The eight-team field for the College World Series is complete with Stanford beating Texas and Tennessee beating Southern Miss to earn the final two spots. Here’s what you need to know:
- The other six teams in the field are Wake Forest, Florida, Virginia, LSU, TCU and Oral Roberts.
- The remaining top eight seeds are Wake Forest (No. 1), Florida (No. 2), LSU (No. 5), Virginia (No. 7) and Stanford (No. 8).
- The CWS begins Friday with two first-round games at 2 p.m./7 p.m. ET. The other two first-round games are 2 p.m./7 p.m. on Saturday.
- The first-round games will be broadcast by ESPN.
THE OMAHA 8pic.twitter.com/UWRz3adD0X
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 13, 2023
What are the first-round matchups?
Friday: TCU vs. Oral Roberts, 2 p.m.; Florida vs. Virginia, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Wake Forest vs. Stanford, 2 p.m.; LSU vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m.
Favorite storyline of the CWS
Oral Roberts riding high: Summit League champion Oral Roberts is riding a hot wave to the CWS. The Golden Eagles have won 23 of their past 24 games, falling only in the opening game of the Eugene Super Regional — after ORU built an 8-0 lead. That it came back to win the next two after that collapse, needing a walk-off victory Saturday in the second game, speaks to Oral Roberts’ resolve.
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It is the third No. 4 seed Regional seed to advance to the CWS since the current format was introduced in 1999. Fresno State won the national title as a No. 4 seed in 2008; Stony Brook went 0-2 in 2012. If ORU can stick around into next week with a win against TCU on Friday or Sunday against Florida or Virginia, Omaha will get behind the Cinderella story.
Of intrigue, junior center fielder Jonah Cox enters the CWS with a 47-game hitting streak, tied for the third-longest in Division I history. — Sherman
Top-seed drought: Can Wake Forest become the first No. 1 overall seed since Miami in 1999 to win the national title? The Demon Deacons have a team without a weakness, but the college baseball landscape is littered with elite clubs that have failed to win it all. Wake, unlike many other top seeds — most notably Tennessee last year and Arkansas in 2021 — has at least made it to Omaha. And that, in some ways, might be the biggest challenge. Playing at home in the postseason is great, but it also comes with certain pressure — especially when it’s Omaha or bust. The Deacs, however, showed no nerves in advancing through the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament. Only one of their five games was decided by fewer than 12 runs.
One thing to watch is how the Wake offense adapts to the environment. The Deacs will make the transition from one of the smallest ballparks in the country to the spacious Charles Schwab Field. The guess is that the offense won’t have trouble scoring runs, but it’s something to monitor.
I picked Florida to win the title after the field was announced, but I’m changing my mind. Wake will win its first national title since 1955. — Light
LSU as the heavyweight: The Tigers were the clear favorites to win the national title early in the season, but they went through some ups and downs during the season. LSU, however, has found that form during the postseason, averaging 9.6 runs per game in five straight wins.
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The Tigers have the two biggest names in the sport in Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes. Crews leads the offense with a .434 batting average with 17 home runs and 67 RBIs, while Skenes is 12-2 on the mound with a 1.77 ERA with 188 strikeouts and only 18 walks in 107 innings pitched.
It’s always interesting to see the biggest names on the biggest stage in sports, and the Tigers offer that dynamic in Omaha this year. — Shirley
Required reading
(Photo: Matt Kelley)