omaha two years ago and have a few players left from that national championship team, including first baseman Jared Jones, who comes into the series with 20 home runs and 70 RBI. They also feature the best 1-2 starting pitching combo in the field, if not the country, in sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson and junior righty Anthony Eyanson, both of whom are projected to go in the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft.
LSU can slug with the best of them, hitting 100 homers this season, but it’s also Top 20 in the country in walks and doubles. Combine that with a deep bullpen full of arms that can go long and short and the Tigers are built for a deep run in Omaha. And Jay Johnson is one of two coaches in the series who have won it all, along with UCLA’s John Savage.
2. Arkansas
- Record: 48-13
- Batting average: .313
- ERA: 3.91
- Odds to win: +200
- Opening game: vs. LSU (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
The Razorbacks have the best batting average in the CWS field and the third-best ERA, a balance that is necessary to win all types of games. They also have hit the most homers, slugging 124, with seven different starters hitting at least 13 bombs.
Zach Root, a junior left-hander who transferred in from East Carolina, has allowed one earned run in two postseason starts and is exactly the kind of arm that will set the stone for the rest of a staff that includes more than a half dozen relievers who average more than a strikeout per inning. Throw in the best fielding percentage (.984) of anyone in Omaha and the Hogs don’t beat themselves.
3. Oregon State
- Record: 47-14-1
- Batting average: .292
- ERA: 4.30
- Odds to win: +650
- Opening game: vs. Louisville (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
The Beavers played an independent schedule this season after the Pac-12 dissolved, resulting in more games away from home than in Corvallis. They’re battle-tested, having played 16 games against teams that made the NCAA tournament.
Junior outfielder Gavin Turley is the school’s career leader in home runs (52) and RBI (186), and right-hander Dax Whitney leads all Division I freshmen in strikeouts (111) and K/9 innings (14.0). Coach Mitch Canham was part of OSU’s back-to-back national title teams in 2006-07.
4. Coastal Carolina
- Record: 53-11
- Batting average: .290
- ERA: 3.21
- Odds to win: +650
- Opening game: vs. Arizona (Friday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
The Chanticleers bring the nation’s longest active win streak to Omaha, their 23 consecutive victories spanning back to late April. The last two were maybe the most impressive, sweeping a Super Regional at Auburn.
Coastal has been a hit by pitch magnet, getting beaned 170 times, with sophomore Walker Mitchell taking one for the team 31 times including four in one game. It doesn’t need to score much because of the second-best ERA in the country, with three starters who throw strikes and a very dependable bullpen.
5. Arizona
- Record: 44-19
- Batting average: .285
- ERA: 4.82
- Odds to win: +1400
- Opening game: vs. Coastal Carolina (Friday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
The Wildcats had to win a regional and Super Regional on the road, the second time the program has done that in the past 10 seasons. The other time, in 2016, they made it to the CWS championship series.
Junior shortstop Mason White leads and offense that doesn’t put up big numbers but seems to get the key hit at the right time, while if Arizona has a lead late it doesn’t relinquish it as junior closer Tony Pluta has saved a school-record 14 games and hasn’t allowed a run since April 1. Coach Chip Hale won a national title at his alma mater in 1986.
6. UCLA
- Record: 47-16
- Batting average: .298
- ERA: 4.41
- Odds to win: +850
- Opening game: vs. Murray State (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
The Bruins have the top pure hitter in the CWS field in sophomore Roch Cholowsky, who is hitting .367 and his 23 home runs are tops among players in Omaha. He’s also part of a defense that has committed only 42 errors in 63 games, resulting in only 25 unearned runs allowed.
UCLA’s pitching numbers don’t jump off the page but in the Super Regionals this staff has kicked it up a notch, holding a potent UTSA offense to only two runs and 10 hits in two games. Coach John Savage led the program to its only national title in 2013.
7. Louisville
- Record: 40-22
- Batting average: .305
- ERA: 5.35
- Odds to win: +1600
- Opening game: vs. Oregon State (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
There aren’t many certainties in life but one is that if the Cardinals get to first base they’re going for second and third. They lead the nation with 170 stolen bases, 51 from Lucas Moore and 30 each from fellow sophomores Alex Alicea and Zion Rose. Then there’s senior Eddie Rose Jr., whose .770 slugging percentage is best of anyone in Omaha.
Louisville’s staff ERA is the worst of any CWS team but in the postseason its pitchers have allowed 12 earned runs in six games (five of those in the one loss) while striking out 66 batters in 53 innings. Game 1 starter Patrick Forbes is third nationally with 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
8. Murray State
- Record: 43-15
- Batting average: .307
- ERA: 5.21
- Odds to win: +3500
- Opening game: vs. UCLA (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
The Racers are the fourth team to make the series after starting the NCAA tournament as a No. 4 seed in their regional, shocking Ole Miss twice to advance to the Super Regionals where they won two in a row at Duke after losing the opener. The program’s making its first CWS appearance and is playing with house money.
Murray won’t be an easy out, not with an offense that averages 8.9 runs per game while striking out less than seven times per contest. The pitching isn’t great, but junior Kellen Graham has closed out all five postseason wins with multi-inning performances.
All odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook.
