Oklahoma Baseball: Previewing the College World Series Field, Schedule, TV Times

The Sooners open play against No. 5 Texas A&M on Friday afternoon in Omaha.

The countdown is on.

With the final two spots in the 2022 College World Series decided on Monday night, the field and schedule for “The Greatest Show on Dirt” is now set.

Oklahoma (42-22) will open up the event on Friday against No. 5 Texas A&M (42-18) at 1 p.m. CT, with the game broadcast set for ESPN.

On the same side, No. 9 Texas (47-20) will battle Notre Dame (40-15) that evening at 6 p.m. - with the two losers facing off on Sunday at 1 p.m. in an elimination game and the two winners meeting at 6 p.m. for a spot in the semifinals.

On the other side of the bracket, Arkansas (43-19) will take on No. 2 Stanford (47-16) at 1 p.m. Saturday with Ole Miss (37-22) meeting No. 14 Auburn (42-20) in the final opening round game that night.

via NCAA.com

Half of the field is comprised by members of the SEC - with six of the eight slotted to be in the league by 2025 when the Sooners and Longhorns make their way to the conference.

The format of the CWS is different from the Women’s College World Series in softball, as the two halves of the bracket do not intermingle prior to the championship series.

Meaning, in essence, each four-team grouping operates as its own regional to determine a participant in the finals set for June 25-27.

The first three opening round games are set to be broadcast on ESPN, with the final Tigers/Rebels matchup slotted for ESPN2.

The entire rest of the event is scheduled to be aired on ESPN proper, with the lone exception being a potential “if-necessary” game on Thursday, June 23 to determine a last spot in the championship series.

AllSooners will have wall-to-wall coverage from Omaha throughout Oklahoma’s run at the program’s third national title with play beginning against the Aggies at 1 p.m. on Friday and continuing on Sunday against either the Longhorns or Fighting Irish at 1 or 6 p.m. CT.