The 2024 College World Series field is officially set, and now it’s time to make our predictions. The final Super Regional wrapped up on Monday night in Athens, and we now know which eight teams will be fighting in Omaha for the national championship.
Of the eight super regionals, just two required the if necessary third game. Tennessee needed the third game to knock out Evansville, while NC State took the third game on the road against Georgia.
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Impressively, the eight teams in Omaha come from just two conferences. It’s an even split, too, with four teams from the ACC and four from the SEC. Everyone in Omaha except for Florida hosted a regional as well, with six entering the NCAA Tournament as a top eight national seed.
The College World Series will begin with Bracket 1 on Friday afternoon. The opening round in Omaha is played in a traditional regional, double elimination format. Now, let’s dive into our predictions for the College World Series.
Bracket 1
Virginia (12) vs. North Carolina (4) — Friday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN
Florida State (8) vs. Tennessee (1) — Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
If you’re a fan of offense, you’ll love the first bracket in Omaha. All four teams have dominant offenses, and are never truly out of any game. The first matchup is between Virginia and UNC, two teams that met during the regular season. Virginia won the series by taking two out of three, but both teams are different at this point in the season. Both teams are capable of going on a run.
As for Florida State and Tennessee, this is another fun matchup. FSU’s offense is red hot, and they are certainly capable of just outscoring anybody. Tennessee is in a similar boat, though, as the Vols are also one of the best offensive teams in college baseball. This might be the best matchup of the opening round in Omaha, but we’re backing Tennessee in the opening night matchup.
Just because you lose the opening game doesn’t mean you are out of it. Tennessee and North Carolina would be a great winner’s bracket matchup, but both FSU and Virginia could come out of the loser’s bracket as well. In the end, we’re picking Tennessee to edge out UNC to advance to the College World Series championship series in our predictions.
Winner: Tennessee
Runner Up: North Carolina
Bracket 2
Kentucky (2) vs. NC State (10) — Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN
Florida vs. (3) — Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
While Bracket 2 might not be as outright dominant offensively as Bracket 1, it’s still pretty impressive. Kentucky wins in a variety of ways, while NC State has a pretty impressive lineup. Florida barely made the NCAA Tournament, but now they are in Omaha. Texas A&M has a very good lineup, even without Braden Montgomery, who is out with an injury.
If Kentucky keeps pitching well, they are going to be a tough out. NC State will be a very difficult matchup to kick off Saturday’s action, but the Wildcats just keep finding ways to win. We expect that to continue, and they are at least going to be one of the final two teams left in this bracket in our College World Series predictions. Florida is a team that just won’t go down, and the Gators took two out of three over the Aggies back in March. It’ll be a tough fight, but we like Texas A&M just a bit more. And that sets up a pretty intriguing matchup between Kentucky and Texas A&M with a trip to the championship series on the line.
Winner: Kentucky
Runner Up: Texas A&M
Predictions for College World Series Championship
Kentucky (2) vs. Tennessee (1)
Kentucky and Tennessee met in Lexington back in April, with the Wildcats winning the opener 5-3 before the Vols came back with 9-4 and 13-11 victories to take the series. If they match up in Omaha with a national championship on the line, it’s going to be a fun one.
Kentucky’s offense is led by Nick Lopez, Ryan Waldschmidt and Ryan Nicholson, and they have a few great options on the mound. Tennessee is just an entirely different animal at the plate. The Vols have 173 home runs on the season, compared to 84 for Kentucky. Tennessee has eight players with double digit home runs, including five with 18 or more. In the end, we just believe too much in Tennessee.
Prediction: Tennessee wins
