What began as a field of 64 is down to two, as Coastal Carolina and LSU are the last teams standing in Omaha.
Those two teams begin a best-of-three series on Saturday to crown this year’s NCAA baseball champion. Here is a look at both teams, how they got here, players to watch, the schedule for the series, and a prediction.
Men’s College World Series Finals Schedule
As the higher seed, LSU is the designated “home” team for the MCWS Finals, and will bat last in both Game 1 and Game 3 should the series go three games.
Here is the full schedule.
Game 1 – June 21: Coastal Carolina vs. LSU, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 2 – June 22: LSU vs. Coastal Carolina, 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 3 – June 23: Coastal Carolina vs. LSU, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN (if necessary)
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (56-11)
How they got here
As we will see in a moment there might not be a hotter team in all of baseball — at any level — than Coastal Carolina.
The Chanticleers were the #1 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and rolled to the title, entering the MCWS Regionals as the host of the Conway Regional. Playing in front of their home fans they stormed to the Super Regionals, knocking off Fairfield in their opening game and then winning two straight against East Carolina to move on to the Super Regionals.
There Coastal Carolina went on the road to take on the third-seeded Auburn Tigers, winning the first two games in Auburn to punch a ticket to Omaha.
And all they have done since arriving in Nebraska is keep winning. Coastal Carolina beat Arizona, Oregon State, and then Louisville to go 3-0 and secure a spot in the Finals as the winners of Bracket 1.
Players to watch
Coastal Carolina catcher Caden Bodine is as polished behind the dish as it gets, and is a likely first-round pick in the upcoming MLB Draft. He leads the Chanticleers with a .326 batting average, is the rare “catcher hitting leadoff,” has a slash line of .326/.459/.473, and has made just one error this season. Outfielder Sebastian Alexander adds a little pop in the lineup as does infielder Blake Barthol, who led Coastal Carolina with 12 home runs this season.
On the pitching side of things, 6’8 right-hander Jacob Morrison has bounced back from missing the entire 2024 season after Tommy John surgery to post a 12-0 mark for Coastal Carolina, with an ERA of 2.08.
“What you see from Jacob, he’s mature, he’s a winner, he’s extremely competitive,” Coastal Carolina Head Coach Kevin Schnall said recently. “He’s hard working. He’s 6’8”. He’s got a great arm. He’s a 3.5-plus [GPA] student. When you say, ‘how do you want your son to be like,’ this is the ultimate individual.”
Morrison’s 12 wins are tied for the most in the nation, but Schnall has two other starter he can turn to this series. Riley Eikhoff went 7-2 this year with an ERA of 3.10 and a WHIP of 1.13, while Cameron Flukey finished the year with a 7-1 record, along with an ERA of 3.29 and a WHIP of 1.00.
One reason they could win: Momentum
If you spend enough time around the game of baseball you’re likely to hear the adage “momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher,” often attributed to the legendary manager Earl Weaver.
But in the case of the Chanticleers, it might just be true.
The last time Coastal Carolina lost a baseball game? That came back when Shedeur Sanders was still considered a first-round draft pick. The Chanticleers last lost a game back on April 22, against The College of Charleston. That was a few days before the NFL Draft began.
Since then Coastal Carolina has won 26 straight games and shown no signs of letting up.
Oh, but as for that whole “next day’s starting pitcher” thing? It probably does not hurt that Coastal Carolina has the second-best team ERA in all of college baseball, and the third-best team WHIP.
LSU (51-15)
How they got here
The LSU Tigers were one of the top teams coming into the 2025 college baseball season, beginning the year as the No. 2 team in the rankings.
But they have faced some hurdles en route to the MCWS Championship Series.
LSU came into the SEC Championship as the No. 3 seed in the conference and knocked off Texas A&M in their quarterfinal matchup, but the Tigers were bounced by Mississippi 2-0 in the semifinals.
They earned a spot as a Regional host but in the second inning of their third game, a second-straight matchup with Little Rock, a team that entered the MCWS with a losing record on the year, the Tigers trailed 3-1 and having already lost to Little Rock in their previous game, were staring elimination in the face.
But the Tigers rallied to go on and win the Baton Rouge Regionals, and then dispatch West Virginia in two games to take the Baton Rouge Super Regionals. Once the Tigers arrived in Omaha they stayed hot, winning three games in succession to take Bracket 2, setting up their showdown with Coastal Carolina.
Players to watch
The Tigers sport a deep and talented lineup, and a tremendous one-two pairing on the bump.
Let’s start with their lineup, which could see outfielder Derek Curiel and shortstop Steven Milam as first-round picks in the 2026 and 2027 MLB Drafts, respectively. Ethan Frey posted a slash line of .331/.424/.651 this season with 13 home runs, while first baseman Jared Jones added a slash line of .330/.423/.630 while pacing the Tigers with 22 home runs.
But then there is the Tigers’ one-two pairing on the bump. Lefty Kade Anderson is in the mix for the first-overall selection in this year’s MLB draft, as he posted an 11-1 record with an ERA of 3.44. In his last start, against Arkansas on June 14, Anderson went seven innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run. Right-hander Anthony Eyanson went 11-2 this year with an ERA of 2.92, but was roughed up a bit in his last start, lasting just three innings against UCLA while allowing three earned runs.
One reason they could win: Pitching
While the Tigers are a complete team, having a one-two tandem of Anderson and Eyanson rested and ready to go gives them something to lean on in a best-of-three series.
But Anderson and Eyanson are not the only arms Head Coach Jay Johnson can turn to. Speaking with the media on Thursday, Johnson talked at length about the arms he can turn to throughout a season, a game, or a best-of-three series.
“I think the pitching staff is obviously clearly a strength. Baseball was built around that, because if you pitch well, the game’s within striking distance,” began Johnson. “And then you can execute offensively and manage the game, and if you get that big three-run homer that carries a lot of weight.
“I don’t have any idea where we rank statistically, nationally, in a lot of those categories, but it’s gotta be high.
“We’ve pitched at a really high level,” added Johnson. “We’re on a really nice run of developing major league talent on the mound.”
To answer coach Johnson’s question, the Tigers have the ninth-best team ERA in the nation, are fourth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, are 13th in the nation in WHIP, and are sixth in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings.
Men’s College World Series Finals Prediction
The only prediction I feel comfortable making?
This series is going three games.
Beyond that, this is a hard series to call. Both teams have standout starting pitching, solid lineups, and multiple reasons to believe they can leave Omaha with a big trophy. Having the one-two punch of Anderson and Eyanson certainly gives LSU an advantage in a three-game series, but there seems to be something special about this Coastal Carolina team. Call it momentum, call it vibes, or just call it a great baseball team, but they look destined for a title.
Chanticleers in three.
