Breaking down the College World Series field in Omaha

Texas is the favorite to win, but all eight teams have a realistic path to the title.

The College World Series field is set and games begin Friday at 1PM Central from Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. It's a massive, natural grass ballpark - 335 down the lines, 375 to the alleys, and 408 to dead center, so teams reliant on the home run sometimes see a downtick in run production in Omaha.

FORMAT: 

The field is broken into two brackets of four teams, creatively named "Bracket 1" and "Bracket 2". Think of this as a redo of the Regionals and Supers - you play the three teams in your bracket in a double-elimination format (just like Regionals) until someone emerges victorious, and the two bracket winners face off in a conventional Best of 3 series to crown a champion (just like Supers). 

SCHEDULE: 

Friday, June 17

• Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M — 1PM CT on ESPN
• Notre Dame vs. Texas — 6PM CT on ESPN

Saturday, June 18

• Arkansas vs. Stanford — 1PM CT on ESPN
• Ole Miss vs. Auburn — 6PM CT on ESPN2

BRACKET 1: Texas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Texas A&M

Texas (47-20, 14-10)

© Aaron E. Martinez / American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Longhorns enter this year’s College World Series as the betting favorite, getting +400 (4/1) odds from Bet Online, based mostly on the strength of their offense. They lead the field with eight runs per game, powered by a NCAA 4th best .560 slugging percentage. 

1st Baseman Ivan Melendez, this year's home run title holder, is batting .396 w/ 32 HRs, 94 RBIs & 1.404 OPS and is widely expected to be awarded both the Dick Howser Trophy (June 17th) and the Golden Spikes Award (June 24th) as the nation's top amateur baseball player. His partner in baseball-murdering crime is infielder Murphy Stehly, hitting .375 w/ 23 2B, 19 HRs, and 62 RBIs and 2nd on the team with a 1.114 OPS. 

Pitching-wise, they feel good about Lucas Gordon (7-1, 2.68 ERA) and Pete Hansen (11-2, 3.40 ERA) in the rotation but need Tristan Stevens (7-6, 4.89 ERA) to perform like he did in the clincher against Eastern Carolina in the Greenville Super Regional, where he sent the Longhorns to Omaha with 6 innings of one run ball with 5 strikeouts.

Fun fact: There have been more College World Series played WITH Texas (38 appearances) than WITHOUT Texas (37 missed).

Oklahoma (42-22, 15-9)

© BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Sooners may have lost the season series to Texas, but they're entering the CWS hot, with volunteer coach Reggie Willits (The NY Yankees first base coach in 2021) having this offense firing on all cylinders. 

Peyton Graham (.336, 20HR & 70 RBIs) and Tanner Tredaway (.373, w/ 59Rs, 23 SBs) have both had great seasons at the plate. Kendall Pettis won Regional MVP honors in the Gainesville regional and flashed exceptional defense in the Blacksburg Super for the Sooners. 

Blake Robertson and Jimmy Crooks have been clutch with runners in scoring position, and this is an offense that will make you pay for free baserunners. They have the most balanced roster and are currently at +700 (7/1) odds to take home the trophy.

Texas A&M (42-18, 19-11)

© Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Aggies have gelled - they're 24-6 since April 9th - behind first-year head coach Jim Schlossnagle to give him his sixth Omaha appearance of his career, the first five coming during his 18 year tenure at TCU. One of only two teams to go 5-0 in the postseason (Ole Miss is the other), the Aggies have been nails in the late innings, both offensively and out of the bullpen. 

Offensively, they scored five runs in the final three innings against Louisiana in the middle game of the College Station Regional, then pounded TCU for seven runs in the 9th to seal the Regional championship. Dylan Rock (.332 avg w/ 18 HRs, 61 RBIs, & 1.143 OPS) and Ryan Targac (.298 w/ 15 HRs, 57 RBIs, and 1.026 OPS) have combined to make a formidable late-innings punch. 

They then swept Louisville in the Supers in consecutive one-run games thanks to shutdown innings out of the bullpen late - lefty Jacob Palisch has been clutch all season, but fellow lefty Will Johnston has developed into a reliable high-leverage guy out of the pen while freshman right handed pitchers Brad Rudis, who fills the zone with strikes, and Chris Cortez, who consistently pumps upper-90s gas, lock down opposing offense late. 

Score early on the Aggies, because you won't get much breathing room against this five-man pen. Despite their late-game heroics, they're currently the longest betting shot to win the tournament at +750 (15/2). 

Notre Dame (40-15, 16-11)

© Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Notre Dame is a veteran-laden team with a chip on their shoulder after not getting a hosting spot for Regionals, and they played like it through the early parts of the postseason. After winning the Statesboro Regional as a #2 seed, they went to Knoxville and knocked off the #1 overall seed Tennessee. 

Driven by ace John Bertrand (9-3, 2.69 ERA), this pitching staff has a team 3.95 ERA (best in the CWS field) with a 2.76 K/BB ratio. With fifteen players either graduate students or seniors, this team has a LOT of at-bats under their belt and is experienced and polished...oh, and after walking into Knoxville and upsetting Tennessee, you know there's not a moment that'll be too big for the Golden Domers. 

Despite making only their third trip to Omaha in the last 64 years (and 2nd in the last 20), they're currently sitting at +550 (11/2) odds, the 2nd best in this bracket, to take home the trophy. 

BRACKET 2:  Stanford, Arkansas, Ole Miss, & Auburn

Stanford (47-16, 21-9)

© Rob Schumacher/Arizona Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Cardinal recovered from early conference stumbles in a series loss to Oregon and a sweep at Arizona to dominate late in the season: They're 22-2 since May 1st. They won the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament, won three elimination games to seal the Stanford Regional, and then rallied to win games 2 & 3 of the Supers to punch their ticket to Omaha. 

Sitting on +500 (5/1) odds to win the whole thing, Stanford's powered by future 1st round draft pick OF Brock Jones (.327 w/ 20 HRs, 56 RBIs & 1.120 OPS) and pitchers Alex Williams (the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, in an upset of Oregon State's Coper Hjerpe) and reliever Quinn Matthews (9-1, 2.62 ERA, 9 saves). 

Matthews is a certified stud that can pile up the strikeouts, but Williams has struggled in the postseason, with outings of 4.2 IP (4 runs) in the Pac-12 Tourney, 4.2 IP against Texas State (5 runs), and then only 1.1 against UConn in the supers with seven runs allowed (six earned). 

They have a stout defense up the middle, with Kody Huff at catcher, Adam Crampton at short, Brett Barrera at 2nd and Brock Jones with a cannon in center, but they'll only go as far as the pitching staff takes them. If needed, look for Matthews to get a start - he did it nine times this season for the Cardinal. 

Arkansas (43-19, 18-12)

© Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK

Arkansas has the 2nd best odds to win the entire tournament at +450 (9/2), and head coach Dave Van Horn will have his squad ready to compete after narrowly missing the tournament last year. 

They sport the best defense in Omaha, with Jaylen Battles and Robert Moore as the double play tandem and expected 1st round pick Cayden Wallace flashing the leather at 3rd to go along with his prodigious offense. 

One of three players with 15 home runs in the lineup, Wallace had 57 RBIs and stole 12 of an attempted 13 bases from the heart of the lineup. On the mound, former starting quarterback Connor Noland (7-5, 3.86) is a reliable veteran presence in the rotation who can compete, but his role is to get the ball into the hands of ace reliever (and true freshman) Brady Tygart with a lead. 

Tygart, 3-4 w/ a 3.82 ERA, has some of the best pure stuff of any pitcher in Omaha, sporting a mid-90s fastball that sets up a big sweeping slider with MLB-quality spin - in excess of 3100 RPM. 

Ole Miss (37-22, 14-16)

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

The Rebels squeezed in as one of the final teams to make the postseason field of 64 and then absolutely got scorching hot, sweeping both the Coral Gables Regional as a #3 seed with a +20 run differential and then shutting out Southern Miss in both games of the Hattiesburg Super to punch their ticket. 

At +650 (13/2) odds, the depth of the Rebels run in Omaha depends on the offense, led by local legend Tim Elko. "The Captain" hit .302 w/ a school record 22 HRs, 74 RBIs & a 1.068 OPS. Elko's worked to pick up the slack for an pitching staff that sports the highest ERA of all eight Omaha teams (4.44) but is also the best at punching out batters (10.9/9). 

Sitting on a 17.1 postseason inning scoreless streak, the bullpen has been lockdown thanks to the contributions of the power fastball of Brandon Johnson (1-3 w/ 4.08 ERA and 11 saves) and the breaking ball of Josh Mallitz (1-0, 1.30 ERA w/ 2 saves). Having dealt with injuries to their starting rotation, they're currently carried by converted reliever Dylan DeLucia (6-2, 4.35 ERA) and freshman lefty Hunter Elliott (4-3, 2.82 ERA). Defensively, the double play tandem is (projected) 2023 1st rounder Jacob Gonzalez at SS and Peyton Chatagnier at 2nd, while catcher Hayden Dunhurst is a very good pitch framing catcher but despite his arm strength, struggles to  control the running game - he has allowed 28 steals in 38 attempts. 

Auburn takes on Ole Miss at 6PM Central on Saturday in game one of the College World Series in Omaha. The game is being broadcast on ESPN and the radio call, with Voice of the Tigers Andy Burcham and producer Brad Law, can be heard online at AuburnTigers.com and locally on 93.9 FM. 

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