By: Jacob Thimjon and Austin Ulmer
OMAHA, Neb.- The Men’s College World Series this season features some familiar foes with a few unsuspecting underdogs. Here’s a look at how each of the eight teams stack up in their quest for a National Championship.
TEXAS A&M
The Aggies out of College Station, TX were the first team to punch their ticket to Omaha after defeating Louisville back-to-back nights in the College Station Super Regional. The Aggies have yet to lose in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament and look to keep the hot streak going.
Coach Jim Schlossnagle, in his first season at Texas A&M, is no stranger to the MCWS. While at TCU, Coach Schlossnagle led the Horned Frogs to five CWS appearances, but Schlossnagle said this team is different from those teams he took to Omaha in the past.
“The biggest difference is starting pitching,” Schlossnagle said. “We don’t have the depth in starting pitching that most of those teams had…in college baseball this year you don’t really see that as much.” Schlossnagle did mention that due to lack of depth in the starting pitching, it has strengthened the team’s bullpen.
The Aggies not only bring a stingy bullpen, but patience at the plate as well. The team has a .402 on-base percentage which is a big factor in helping the Aggies generate runs. Look for the team to find the gaps and hit for extra bases as they begin their quest for a national title.
OKLAHOMA
The Sooners finished the season making their first MCWSappearance since 2010 after finishing their season 42-22 and Big 12 tournament champions. Oklahoma finished with a record of 3-1 to win the Gainesville Regional, including a pair of wins against regional host the Florida Gators.
The Sooners advanced to face the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Blacksburg super regional where the Sooners defeated the Hokies 5-4 in Game 1 lost Game 2 14-8 but then scored in all but two innings to win the decisive Game 3 11-2.
Head coach Skip Johnson’s team is currently fourth in the nation with 140 stolen bases on the season including three players with at least 20 stolen bases (Peyton Graham, Tanner Tredaway and Kendall Pettis). Johnson said the key to his team’s success of advancing runners on the basepaths is creating chaos.
“We’re going to be who we are,” Johnson said. “That’s just what we do.”
Oklahoma redshirt senior outfielder Tanner Tredaway said the Sooners aggression at the plate and on the basepaths is the biggest key to their team’s success.
Oklahoma ranks in the top 40 nationally with a .298 combined batting average as a team.
Going 24-10 in their last 34 games, the Sooners are playing their best baseball at the right time of the season. With the underdog mentality there is no reason to think Oklahoma can’t continue their winning ways in their quest for a national title.
“We’re looking forward to Omaha to do what we do,” Johnson said. “We’re a team with a bunch of Davids.”
NOTRE DAME
While many in the college baseball world were stunned when Notre Dame upset the No. 1 seed in the tournament, the Tennessee Volunteers, Notre Dame has quietly put together solid campaigns the last few seasons. The Fighting Irish have the second-highest winning percentage in college baseball since the start of the 2020 COVID-shortened season behind only Tennessee.
Notre Dame comes into this MCWS with a balanced lineup. Eight hitters have over 20 runs scored while seven players are averaging a .285 battering average.
Notre Dame outfielder Ryan Cole said the team’s success comes from having a swagger on the field.
“It all stems from the confidence on our team,” Cole said. “Everyone goes out there and just plays with energy and passion for the person next to you knowing the next guy is going to back you up.”
The Fighting Irish feature a devastating one-two punch on the mound with left-handed pitcher John-Michael Bertrand ( 9-3 in 103 ⅔ innings pitched and 2.69 earned run average) leading the rotation on the mound and freshman closer Jack Findlay (51 strikeouts in 45 ⅓ innings pitched and a 1.99 earned run average) coming out of the bullpen to close out games.
With Notre Dame’s stingy offense and pitching staff the Fighting Irish may be a tough out this year in Omaha.
TEXAS
The Longhorns come into Omaha as the most storied program in the field. This is the 38th appearance for Texas and the third under head coach David Pierce. The offense for the Longhorns has been on display all tournament long and is a key reason why the team was able to survive the Greenville Super Regional against tough opponent East Carolina.
The Longhorns broke the team single-season record for home runs with 128, but it’s not just their power bats that the team wants to be known for.
“We’re not really trying to hit home runs,” Coach Price said. “Our goal is to become good hitters and the home run comes with it”.
This Texas roster has Golden Spikes nominee Ivan Melendez, who led the country with 32 home runs on the year, and the slugger’s teammates have nothing but nice things to say about Melendez.
“It’s almost like you go to the ballpark everyday, and he does something crazier than he did the day before,” said Trey Faltine, Texas Longhorn shortstop.
Texas knows they are not liked by many teams and fan bases across the country,but embrace the backlash they receive every time they find themselves away from their home ballpark. They use it as a tool to fuel their play on the field.
“People just kind of get tired of Texas,” Coach David Price said. How long Texas will be around in Omaha, to make their critics tired of seeing them play is still to be determined.
ARKANSAS
Razorback head coach Dave Van Horn has been no stranger to the MCWS, making his 7th appearance in 19 seasons but has yet to win a national championship.
“You want to win for the fan base, you want to win it for the former players, former coaches; you’d love to see your team dogpile on the field,” Van Horn said.
Arkansas had to overcome some adversity having to go on the road for a regional for the first time since 2015. The Razorbacks were sent to the Stillwater regional upending both Grand Canyon and Oklahoma State before taking two of three from the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Chapel Hill super regional.
Arkansas scuffled down the stretch of the regular season losing their final two series in Southeastern Conference play and going 0-2 in the SEC tournament. However the Razorbacks have been able to turn it around at the plate and on the mound to have another chance at a national championship.
“We’re starting to click on all cylinders,” Arkansas catcher and infielder Michael Turner said.
Turner, a graduate transfer from Kent State has been scorching hot at the plate hitting an impressive .407 in the NCAA tournament. Senior Conor Noland has been a staple for the Razorbacks rotation (105 strikeouts in 100 ⅓ innings pitched while averaging more than a strikeout per inning.
The Razorbacks were the No.1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament a year ago losing in a decisive Game 3 against North Carolina State in the super regional.
Van Horn said last year’s failure to make the CWS led to greater motivation for the group this year.
“The team had a burning desire to win,” Van Horn said. “Man, they have pulled together.”
In the MCWS it’s not about the team with the best record but sometimes it’s the team that’s playing its best baseball at the right time and Arkansas might certainly be doing just that.
STANFORD
A team that is quite familiar with Omaha, is the Stanford Cardinal, who come into the MCWS after battling back against UCONN in the Palo Alto Super Regional. It was not an easy road to Omaha for the Cardinal after winning five elimination games in the NCAA tournament, but winning these games in the face of elimination shows the depth of this Cardinal team according to Pac-12 pitcher of the year Alex Williams.
“I think what helped us is we never really hit the panic button, myself included,” Cardinal center fielder Brock Jones said.
Head coach David Esquer says a key momentum change for the Cardinal was moving left-handed starting pitcher Quinn Mathews to the bullpen as the team’s closer. Esquer said after Mathews found his role as the closer, the momentum and trajectory of the team really changed. Expect to see Mathews in some high intensity,close games in Omaha.
Stanford comes in as the number two national seed, and will face an Arkansas team they saw back in February. The Cardinal won that game 5-0 behind some stellar pitching. Brock Jones is looking forward to the opportunity to face the Razorbacks once again.
“It’s always good to play a team like Arkansas,” Jones said. “You’ll show up on Saturday ready for another dog fight.”
OLE MISS
The Ole Miss Rebels came in being selected as the last at-large team to be selected into the field of 64 for the NCAA tournament. Mississippi’s record was 24-19 overall and 9-14 in the SEC on May 1. However, the Rebels have not played like a team that just made the cut.
Ole Miss has gone 13-3, including 5-0 in the tournament, and has outscored their opponents 46-11 in five NCAA tournament games this season.
The Rebels are led offensively by infielder and outfielder Tim Elko. Elko, a second-team All-SEC selection, leads Ole Miss in home runs (22), RBI’s (71), total bases (141) and slugging percentage (.656).
“Tim is that guy, he’s the face of the program,” Rebels head coach Mike Bianco said. “You hate to say anybody’s perfect, but man, he’s pretty darn close.”
If Elko plays the way he’s been capable of all season, the national championship trophy could be headed back to the state of Mississippi for the second year in a row.
AUBURN
One of four teams from the SEC Conference in the field in Omaha is the Auburn Tigers. Auburn comes to Omaha after defeating the Oregon State Beavers in the Corvallis Super Regional. This Tigers roster features one of the bigger names in the country and Samford transfer, first baseman Sonny DiChiara. DiChiara comes into the MCWS leading the country with a .560 on-base percentage, and a hot bat in the NCAA tournament going 12-25 with 11RBIs, and four home runs.
“I just put my nose down and really wanted to win so bad with these guys,” DiChiara said.
The Tigers have faced adversity all season-long,and after not even being expected to come out of their regional, they find themselves in a place where they thrive, as the underdog.
“The low expectations have driven us all year,” center fielder Kason Howell said. “It’s still driving us today and hasn’t stopped.
Head coach Butch Thompson who led the tigers to Omaha in 2019, said this season “might have been the finest” for him and that being in Omaha reminds him of all the coaches and players he learned from in the past. Coach Thompson is especially happy with the team the Tigers have defensively.
“We’re pretty good up the middle now,” Thompson said. “This should be a World Series ball club.”
The first test in Omaha for the Tigers will be fellow SEC members, Ole Miss Rebels, on Saturday evening.
