D1Baseball 2019 College World Series Preview

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2019 College World Series Preview

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THE SCHEDULE SATURDAY JUNE 15 BRACKET 1

1 p.m.: Texas Tech vs. Michigan 6 p.m.: Arkansas vs.

Florida State SUNDAY JUNE 16 BRACKET 2

1 p.m.: Vanderbilt vs.

Louisville 6:30 p.m.: Mississippi State vs. Auburn MONDAY JUNE 17

1 p.m.: Bracket 1 losers 6 p.m.: Bracket 1 winners TUESDAY JUNE 18

1 p.m.: Bracket 2 losers 6 p.m.: Bracket 2 winners WEDNESDAY JUNE 19

6 p.m.: Bracket 1 one-loss teams THURSDAY JUNE 20

7 p.m.: Bracket 2 one-loss teams FRIDAY JUNE 21

1 p.m.: Bracket 1 championship 6 p.m.: Bracket 2 championship

20I9 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES 04 FIELD OF 64

THE BRACKET

From regionals to super regionals to the eight teams that made it here

BRACKET 1

BRACKET 2

06 OMAHA, BEYOND THE BALLPARK

Texas Tech (44-18)

Vanderbilt (54-11)

Michigan (46-20)

Louisville (49-16)

Arkansas (46-18)

Mississippi State (51-13)

Florida State (41-21)

Auburn (38-26)

The city has plenty to offer even when your favorite team isn’t playing

12 TEAM PREVIEWS

Everything you need to know to get ready for the action and to pick the winners

28 IS THIS HEAVEN?

D1Baseball’s editors come to Omaha every year, and every year they can’t wait to come back

ABOVE, AND ALL PHOTOS OF OMAHA AREA ATTRACTIONS BY VISIT OMAHA

SATURDAY JUNE 22

TBA: Bracket 1 championship rematch (if necessary) TBA: Bracket 2 championship rematch (if necessary) MONDAY JUNE 24

6 p.m.: CWS Finals Game 1

TUESDAY JUNE 25

p.m.: CWS Finals 6 Game 2

WEDNESDAY JUNE 26

6 p.m.: CWS Finals Game 3 (if necessary)

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4)

21)

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2019 College World Series Preview

Field of 64

Regionals Super Regionals

Super Regionals

Super Regionals

#1 *UCLA (47 - 8) *UCLA (51-9)

*Vanderbilt (52-10)

Regional Champion

Regional Champion

Michigan

Michigan

Super Regional Champion

Super Regional Champion

#1 *Oregon St. (36 - 18 - 1)

Vanderbilt

#1 *Vand

#4 Ohio St. (35 - 25) *Vanderbilt (52-10) #3 McNeese (35 - 24) Regional Champion

#4 Ohio S

#2 Indiana St. (41 - 16)

#2 Indian

Super Regional Champion

Super Regional Champion

#1 *West Virginia (37 - 20)

#1 *West

#4 Fordham (38 - 22)

#4 Fordha

vs.

(41 - 18)

#3 McNee

Vanderbilt

vs.

#4 Cincinnati (30 - 29) Michigan (44-19)

R

#1 *Vanderbilt (49 - 10)

vs.

vs.

Regional Champion #3 Michigan

Regionals Super Regionals

vs.

vs.

#4 Omaha (31 - 22 - 1) *UCLA (51-9) Regional Champion #3 LMU (CA) (32 - 23) #2 Baylor (34 - 17)

D1Baseball.com

Michigan (44-19)

Duke (34-25)

Regional Champion

Regional Champion

Duke (34-25) #3 Duke (31 - 25)

Regional Champion

vs.

vs.

#3 Duke (

#2 Creighton (38 - 11)

#2 Texas A&M (37 - 21 - 1)

#2 Texas

#1 *Oklahoma St. (36 - 18)

#1 *East Carolina (43 - 15)

#1 *East

#4 Quinnipiac (29 - 27) East Carolina (47-16) #3 Campbell (35 - 19) Regional Champion

#4 Quinni

#2 NC State (42 - 17)

#2 NC Sta

vs.

vs.

#4 Harvard (27 - 14) Oklahoma St. (39-19) Regional Champion (31 - 22) #3 Nebraska

Oklahoma St. (39-19)

East Carolina (47-16)

Regional Champion

Regional Champion

vs.

vs.

#2 UConn (36 - 23)

Texas Tech

Texas Tech

Super Regional Champion

Super Regional Champion

#1 *Texas Tech (39 - 17)

Louisville

Louisville

Super Regional Champion

Super Regional Champion

*Texas Tech (42-17)

*Louisville (47-16)

Regional Champion

Regional Champion

#1 *Louis

#4 UIC (29 - 21)

#4 UIC (2

*Louisville (47-16) #3 Illinois St. (34 - 24)Regional Champion vs.

vs.

#2 DBU (41 - 18)

#1 *Arkansas (41 - 17) vs.

National Top Sixteen Seeds

#4 Central Conn. St. (30 - 21) *Arkansas (44-17) Regional Champion #3 TCU (32 - 26)

*Arkansas (44-17) Regional Champion

vs.

#2 California (32 - 18)

Arkansas

Super Regional Champion

#1 *Ole Miss (37 - 25) vs.

#4 Jacksonville St. (37 - 21) Ole Miss (40-25) Regional Champion (34 - 24) #3 Clemson

Ole Miss (40-25) Regional Champion

vs.

#2 Illinois (36 - 19)

#1 *LSU (37 - 24)

vs.

#4 Stony Brook (31 - 21) *LSU (40-24) Regional Champion Miss. (38 - 19) #3 Southern

*LSU (40-24) Regional Champion

1. UCLA (47-8) 2. Vanderbilt (49-10) 3. Georgia Tech (41-17) 4. Georgia (44-15) Arkansas 5. Arkansas (41-17) Super Regional Champion 6. Mississippi St. (46-13) 7. Louisville (43-15) 8. Texas Tech (39-17) 9. Oklahoma St. (36-18) 10. East Carolina (43-15) 11. Stanford (41-11) 12. Ole Miss (37-25) 13. LSU (37-24) 14. North Carolina (42-17) 15. West Virginia (37-20) 16. Oregon St. (36-18-1)

1. UCLA (47-8) 2. Vanderbilt (49-10) 3. Georgia Tech (41-17) 4. Georgia (44-15) Miss. State 5. Arkansas (41-17) Super Regional Champion 6. Mississippi St. (46-13) 7. Louisville (43-15) 8. Texas Tech (39-17) 9. Oklahoma St. (36-18) 10. East Carolina (43-15) 11. Stanford (41-11) 12. Ole Miss (37-25) 13. LSU (37-24) 14. North Carolina (42-17) 15. West Virginia (37-20) 16. Oregon St. (36-18-1)

*Mississippi St. (49-13)

#2 Indian

#1 *Mississippi St. (46 - 13)

#1 *Missi

#4 Southern U. (32 - 22)

#4 Southe

*Mississippi St. (49-13) #3 Central Mich. (46 - 12)

#3 Centra

#2 Miami (FL) (39 - 18)

#2 Miami

vs.

Miss. State

Super Regional Champion

#1 *Stanford (41 - 11)

#1 *Stanf

#4 Sacramento St. (39 - 23) Stanford (45-12) #3 Fresno St. (38 - 14 Regional - 1) Champion

#4 Sacram

#2 UC Santa Barbara (45 - 9)

#2 UC Sa

#1 *North Carolina (42 - 17)

#1 *North

#4 UNCW (32 - 29) *North Carolina (45-17) #3 Liberty (42 - 19) Regional Champion

#4 UNCW

#2 Tennessee (38 - 19)

#2 Tenne

#1 *Georgia Tech (41 - 17) Auburn

#1 *Geor

#4 Florida A&M (27 - 32) Auburn (36-25) #3 Coastal Caro. (35 - Regional 24 - 1) Champion

#4 Florida

vs.

Stanford (45-12) Regional Champion

vs.

vs.

*North Carolina (45-17) Regional Champion

vs.

vs.

Florida State

#3 Illinois

#2 Indiana (36 - 21)

vs.

National Top Sixteen Seeds

#2 Arizona St. (37 - 17)

#3 Fresno

#3 Liberty

Florida State

Super Regional Champion

Super Regional Champion

#1 *Georgia (44 - 15)

Auburn

vs.

#4 Mercer (35 - 27) Florida St. (39-21) Regional Champion #3 Florida St. (36 - 21)

#1 *Louisville (43 - 15) vs.

vs.

#4 Army West Point (35 - 24) *Texas Tech (42-17) Regional Champion #3 Florida (33 - 24)

#3 Campb

Super Regional Champion

Super Regional Champion

Florida St. (39-21)

Auburn (36-25)

Regional Champion

Regional Champion

vs.

#3 Coasta

vs.

vs.

#2 Auburn (33 - 25)

#2 Fla. Atlantic (40 - 19)

4

#2 Aubur

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The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge is just a short walk from TD Ameritrade Park, in case you’d like to take a leisurely stroll to another state

OMAHA’S MAGIC GOES BEYOND THE ACTION AT TD AMERITRADE

BY PAUL TRAP

beef during your stay. But first, the bad news for the sportswriters and other Omaha regulars who make an annual pilgrimage to THE DROVER for their signature Whiskey Steak (and salad bar). A fire late last year in the kitchen closed the place down, and while ownership originally hoped to open back up in the spring, delays have pushed back the reopening. The Drover remains closed until reconstruction is complete.

But there are alternatives for those looking for an old-school Omaha steakhouse, and now you have no excuse not to try something different.

JOHNNY’S CAFÉ (opened in 1922, with saddle-seating at the bar), GORAT’S (1944, and featuring a “Finest Steaks in the World” sign in spectacular neon), CASCIO’S (1946, with CWS memorabilia in the lobby) and ANTHONY’S (1967, with a free 17-piece big band show on Monday nights)

It’s that most wonderful time of the year, as eight contenders (from a field of 299) arrive to fulfill their quixotic quest for the college baseball crown here in the mythic city of Omaha.

So, a hearty midwestern welcome. You’ll find a lot more in town than the action in TD Ameritrade Park (opened in 2011, but still with that new-stadium-smell). Here are a few suggestions of to-sees, to-dos and to-eats between games. We’ll leave the googling for location and hours to you and your smartphone.

DINING, WINING If you’re a carnivore, you’ll want to feast upon some Nebraskan corn-fed

6

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The Joslyn Art Museum has a world class collection, and a special exhibit going on right now offer ribeyes, t-bones and filets with all the fixings, served in time-capsuled 1970s-style décor.

Even if you aren’t in the mood for steak, stay off the chain restaurant trail with a burger at STELLA’S, DINKER’S or BRONCO BILLY’S, with a rope-swinging cowboy (more spectacular neon) encouraging patrons to “Serve ’urself and Save.”

Foot traffic inevitably leads to the OLD MARKET, with a hip eat-and-drinkery every few feet. For a better feel of Omaha, though, explore some of the city’s neighborhood outliers.

BENSON (Maple Street) is an eclectic strip of fine restaurants, thrift stores, tattoo parlors, brewpubs, pinballeries, pizza shops and performance venues.

Note the sunglasses-clad rabbits on the banners hanging from the street lamps — the mascot of Benson High School. Go Go Bunnies!

The Homy Inn is one of Omaha’s best-known dive bars, though it has champagne on tap

well worth the wait.

Hot tip: The Nite Owl serves a full menu ’til 2:00 a.m., making for a perfect rendezvous following extra innings.

And don’t leave town without sampling a RUNZA from Nebraska’s very own fast-food chain (80 locations strong). What’s a Runza, you ask? Why spoil the surprise? As an endorsement, more than 10,000 Runzas are sold at every Cornhusker home football game.

Hot Breakfast Tip: Harold’s Koffee House in

Hot tip: Descend into Kaitei, the Blade-Run-

North Omaha, a vintage 1960s diner. Ask to

ner-esque underground sake and cocktail bar,

sit in the booth where Jack Nicholson dined,

from the back alley, with entrance marked by

and try the bacon-butter.

blue light.

THE HOMY INN is Omaha’s famed dive bar, with four flavors of champagne on tap (we kid you not). After you leave there, drive one block north and negotiate ‘THE PEANUT’, the large, curvy racetrack-shaped roundabout.

The secret is out on the WICKED RABBIT, Omaha’s speakeasy that is accessed through a hidden doorway inside LOOKING GLASS CIGARS AND SPIRITS. More craft cocktails await at neighboring MERCURY, where drinks are cooled with shavings from a 300-pound block of ice.

And if you like all things tiki and your drinks served flaming, check out the

The BLACKSTONE DISTRICT (Farnam Street) is home to the CRESCENT MOON, with 60-plus beers on tap (many Nebraskan) and their signature Reuben, the sandwich invented in the hotel kitchen directly across the street.

Next door, FARNAM HOUSE BREWING COMPANY makes craft beer on site and serves locally grown and raised food.

End the evening with a scoop or two from the Blackstone’s CONEFLOWER CREAMERY, the “farm-to-cone” craft ice cream shop. Yep, the long line is

8

At the Henry Doorly Zoo, you can experience one of the best zoos in the nation, and get up close and personal with a variety of animals an eye out for the skull cap of Big-Nose George, former train robber).

Atop the bluffs is the LINCOLN MONUMENT, a small obelisk where, as legend has it, pre-presidential Abe stood and envisioned the coasts connected by railroad. A short distance away is the BLACK ANGEL, a large bronze sculpture by Chester French, who would later sculpt the Honest Abe seated in the more famous Lincoln Monument in Washington, D.C.

LAKA LONO RUM CLUB, below street level in the Old Market.

To decompress after the game while letting the traffic thin, cross the street from the ballpark and enter the quiet confines of THE TRAP ROOM, a retro lounge serving up adult libations. Order a side of chips and famed salsa made fresh at JACOBO’S, the popular Mexican grocery on Omaha’s south side.

Hot tip: If you prefer a night in, have a

Tip: Don’t look into the Black Angel’s eyes

Grand Finale delivered from Zio’s Pizza.

at midnight. You’ve been warned.

AROUND TOWN

The Transcontinental Railroad was famously completed with the driving of a golden spike, which was considerably smaller than the 56-foot tall GIANT GOLDEN SPIKE on 9th Avenue.

Back in Omaha, the DURHAM MUSEUM occupies the city’s former and still palatial art-deco railroad station, and tells the history of Omaha from its rugged frontier days. Look for the pocket watch that took a fateful ride aboard the Titanic, and have a sundae at the restored soda fountain.

And come face-to-jaws with Scotty, a replica of the largest T-Rex discovered to date, in the special exhibit “Tyrannosaurs: Meet the Family,” included with museum admission.

The HENRY DOORLY ZOO continually battles San Diego in online polls for the designation as best zoo in the country. It is inarguably Omaha’s No. 1 attraction, with a two-level jungle (home to free range bats, among other creatures), shark tube, desert dome, butterfly house, African grassland and giraffe feeding station, the just-opened Asian Highlands exhibit and a chair lift that allows you to dangle your feet as you pass over monkey island.

And don’t miss the albino alligator lurking in the underground nocturnal world.

While you’re there, be sure to pay your respects to the late, great ROSEN-

As you nestle into your stadium chair at the ballpark, consider a visit to the JOSYLN ART MUSEUM and its current special exhibit “The Art of Seating: 200 Years of American Design.” This is a ticketed event, but the rest of the Josyln’s outstanding collection is free, and the museum is open late on Thursdays.

Next door to the Joslyn is OMAHA CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL — alma matter of Henry Fonda, Gale Sayers and Pat Venditte, ambidextrous pitcher and source of baseball’s Pat Venditte Rule (more famed Omahanians to come).

Happy Anniversary! Some 150 years back the Transcontinental Railroad was completed, beginning its westward trek from Omaha. As the College World Series is played on the former site of the Union Pacific Railroad Shops, homage must be paid to the city’s train history.

Get up close to Union Pacific’s show locomotives, parked across the street from the ballpark, and a BIG BOY, the largest steam engine ever to ride the rails, perched above the parking lot at LAURITZEN GARDENS. Over the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa, is the UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD MUSEUM, housed in a former Carnegie Library — it’s first-rate and free (keep

9

Aside from all the good work done by the Boys Town organization, the campus is an underrated spot to visit, including the picturesque chapel BLATT STADIUM, longtime and beloved home to the College World Series, memorialized with a small park and original scoreboard in the zoo parking lot.

the downtown arena), and stop midway at the National Park Service’s LEWIS AND CLARK VISITOR CENTER, with hands-on exhibits of the dynamic duo’s trip to the Pacific.

Future U.S. President Leslie King drew his first breath of air at the corner of 32nd and Woolworth. Two weeks later he moved north with his mother, and would later take the name of his stepfather, Gerald Ford. The GERALD FORD BIRTH SITE is commemorated with a garden and small kiosk with audio and exhibits, inclusive of his presidential golf clubs.

Also from Omaha: Fred Astaire, Malcolm X, Marlon Brando, Wade Boggs, Bob Gibson, Nick Nolte (Bunny alum), Harold Lloyd, Andy Roddick, reigning WBO welterweight champion Terrence ‘Bud’ Crawford, director Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways, Nebraska), actors Gabrielle Union and Adam Devine (Pitch Perfect), Broadway’s Andrew Rannells, and of course the Oracle of Omaha himself, Warren Buffett, third richest man on the planet Earth.

West of town, the HALL OF HISTORY AT BOYS TOWN (free admission) is celebrating the CWS while telling the story of the institution’s good work.

Their annual baseball exhibit is up, featuring memorabilia from Williams, Mantle, Gehrig and a signed baseball from Boys Town supporter Babe Ruth.

Spencer Tracy’s Oscar for his portrayal of Father Flanagan stands watch nearby.

Hot tip: Zoo admission is hefty, so find a coupon at the Omaha Visitors Center in Old Market, or get the Omaha Savings Pack at VisitOmaha.com.

The Oregon Trail passed through downtown Omaha, commemorated

by PIONEER COURAGE PARK, with 120 highly detailed and larger than life bronze sculptures making their way west. A wagon train of settlers, horses and oxen march forward, frightening a herd of bison which morph through walls and buildings Matrix-style.

Hot tip: Cross the street for a bite at the excellent Union Pacific cafeteria (a Fortune 500 company), open to the public for breakfast

Tip: Don’t leave the Boys Town campus

and lunch.

without seeing the World’s Largest Ball of Stamps at the Visitor Center.

Stretch your legs between games with a quick walk to Iowa, over the BOB KERREY PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE that spans the Missouri River (longest river in U.S.). Ask for directions from the ballpark (you’ll walk up and around

Just need to soak in some air-conditioning after a hot day in the ballpark?

10

Hot tip: For fans of the band Bright Eyes,

The ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE CINEMAS feature food-delivered-to-your-seatservice, carefully curated pre-show vignettes and their famously militant no-talking/no-texting policy.

The LaVista location has a Death Star-themed lobby — sit in the Emperor’s throne and unleash the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station — while the Midtown location operates under the watchful eyes of a 16-foot tall robot from the film Iron Giant.

have a drink at Pageturners Lounge, Conor Oberst’s bar.

WHAT’S BETTER THAN BASEBALL? More baseball, of course.

Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate, the OMAHA STORMCHASERS, play at Werner Park, guarded by a statue of the aforementioned Bob Gibson.

They’re at home June 20-24, allowing for that wonderful baseball rarity — the two-games-in-two-different-ballparks doubleheader.

Speaking of the Royals, you could scoot down to KANSAS CITY on the scheduled CWS off-day (if weather permits) on Sunday June 23. The Twins do battle with the home team in beautiful Kaufman Stadium, surprisingly the sixth-oldest ballpark in the majors. And fill up on famed KC barbecue before racing back up to Nebraska for the CWS finale. Note: Stretches of Interstate 29 may still be closed due to flood damage, providing the opportunity to enjoy some of the back roads of Iowa and Nebraska.

Still more baseball you crave? Go 50 miles to the west to catch the LINCOLN SALTDOGS at home (June 18-23), and 100 miles to the north, the SIOUX CITY (IOWA) EXPLORERS (June 21-23), both teams in the independent American Association. To the east (130 miles), the IOWA CUBS take the field June 20-28. That might sound like a lot of time on the road, but that’s just backing out of the driveway here on the Great Plains.

Enjoy Omaha and best wishes to your favored team — it ain’t over ‘til the fireworks erupt, and the winning team dogpiles atop the pitching mound.

ROCK ONWARD Omaha boasts a lively arts lineup with a symphony orchestra, theater and a vibrant music scene, with bands of all flavors playing around town every night of the week.

Most evenings you’ll find a national touring act making a pit stop in Omaha as they travel from Chicago to Denver, playing at such venues as THE REVERB and WAITING ROOM LOUNGE.

Hot tip: The original LA punk foursome X is still getting the job done, and hits the stage at the Waiting Room Lounge Sunday June 23.

Music starts late, so there’s plenty of time to catch some live tunes after the game. THE SLOWDOWN (across the street from the ballpark) hosts free shows with local bands throughout the CWS, and O’LEAVERS has live music most evenings. BUCK’S BAR AND GRILL hosts acts playing both kinds of music (country and western) Friday nights in Venice, and there’s jazz at THE JEWELL. For a curated list of the evening’s must-hears, check the excellent Lazy-i. com daily, and for a full listing of events visit Omaha.com/calendar.

Paul Trap is a freelance cartoonist and illustrator, the creator of the syndicated comic strip ‘Thatababy’ and current Omahanian.

Omaha also has a vibrant music scene, and the Waiting Room Lounge is a great place to see a band in a more intimate venue 11

2019 College World Series Preview

D1Baseball.com

Arkansas “Dave is one of the all-time greats, and this year they seem to have all the parts.

Of course with Campbell on the mound it is hard to think they would not be the favorites with that offense. They play solid defense, they run the bases.�

Casey Martin and the Razorbacks have bounced back from their College World Series disappointment last year determined to win it all

12

46-18 (20-10 SEC) | National Seed: 5 | RPI: 6

Coach: Dave Van Horn (1009-541, 25 seasons; 17th season at Arkansas) How They Got Here: Swept through Fayetteville Regional; beat Ole Miss in super regional Postseason History: 10th College World Series (last in 2018); 31 regionals, 8 super regionals Grading The Razorbacks Just as scouts grade prospects using the 20-80 scouting scale, we are using a 20-80 scale to evaluate teams in the CWS. We also spoke to opposing coaches and asked them to break down Arkansas.

We wrap it all up by giving them an overall grade from our experts, Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers.

Offense: 70 “CASEY MARTIN is the Mookie Betts of college baseball. That’s what he looks like to me. HESTON KJERSTAD obviously gives them thump from the left side, but JACK KENLEY is the guy who makes their lineup really long.

You feel like you want to take a deep breath when Kenley comes up, and all of a sudden, he goes out there and hits a bomb. He really solidifies everything about that lineup and gives them a special lefthanded presence.”

“MATT GOODHEART is a very good hitter and a solid baserunner. He’s just a really heady overall baseball player. CASEY OPITZ is a very good defender and does what they need him to do behind the plate.

He’ll drive in some big runs for them. The thing about Arkansas is, from top to bottom, it can hit with some power. The Hogs are just really tough to shut down.”

“I love DOMINIC FLETCHER. Fletcher is one of those guys who gets on runs — he’s kind of streaky.

There’s a chance you catch him on the right day, but he’s a great player that can really change a game or series.”

Defense: 55 Arkansas might be ranked in the 100s from a defensive standpoint, but the team plays better than that figure. Dominic Fletcher is a premier defender out in center field and takes excellent routes, speedy CHRISTIAN FRANKLIN has a flare for the dramatic in left field and Casey Martin has a cannon at shortstop.

Casey Opitz also does a solid job behind the plate.

Starting Pitching: 60 “The rotation . . . it all revolves around ISAIAH CAMPBELL. If he can give them a great start, if he can win that first game, it puts Arkansas in a very good position. He’s just the guy in the rotation that allows the baseball to have more rest. Campbell has the look of a big leaguer and has a fastball anywhere from 90-94 mph, along with a filthy slider, splitter and true curveball. He attacks hitters with a true four-pitch mix, and with poise.

“PATRICK WICKLANDER and CONNOR NOLAND are going to be good, but they’ll give up some runs. Wicklander is a talented lefty who will get into the 90s with his fastball, and Noland is a physical righty sitting 89-92 mph with his fastball, along with feel for at least two

secondary offerings.

“If they’re out there for six innings, it’s almost guaranteed they’re giving up three or four runs most of the time. If Campbell can dominate his game and win, I think that allows them to go to the bullpen a little earlier with Wicklander or Noland on the mound and allows to the bullpen to be a little fresher.”

Bullpen: 65 “They seem to really trust KEVIN KOPPS as much as anyone in that bullpen. JACOB KOSTYSHOCK has a great arm and CODY SCROGGINS does, too, along with MATT CRONIN. It seems like with Kosty and Scroggins, they don’t want to pitch those guys to more than three or four hitters. If you can get those guys in games a little earlier you can have success, but if it’s just for a few outs, you’re in trouble.”

Cronin is one of the best closers in the nation. He sits 91-94 mph with his fastball, while also showing a nasty breaking ball at times.

Kopps is another velocity-centered arm who can get outs, while Scroggins will get up to 98 mph with his fastball and has a good slider. Scroggins can be inconsistent at times, but he is very good when he’s clicking on all cylinders.

Kostyshock has a fastball sitting 91-94 mph, along with a slider that’ll flash plus at times.

Righthander KOLE RAMAGE is another key arm for this staff. Ramage’s numbers aren’t overwhelming, but he’s a seasoned veteran who has a fastball that touches 91-92 mph, with a slider and changeup.

Overall: 65 The Hogs were devastated last season, when they were one out away from winning their first na-

tional title against Oregon State. We know how that series ended (if you’re new to the College World Series, just ask any Arkansas fan, but maybe buy them a beverage first). But they didn’t wallow in self-pity, putting together another dominant campaign with an offense that might just be better than the one that terrorized opposing pitchers last season.

Arkansas has one of the nation’s best starters in Campbell, giving the Hogs a leg up, but things get interesting at the back of the rotation with Noland and Wicklander rounding out the rotation.

The Hogs have the offense, ace and bullpen to win the national title. Can the Hogs finally finish the job in Omaha? They have a couple of Cinderellas and another team looking to take the final step (Texas Tech) standing in their way in this bracket.

PROJECTED LINEUP POS NO. NAME C 12 Casey Opitz 1B 4 Trevor Ezell 2B 7 Jack Kenley SS 15 Casey Martin 3B 5 Jacob Nesbit LF 25 Christian Franklin CF 24 Dominic Fletcher RF 18 Heston Kjerstad DH 10 Matt Goodheart or 8 Jordan McFarland ROTATION RHP 55 Isaiah Campbell RHP 13 Connor Noland LHP 33 Patrick Wicklander BULLPEN LHP 32 Matt Cronin RHP 28 Kole Ramage RHP 57 Cody Scroggins RHP 45 Kevin Kopps

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HT WT CL B/T 5-11 175 SO B/R 5-8 200 SR B/R 6-0 185 JR L/R 5-11 175 SO R/R 6-0 175 FR R/R 5-11 180 FR R/R 5-9 175 JR L/L 6-3 200 SO L/R 6-1 180 SO L/R 6-3 220 JR R/R HT WT CL B/T 6-4 225 JR R/R 6-2 215 FR R/R 6-1 175 FR R/L HT WT CL R/L 6-2 195 JR L/L 6-1 195 SO R/R 6-0 195 JR R/R 6-0 195 JR R/R

AVG OBP SLG AB HR RBI SB .232 .370 .286 168 2 29 6-6 .328 .439 .573 241 10 47 19-20 .324 .442 .578 225 13 53 8-11 .293 .370 .556 270 15 56 10-12 .262 .340 .351 202 3 41 7-10 .267 .356 .408 191 6 34 10-12 .316 .382 .535 256 11 59 2-3 .323 .401 .551 254 15 46 5-5 .356 .453 .539 191 5 46 5-7 .238 .320 .349 63 2 12 2-2 W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 12-1 0 2.26 111.1 115 20 .205 3-5 0 4.00 74.1 53 13 .242 6-2 0 4.32 66.2 90 37 .209 W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 1-0 12 1.93 28.0 41 14 .167 7-1 0 5.25 60.0 53 29 .260 3-0 0 3.80 47.1 61 25 .219 6-3 0 3.66 39.1 48 13 .238

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Auburn “They’ve got good culture over there. They go about their business in a real cool and calm manner, and I think they’re an easy team to root for. You feel like, ‘Man, I don’t know who I’m gonna root for, but I think I’m gonna root for this team.’ ”

Auburn and closer Cody Greenhill got on a roll in the postseason after playing one of the most difficult schedules in the nation

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38-26 (14-16 SEC) | National Seed: NR | RPI: 19

Coach: Butch Thompson (141-108, 4 seasons, all at Arkansas) How They Got Here: Beat Georgia Tech in Atlanta Regional; beat North Carolina in super regional Postseason History: 5th College World Series (1967, ’76, ’94, ’97); 22 regionals, 3 super regionals Grading The Tigers Just as scouts grade prospects using the 20-80 scouting scale, we are using a 20-80 scale to evaluate teams in the CWS. We also spoke to opposing coaches and asked them to break down Auburn.

We wrap it all up by giving them an overall grade from our experts, Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers.

Offense: 50 “STEVEN WILLIAMS and EDOUARD JULIEN were in a funk there for a while this year. Against Julien, you have to get the ball in, because more than any lefty you’ll see he tries to drive the ball left-center.

I know they tinkered their lineup a little bit as the year went on, their lineup looked a lot different late. But I like those two freshmen, KASON HOWELL and RYAN BLISS, they have good energy and compete in the box really well. WILL HOLLAND was really bad for a long stretch this year, but that guy’s too talented to struggle all year and I know he’s started to get it going a little bit. I think he’s really, really unique, really athletic. You know how it is, guys get in funks, but he appeared to kind of get it rolling.

“I like RANKIN WOLEY, I thought he was tough and had a nice approach.The big man, CONOR DAVIS, he scares you, it’s not like he’s a guy that’s hitting 30 homers or whatever, but he makes you very uncomfort-

able because he’s so big, he can do different things, he can drive the ball to right-center, he can pull it.

You’ve got to be careful with him. Williams against us would take the pitches that were hittable and he swung out of the zone. It kind of continued as the year went on, I think probably just trying to do a little more than he’s capable of.

He’s certainly a talented dude, he’ll figure it out.

“The only thing about that team I would say is they can be executed against. If you can pitch up in the zone and you can get in there and jam some balls glove-side on those lefties, if you’re a righthander, just to make them a little uneasy, they can go out there and get diced up a little bit. They can still beat you, but they don’t put the fear of God into you offensively like some of these SEC teams. But good team speed, they’re athletic. I think they have an identity.

They grind. And they’ve got a head coach who’s real consistent, keeps them even-keeled, doesn’t let anything negative snowball on them. I think in the end that gives them a chance, that’s all you can ask for.”

Defense: 55 They’ve got that little juco catcher, MATT SCHEFFLER, he’s a maniac, he gets after their pitchers. We had all that talk about the third coach — they’re lucky, shoot, they got their third coach in that catcher. He’ll

challenge them, I thought he was really impressive.

Skill-wise I would not rate him as one of the top SEC catchers, but he handles the baseball, he competes.

“Defensively Holland and Bliss have got good range in there. Woley’s athletic on the right side. The Howell kid can get after it in the outfield, he’ll make some big time catches. I think he’s going to be a really good center fielder.

Julien is fine at third, I don’t think he’s great or bad, just does his job at a good enough level.”

Starting Pitching: 50 “JACK OWEN is a real craftsman with a very good changeup. TANNER BURNS is really good, he can be crazy fastball-heavy sometimes and it works.

I didn’t see the elite offspeed ability against us, but I see that as a compliment, he just out-competed us. It was 93-97, really good stuff, ran it in there against POS NO. NAME C 6 Matt Scheffler 1B 4 Rankin Woley 2B 9 Ryan Bliss SS 17 Will Holland 3B 10 Edouard Julien LF 1 Judd Ward CF 16 Kason Howell RF 41 Steven Williams DH 24 Conor Davis or 2 Everett Lau ROTATION RHP 32 Tanner Burns LHP 44 Jack Owen LHP 8 Bailey Horn BULLPEN RHP 20 Cody Greenhill LHP 14 Elliott Anderson LHP 18 Brooks Fuller RHP 43 Richard Fitts

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righties on the inner half, up in the zone effectively. And he does have a good slider, we’ve all seen it.

Bullpen: 55 Their closer, CODY GREENHILL, that guy really competes. I don’t think he actually has the most incredible stuff, but man, he just gets after it. I don’t know this for a fact but I feel like the team just kinda knows when he’s pitching that it’s winning time. You can just kinda feel it when you watch him. Every winning team, you need that guy at the end of the game that makes everybody comfortable, and he does that. They can throw a ton of lefties out there, so it’s kind of unorthodox. Let’s say you have a lefthanded loaded lineup or your guys just don’t seem to react very well too it, they can go out there and dice you up for five or six innings.

You get pressured up and next thing you know, you’re

PROJECTED LINEUP

HT WT CL B/T 6-2 190 JR R/R 6-0 210 JR R/R 5-9 165 FR L/R 5-10 181 JR R/R 6-2 195 SO R/R 6-1 195 SO R/R 6-0 185 FR L/L 6-3 216 SO L/R 6-3 227 JR L/R 5-10 185 JR R/R HT WT CL B/T 6-0 205 SO R/R 6-2 174 SO L/L 6-2 212 SO L/L HT WT CL R/L 6-4 216 SO R/R 6-3 212 JR L/L 6-2 215 FR L/L 6-3 185 FR R/R

done. The Anderson kid, he was OK. When he gets his delivery on time and simplifies it, I think he’ll be just fine down the road.

Looks like an SEC guy, got some arm-side run.

Overall: 50 Call it a redemption story for Auburn. Butch Thompson’s club suffered a heartbreaking super regional loss to Florida last season, but now it’s back to Omaha for the first time since 1997, relying mostly on its bats.

Auburn has overcome adversity this season. DAVIS DANIEL was expected to be in the weekend rotation but has missed almost the entire year with an injury, and ace Tanner Burns has been limited by arm soreness. Timely hitting and yeoman work from the bullpen got the Tigers here. They won’t be the favorite in Omaha, but they won’t be intimidated in an SEC-heavy bracket.

AVG OBP SLG AB HR RBI SB .257 .332 .340 206 2 26 5-6 .277 .336 .393 242 3 43 2-2 .281 .369 .370 235 3 37 11-13 .244 .373 .407 221 9 31 14-17 .240 .374 .431 225 9 51 3-5 .277 .385 .393 242 4 31 5-7 .258 .337 .305 213 0 26 14-16 .246 .348 .415 224 9 35 3-3 .285 .345 .431 239 7 34 2-2 .250 .333 .375 40 1 8 1-1 W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 4-3 0 2.81 77.0 97 20 .217 4-2 0 2.83 63.2 58 11 .244 4-1 0 6.03 34.1 28 17 .237 W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 2-3 12 3.44 55.0 43 16 .237 7-2 0 4.22 64.0 66 29 .255 2-2 2 4.50 44.0 36 35 .239 4-3 0 5.02 52.0 41 13 .310

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Florida State

“They’re really dangerous.

They’re away from Tallahassee and that ‘11’ talk and just the pressures of his last year. FSU is just one of those really talented teams who is just figuring it out.”

Reese Albert is one of the best pure hitters in the ACC, and his return to health is one of the reasons Florida State went on its upset run to Omaha

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41-21 (17-13 ACC) | National Seed: NR | RPI: 50

Coach: Mike Martin (2028-734, 40 seasons, all at Florida State) How They Got Here: Swept through Athens Regional; swept LSU in super regional Postseason History: 23rd College World Series (last in 2017); 57 regionals, 17 super regionals Grading The Seminoles Just as scouts grade prospects using the 20-80 scouting scale, we are using a 20-80 scale to evaluate teams in the CWS. We also spoke to opposing coaches and asked them to break down Florida State.

We wrap it all up by giving them an overall grade from our experts, Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers.

Offense: 60 “You saw the way those guys played (in regionals and super regionals). I think as long as FSU isn’t having to play catch-up, it could take care of business. MIKE SALVATORE has been outstanding and can hit for power. He’s the table setter for this offense, while ROBBY MARTIN has definite gap power with a good approach.

“DREW MENDOZA has the ability to bust games wide open. Mendoza is a disciplined hitter who punishes balls when he gets his pitch. He has outstanding raw power. REESE ALBERT is another quality hitter who can hit for power.

He missed 21 games due to injuries but is now healthy, and he’s the best pure hitter on this team. Former walk-on TIM BECKER is another interesting bat to watch.

“This lineup has some tough outs up and down the lineup. They’ve eliminated the extra strikeouts with ELIJAH CABELL and others out of the lineup.

CARTER SMITH and

Becker have provided some really quality at-bats for them lately, while you’ve got veteran talents like Mendoza and Salvatore.

“When you throw those guys in there with NANDER DE SADAS, Martin and MATHEU NELSON, that really stretches the lineup and wears down pitching staffs.”

Defense: 45 “The defense. . . . That’s going to be the ultimate question mark for FSU. If they don’t shoot themselves in the foot and give teams extra opportunities, the Seminoles can beat anyone. But FSU has given teams a lot of extra opportunities this season, and the teams they’ll see in Omaha will thrive on that.

“FSU has a freshman catcher in Nelson. He is talented but he’s obviously not used to this type of series. He’s going to have to do a good job of controlling the running game.”

Starting Pitching: 60 “I think you have two of the better frontline starters in college baseball. If DREW PARRISH is on, he can be as good as anyone in the country. I think he had a 13-strikeout start in the ACC tournament and, yes, he’s had some ups and downs this year, but he’s now able to locate his fastball and the offspeed stuff is always going to be there.

“C.J. VAN EYK over the last month has been pitch-

ing like a future first-rounder. When we saw him, he pitched out a few guys in just a few innings. It’s 94-97 mph with life on his fastball and he has a plus breaking ball. It’s a 12-6 breaking ball and he’ll throw it for strikes.

It’s a plus three-pitch mix and he has an edge about him. He’s not afraid of any situation and that’s what makes him so successful.

“CONOR GRADY is kind of the silent assassin for the Seminoles. He has a solid three-pitch mix, and the slider is an old school slider with some swing and miss. He can really pitch with the fastball, too, ranging 89-92 mph with some sinking life to it. He also has pretty good feel for the changeup, and he has a calm demeanor. He’s one of those guys effective against righties or lefties.”

Bullpen: 55 “J.C. FLOWERS doubles as their center fielder and

is a really good college closer, with a fastball that reaches 93. (He led the ACC with 11 saves despite not being used as a pitcher the past two years.) He is also a good hitter with power, and he’s a standout defender in center.

“The bullpen was the most inconsistent spot for them this year. There are a lot of veteran innings down there with CHASE HANEY, JONAH SCOLARO and a few others. But ultimately, the big key for them is how Flowers pitches out of the pen. He’s a talented pitcher with really good stuff, and for me, is kind of their unsung hero this season.”

Overall: 60 The Seminoles were mired outside the top 100 in the RPI midway through this season. But they finished the regular season strong and scored a dominant win over NC State in the ACC tournament to lock down a

regional bid.

Florida State lookedstrong in upsetting Georgia in the Athens Regional before going back on the road and sweeping LSU in the super regional, giving Mike Martin one last trip to the College World Series. In his 40 seasons at the helm, winning a national title is the only thing he hasn’t done.

While other teams will be more popular picks to win the national title, don’t sleep on the Seminoles.

Parrish is more than capable at the front of the rotation, and Van Eyk showed premier stuff in Baton Rouge. Antonio Velez and the bullpen also are riding momentum into the CWS. Now that FSU has moved past the ceremonies and the retirement talk and actually got “11” to Omaha, the players might feel like they’re playing with house money. That could be scary for opposing teams.

PROJECTED LINEUP POS NO. NAME HT WT CL B/T C 63 Matheu Nelson 5-11 195 FR R/R 1B 35 Carter Smith 6-1 180 JR L/R 2B 2 Nander De Sedas 6-2 192 FR B/R SS 16 Matt Salvatore 6-0 186 SR R/R 3B 22 Drew Mendoza 6-5 230 JR L/R LF 19 Elijah Cabell 6-2 195 FR R/R CF 8 J.C. Flowers 6-3 190 JR R/R RF 23 Reese Albert 6-2 197 SO L/L DH 26 Robby Martin 6-3 200 FR L/R or 51 Nico Baldor 6-2 195 JR L/R ROTATION HT WT CL B/T RHP 15 C.J. Van Eyk 6-1 205 SO R/R LHP 43 Drew Parrish 5-11 200 JR L/L LHP 5 Shane Drohan 6-3 200 SO L/L BULLPEN HT WT CL R/L RHP 8 J.C. Flowers 6-3 190 JR R/R RHP 33 Chase Haney 6-6 225 JR R/R LHP 13 Jonah Scolaro 5-10 180 SO L/L RHP 31 Conor Grady 6-2 187 SO R/R

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AVG OBP SLG AB HR RBI SB .277 .439 .439 148 6 29 4-7 .247 .366 .376 85 2 10 0-1 .241 .365 .352 199 4 31 3-5 .341 .430 .541 255 7 51 5-7 .319 .484 .620 213 16 56 2-4 .220 .404 .415 164 7 25 9-10 .271 .372 .511 225 13 53 11-14 .299 .406 .552 154 9 35 2-3 .332 .414 .473 205 4 54 2-3 .173 .277 .252 127 1 16 2-2 W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 10-3 0 3.80 94.2 120 39 .227 8-5 0 5.11 86.1 116 30 .249 3-1 0 3.66 51.2 71 48 .242 W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 0-0 12 1.40 25.2 23 11 .185 2-2 1 2.73 33.0 32 10 .190 3-2 2 5.00 45.0 46 23 .207 9-5 0 3.64 59.1 67 24 .220

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Louisville

“No question, they’re absolutely the most balanced team in the ACC, no doubt.

From a lineup, depth and athleticism standpoint, from a starting pitcher standpoint, it’s all there.”

Tyler Fitzgerald and Louisville fought their way through a challenging regional and then absolutely blitzed East Carolina in the super regional

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49-16 (21-7 ACC) | National Seed: 7 | RPI: 9

Coach: Dan McDonnell (601-238, 13 seasons, all at Louisville) How They Got Here: Won Louisville Regional, beat Illinois State in final; swept ECU in super regional Postseason History: 5th College World Series (2007, ’13, ’14, ’17); 13 regionals, 8 super regionals Grading The Cardinals Just as scouts grade prospects using the 20-80 scouting scale, we are using a 20-80 scale to evaluate teams in the CWS. We also spoke to opposing coaches and asked them to break down Louisville.

We wrap it all up by giving them an overall grade from our experts, Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers.

Offense: 65 “I felt in our league that they were the most dangerous lineup. I just think Louisville can beat you in a lot of different ways. Shoot, if they’re not hitting you to death, they can steal bases, they can manufacture runs. The freshman third baseman, ALEX BINELAS, I think is a hell of a player, he can really hit and hurt you with the home run. TYLER FITZGERALD is awesome. LOGAN WYATT, he swung the bat pretty good against us. He’s a pretty advanced hitter. He might not have had the year that everybody was thinking he could have, but I just think in a lineup like this, he’s protected because of the people he has around him.

Logan’s always performed really well, I think he’s a pretty special hitter.

“LUCAS DUNN, for sure, is a key sparkplug guy. He can really run. I just think he’s a tough, tough out, gonna put the ball in play, doesn’t strike out much. Aggressive, he’s gonna come at you. If he gets on base he’s got a chance to steal

a base. He’s certainly the guy at the beginning that makes them go. And that’s kind of been their thing for years, to have somebody at the top like that who is a table-setter, and that’s him. The JAKE SNIDER kid who hits in the 2-hole is a scrapper who can run. Even though he’s not the kind of hitter for average that Dunn is, it’s like if Dunn doesn’t get on, they’ve got another guy there that can get on, he’ll drop a bunt on you and steal a base.

“ZEKE PINKHAM obviously has some good experience and he can hit. The DANNY ORIENTE kid for me is one of their more clutch players, he just seems to get big hits.

HENRY DAVIS, the freshman, does a really nice job behind the plate. Lavey’s all right, he knows his role, they’ve got a few role guys there. “

Defense: 60 “i think the athleticism plays really well on the defensive side.I think it’s one of their real bright spots.

They’re gonna go get it in the outfield. I think Fitzgerald’s really good at shortstop. Binelas at third base is adequate, and I think the Lavey kid’s above-average at second. So I think the defensive part is a really big thing for them.”

Starting Pitching: 60 “REID DETMERS has struggled a little bit down the stretch, but the dude’s stuff is really, really good.

I can’t speak to why he hasn’t been as dominant lately, but he’s obviously really special. That curveball is such a weapon. The thing I always like about Louisville is they’ll throw their fastball to both sides of the plate. Detmers will do that. He’ll pitch in on you. And it’s tough anytime somebody does that at 88-92 with that breaking ball, and he’ll use vertical fastballs as well. But as a rigthhanded hitter against him, you’d better be ready to handle the fastball in, which not as many guys do.

His slider for me is more like a cutter, he only uses it against lefties. But I think his fastball command is what makes him, because that makes everything else more effective.

“NICK BENNETT is 8891, got a bigger curveball 72-75, a slider at 77-81, and a changeup 79-83.

He will use fastball to both sides of the plate to both

POS NO. NAME C 11 Zeke Pinkham or 32 Henry Davis 1B 43 Logan Wyatt 2B 16 Justin Lavey SS 2 Tyler Fitzgerald 3B 13 Alex Binelas LF 20 Jake Snider CF 7 Lucas Dunn RF 1 Drew Campbell DH 9 Danny Oriente or 34 Zach Britton ROTATION LHP 42 Reid Detmers LHP 8 Nick Bennett RHP 15 Bobby Miller BULLPEN RHP 41 Michael McAvene LHP 33 Michael Kirian LHP 4 Adam Elliott RHP 27 Bryan Hoeing

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righthanded and lefthanded hitters; this is what makes Louisville good on the mound. Bennett pitches off his fastball, breaking ball is more big loopy slurve type, slider is firmer. He likes to use the changeup in even counts and hitter counts, especially to righties. And he’ll use a vertical fastball just like Detmers will, that’s a trademark of [pitching coach] Roger [Williams].

And then BOBBY MILLER’S stuff is really good. I mean it’s 90-95, good slider at 80-83 and change 83-86. I thought his stuff was really, really electric. I think he’s really legit.”

Bullpen: 70 “MICHAEL MCAVENE, I love that dude. That guy’s a really, really high-end closer in my opinion. It was 90-95 with a really good breaking ball, changeup. They have a lot of other guys, but he is their guy. But they’ve got enough, and they’ve

PROJECTED LINEUP

got an edge to them. Even without McAvene, they can run MICHAEL KIRIAN and BRYAN HOEING and more guys at you, it’s still a lot of really good arms. It’s those kind of guys that in most cases end up making the difference.”

Intangibles: 60 “Like pretty much every Louisville team that we’ve played every year, they’re tough, man. Dan does a really good job.”

Overall: 65 Louisville doesn’t have much Omaha history, but most of it is recent, and that experience could prove to be important over the next two weeks. The Cardinals have a steady and impressive lineup. On the mound, they have one of the better arms in the field in Detmers, with plenty behind him.

U of L has enough talent and experience to take home its first national title.

HT WT CL B/T AVG OBP SLG AB HR RBI SB 6-0 200 SR L/R .313 .449 .424 99 1 15 2-2 6-2 195 FR R/R .276 .344 .397 116 3 19 0-0 6-4 230 JR L/R .295 .464 .478 224 9 52 8-8 6-1 205 JR R/R .288 .353 .358 212 3 28 19-22 6-3 205 JR R/R .331 .403 .500 248 7 64 18-23 6-3 210 FR L/R .312 .396 .661 189 14 59 3-3 6-1 190 JR L/R .289 .384 .398 249 1 34 13-16 6-0 195 SO R/R .312 .408 .406 170 1 22 14-16 5-11 170 JR L/L .288 .375 .400 170 2 34 9-13 6-0 190 JR R/R .326 .405 .434 175 1 48 0-1 6-1 200 SO L/R .287 .368 .473 129 5 28 2-3 HT WT CL B/T W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 6-2 210 SO L/L 12-4 0 2.85 107.1 162 27 .178 6-4 210 JR L/L 7-3 0 4.40 73.2 73 30 .256 6-5 220 SO R/R 6-1 0 4.37 68.0 78 34 .213 HT WT CL R/L W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 6-3 210 JR R/R 2-0 7 2.67 30.1 46 9 .160 6-6 235 SO L/L 3-1 4 1.59 28.1 39 8 .222 6-1 190 JR L/L 2-2 0 2.64 30.2 30 17 .222 6-6 225 SR R/R 3-3 1 2.70 60.0 68 16 .217

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Michigan “They have outstanding pitching.

They probably have as good a three starters as you’ll see, possibly in the country. They have three number ones, really. They just don’t leave any room for our mistakes.”

Jordan Brewer celebrates as Michigan returns to Omaha for the first time 35 years, running through two of the best teams on the West Coast

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46-20 (16-7 Big 10) | National Seed: NR | RPI: 39

Coach: Eric Bakich (325-258, 10 seasons; seventh season at Michigan) How They Got Here: Won Corvallis Regional; beat UCLA in three games in super regional Postseason History: 8th CWS (first since 1984), champion 1953, ’62; 24 regionals, 2 super reg.

Grading The Wolverines Just as scouts grade prospects using the 20-80 scouting scale, we are using a 20-80 scale to evaluate teams in the CWS. We also spoke to opposing coaches and asked them to break down Michigan.

We wrap it all up by giving them an overall grade from our experts, Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers.

Offense: 55 “Michigan has versatility throughout its lineup with JORDAN NWOGU and JORDAN BREWER providing both athleticism and pop. Veteran JIMMY KERR also has pop, and catcher JOE DONOVAN can leave the yard too. Michigan also can make things happen on the basepaths, with four players with double digit steals.

“To me, Jordan Brewer is kind of the X-factor. For that team, he really sets that offensive lineup and they kind of line up after him. He’s just a different guy and he helps them put together the right mix.

“They can beat you with power. They can steal bases if you don’t control the run game, and they can really execute. They’ll get consistent at-bats and they’ll put good at-bats together. They’re not too lefthanded or righthanded at the plate — it’s the right mix. It can be really tough to face, that’s for sure.

“When you look at their offensive lineup as a whole, I do feel like you can go

out there and pitch to a guy like Jordan Nwogu. He’s definitely a threat and can lead the game off with an extra-base hit. But again, he can be pitched to. He’s a guy if he makes contact and it’s a dribbler, he can beat it out. I think we had him at a 4.1 seconds down the line from the right side.

He can be really tough.”

“Jimmy Kerr is one of those guys who could have a big performance.

Especially when teams are focusing so much on Brewer, Kerr can hurt you. You got to relax and attack someone in their lineup, and even guys like BLAKE NELSON and JACK BLOMGREN can make you pay.”

Defense: 60 “Having watched Michigan in the fall and spring, this is a very solid defensive club. AKO THOMAS is as good as it gets, and there’s speed and athleticism in the outfield with JESSE FRANKLIN, Brewer and CHRISTIAN BULLOCK, and the left side of the infield does a great job with Nelson and Blomgren leading the way.

“Michigan is a really, really good defensive team.

They shift well and they’ve bought in from an analytical standpoint, it seems.

Blake Nelson at third is really good and could play shortstop if he needed to. Blomgren is just a solid overall player and Ako Thomas has good range, and he can really defend.

“In the outfield, JESSE FRANKLIN is a solid defender and Brewer in right is a really good defender.

That arm of his is a big-time weapon. That’s something in a big matchup that could end up being the difference.”

Starting Pitching: 65 “I think the rotation is pretty good. KARL KAUFFMANN is going to give you a shot to win every time he steps out there. If he’s not pitching at some small offensive park, he’s good to go. So at a place like TD Ameritrade, he should be good to go. TOMMY HENRY is a really nice looking lefty and he attacks the zone really well.

“Michigan’s rotation and pitching staff as a whole has good enough stuff to where they can get into trouble and still find a way to pitch out of the jam.”

“They’re going against a good collection of lineups,

but they’ve faced lineups like this before. They faced UCLA in the regular season and super regional, they went to Texas Tech, so they’re well prepared.

Henry is going to be the big key. He started out strong, struggled and I think he’s back to business now.”

Bullpen: 60 “The approach to try to beat them, you have to grind out at bats or ambush them. You just have to grind them out and find a way to get into their bullpen. They have some quality arms back there for sure, but they’ll walk you and give you an opening to score some runs. BEN KEIZER, though his numbers aren’t great, is a guy with some stuff. I wouldn’t say Michigan has a very deep bullpen, but it’s solid.”

Overall: 55 It’s a surprise to see Michigan in Omaha, but it’s

no Cinderella story. While the Wolverines were one of the last four teams in the field of 64, they were expected to be good coming into the season.

Michigan was in D1Baseball’s Preseason Top 25 but was inconsistent during the regular season. It wasn’t until the Corvallis Regional that Erik Bakich’s club put all the pieces together. Now they’re in Omaha for the first time since 1984, when Barry Larkin was roaming the field in Maize and Blue.

Michigan has an intriguing lineup, entering the tournament hitting .281 as a club, with plenty of weapons at the plate. Kauffmann and Henry lead a talented rotation, while the bullpen has gotten contributions from a variety of places.

Michigan won’t be the pick of many in the CWS field, but then, they weren’t the pick in regionals or super regionals either. Don’t sleep on the Wolverines.

PROJECTED LINEUP POS NO. NAME HT WT CL B/T C 0 Joe Donovan 5-11 180 SO R/R 1B 15 Jimmy Kerr 6-2 205 SR L/R 2B 4 Ako Thomas 5-7 165 SR R/R SS 2 Jack Blomgren 5-10 180 SO R/R 3B 10 Blake Nelson 6-0 175 SR R/R LF 3 Miles Lewis 6-1 215 SR B/R CF 7 Jesse Franklin 6-1 215 SO L/L RF 22 Jordan Brewer 6-1 195 JR R/L DH 42 Jordan Nwogu 6-3 235 SO R/R or 5 Christian Bullock 5-10 175 JR L/L ROTATION HT WT CL B/T RHP 37 Karl Kauffmann 6-2 200 JR R/R LHP 47 Tommy Henry 6-3 205 JR L/L RHP 17 Jeff Criswell 6-4 225 SO R/R BULLPEN HT WT CL R/L RHP 20 Willie Weiss 6-3 205 FR R/R LHP 14 Benjamin Keizer 6-3 215 JR L/L RHP 25 Isaiah Paige 6-1 200 FR R/R RHP 48 Jack Weisenburger 6-3 220 JR R/R

21

AVG OBP SLG AB HR RBI SB .245 .318 .436 188 8 36 0-2 .269 .370 .475 242 12 56 5-6 .262 .352 .374 206 2 28 2-4 .309 .418 .406 217 3 47 5-9 .299 .399 .398 211 1 35 15-15 .266 .366 .410 222 4 31 10-16 .254 .384 .470 236 12 49 4-4 .338 .396 .586 222 12 55 24-28 .327 .442 .580 226 12 43 16-18 .296 .402 .459 98 2 14 13-14 W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 10-6 1 2.59 114.2 101 30 .213 10-5 0 3.54 106.2 117 25 .230 7-1 1 2.74 95.1 99 45 .234 W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 2-2 9 3.08 38.0 50 32 .185 4-1 2 4.01 42.2 47 18 .196 3-0 1 2.98 48.1 28 16 .221 3-1 1 4.25 29.2 31 21 .221

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Miss. State

“They’re versatile because they got lefties on the mound, they got lefties in the order, they compete hard. They’ve got that mentality, they just compete man. They’re just really, really good, I think.”

Jake Mangum is one of the best hitters in college baseball, and he contributes to a well-rounded lineup that makes Mississippi State hard to beat

22

51-13 (20-10 SEC) | National Seed: 6 | RPI: 4

Coach: Chris Lemonis (192-104, 5 seasons, first at Mississippi State) How They Got Here: Swept through Starkville Regional; swept Stanford in super regional Postseason History: 11th College World Series (last in 2018); 38 regionals, 9 super regionals Grading The Bulldogs Just as scouts grade prospects using the 20-80 scouting scale, we are using a 20-80 scale to evaluate teams in the CWS. We also spoke to opposing coaches and asked them to break down Mississippi State. We wrap it all up by giving them an overall grade from our experts, Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers.

Offense: 70 “They’re older, they still play a lot of sophomores but they’re experienced.

They have a real approach as a team. They were the second-most aggressive team we faced all year in terms of attacking first pitches. But yet they have such a supreme two-strike approach. They can protect when they need to protect, but they still will punish you if you make bad pitches.

“They’re athletic enough; they can run, they can go first to third, they can score from third on mishandled balls. JUSTIN FOSCUE and TANNER ALLEN are very, very difficult to pitch to. You’ve got MARSHALL GILBERT in the nine-hole, he’d be a middle of the order guy in most programs, and that joker’s hitting nine.

“I think the big thing with them, you need probably a little juice, but you’ve got to be able to pitch in or you’ve got to have some lefties.

If you’re not versatile on the mound you’re going to have a tough time. Even if

your arms are really good, they still have to grind. If you can pitch in and you can manipulate the ball, you can get some quicker innings because they’re going to swing, but you’ve got to make pitches.

“I just think JAKE MANGUM’S a winner. He’s the ultimate competitor. He competes as hard in the batter’s box as any dude you’ll ever see, and I think he’s got talent too. He goes and gets it in the outfield at a high level. He’s the driving force, the ringleader, plays with so much energy.”

Defense: 55 “They’re crazy athletic defensively, they are a pitcher’s dream. You just spin around the diamond, first to third and then left to right in the outfield. I’m impressed with how they get after the ball in the outfield. I thought DUSTIN SKELTON handled that staff well, I did. Then in the infield they’ve got range with multiple angles with throws, quick on the double plays. They’re just really, really solid. I thought Foscue was really good at second.

Good range, can release it from a lot of different spots.

That guy’s a player, man.

Like, a real player.”

Starting Pitching: 70 “We’ll see what happens with J.T. GINN, but ETHAN SMALL has the invisible fastball up in the zone, people can’t lay off.

“It certainly appears that he doesn’t even need a

breaking ball to dominate, but I think there’s still enough of a threat of it that it can scare people.

“With Ginn, that’s real stuff, real stuff. And a real competitor. He was 91-95, mostly 3s and 4s, the breaking ball was really hard, 82-84. I think he features that changeup more to lefthanded hitters, but he was hyper-competitive.

He’ll amp up when it gets to two strikes, and he ain’t afraid to give an umpire a look. That guy is a real dude.

“PEYTON PLUMLEE kind of mixes it around enough, can sink it under the barrel pretty well. He’s definitely not a wipe-youout strikeout guy, but he’s kind of like the perfect Sunday guy, where he gets the report and can execute it.

Bullpen: 65 “They’ve got a ton of bullpen arms that come out there and chuck. They all

are similar with what the stuff reads, but how it plays is a little different. Some guys come in and sink it a little better, some spin it and repeat it a little better.

There’s a lot of variety in the pen. It’s almost as if they just go hot hand, whoever has looked good that week and whoever they’re feeling good with.

“Even COLE GORDON, I know he’s got a bunch of saves, but his numbers aren’t as great, but when he’s dialed in with the fastball and spins off the little slurve, that stuff can dominate for an inning or two. JARED LIEBELT I like, he kind of turbo sinks it in there. Smaller frame but it comes out pretty hot. RILEY SELF, he just throws a little cut ball all the time. COLBY WHITE has a huge arm, big-time strikeout numbers.

And then TRYSTEN BARLOW, oh my God, when it’s right, it’s legit. It’s like 92-94 with a slider that can be

really good. We’ll all take that from the left side.

Overall: 65 ELIJAH MACNAMEE wasn’t kidding last June when he guaranteed the Bulldogs would be back in the College World Series this summer. MacNamee held up his end of the bargain with a majestic three-run home run to put an exclamation point on the super regional win over Stanford.

Mississippi State will be one of the favorites to win the national title. Small is as good as it gets on the mound, and there’s depth behind him. MSU’s success in Omaha could hinge on the health of freshman righthander J.T. Ginn, who should be good to go after battling arm soreness. The Bulldogs have a potent and versatile lineup and play with energy. They’ll be a scary sight for opponents in Omaha.

PROJECTED LINEUP POS NO. NAME C 8 Dustin Skelton 1B 5 Tanner Allen 2B 17 Justin Foscue SS 11 Jordan Westburg 3B 34 Marshall Gilbert LF 4 Rowdey Jordan CF 15 Jake Mangum RF 40 Elijah MacNamee DH 10 Josh Hatcher or 2 Gunner Halter ROTATION LHP 44 Ethan Small RHP 3 J.T. Ginn RHP 13 Peyton Plumlee BULLPEN RHP 24 Cole Gordon RHP 19 Jared Liebelt LHP 46 Trysten Barlow RHP 6 Brandon Smith

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HT WT CL B/T 6-0 202 JR R/R 5-11 184 SO L/R 6-0 201 SO R/R 6-3 191 SO R/R 6-0 203 SR R/R 5-10 171 SO B/R 6-1 179 SR B/L 6-3 198 SR R/R 6-2 175 SO L/L 6-3 180 JR R/R HT WT CL B/T 6-3 214 JR L/L 6-2 192 FR R/R 6-3 201 SR R/R HT WT CL R/L 6-5 244 SR L/R 6-0 169 SR R/R 6-1 215 JR L/L 6-3 180 FR R/R

AVG OBP SLG AB HR RBI SB .316 .385 .517 209 10 55 3-5 .348 .423 .519 264 7 64 1-2 .338 .402 .582 263 14 59 2-4 .299 .408 .466 251 6 61 6-6 .317 .436 .488 123 5 16 0-0 .296 .376 .428 243 6 47 11-13 .355 .411 .462 290 1 39 22-28 .288 .403 .483 205 7 51 4-7 .327 .387 .515 101 3 21 3-4 .281 .357 .345 139 1 17 3-3 W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 10-2 0 1.77 102.0 168 29 .164 8-4 0 3.36 80.1 103 18 .223 7-4 0 3.67 81.0 63 27 .204 W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 4-0 11 3.76 40.2 65 23 .196 2-0 5 2.79 51.2 36 9 .265 3-1 0 5.25 24.0 32 13 .225 3-0 0 3.93 36.2 31 6 .299

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Texas Tech

“They’re very competitive. They’re very disciplined players. They’re good players. The way they play back-to-back-to-back complements one another. It’s how a team is built.

It’s what makes them good. They’re good baseball players. That’s just in their DNA, it’s how they play the game.”

Texas Tech star Josh Jung celebrates another run during the Red Raiders’ super regional victory, which earned them a fourth CWS trip in six years

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44-18 (16-8 Big 12) | National Seed: 8 | RPI: 11

Coach: Tim Tadlock (282-149, 7 seasons, all at Texas Tech) How They Got Here: Swept through Lubbock Regional; beat Okla. State in three games in super Postseason History: 4th College World Series (2014, ’16, ’18); 14 regionals, 4 super regionals Grading The Red Raiders Just as scouts grade prospects using the 20-80 scouting scale, we are using a 20-80 scale to evaluate teams in the CWS. We also spoke to opposing coaches and asked them to break down Texas Tech.

We wrap it all up by giving them an overall grade from our experts, Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers.

Offense: 65 “Obviously, I think they have a really deep lineup. I think DYLAN NEUSE being in the lineup really changes things for them. To me he was kind of the guy that really stretched out that lineup. He’s a guy you’re really going to have to pitch to in order to get him out.

“You know, people talk about JOSH JUNG and those guys. But CAMERON WARREN is the one you have to be really, really careful with when guys are on base. He’s done some serious damage in some big spots. Jung is Jung, but I still think Warren is the scariest of the bunch when he comes to the plate.

“GABE HOLT and BRIAN KLEIN are high on-base guys, and when they get on base in front of those two guys — Warren and Jung — it gets really, really dicey for your pitcher. Staying out of big innings is big, as is keeping a guy like GABE HOLT off the basepaths.

He’s such a pain on the front end. He’s a really big piece.

“At the end of the day, I

don’t think teams are going to let Warren and Jung beat them, so it’s going to be all about how the bottom of that Tech order performs.

We’ll see. That’s my feeling on that.”

went on. CALEB KILIAN will sit anywhere from 90-93 and up to 94 mph with his fastball, while the curveball is a real weapon for him. He can throw three pitches for strikes.

Defense: 60

Bullpen: 65

“Jung has made a huge difference for them after sliding over to shortstop.

He really solidified that spot, even though he doesn’t project there as a pro. Klein is a veteran, a steady defender who serves as a good teammate and double play partner. PARKER KELLY and EASTON MURRELL are serviceable options at the hot corner, while behind the plate, I’ve liked what I’ve seen from BRAXTON FULFORD and COLE STILWELL this season. In the outfield, KURT WILSON is an athletic guy who can make things happen, while Holt has great speed and can track anything down. Neuse is another athletic defender with versatility.”

“TAYLOR FLOYD has been really, really good for those guys. They’ve got a bunch of big-time arms in that bullpen, but I’m not sure how much they trust some of those guys.

“It doesn’t seem like they’re running some of those big velocity guys outside of JOHN MCMILLON out there as much now as they were earlier this season.

“They’ve got some bigtime arms on that staff, it’s just all about harnessing their stuff and throwing strikes. If they can go out there with a plan and throw strikes, I like their chances because, again, they’ve got the stuff at the back end of

Starting Pitching: 60 “They are a little questionable when it comes to the weekend rotation, but I think I feel a little better about the back of the rotation. MICAH DALLAS stepping up has sort of solidified Tech. He’s been very good for them. Dallas has good velocity on his fastball and a filthy slider.

BRYCE BONNIN is a power pitcher who has developed better command and secondary stuff as the season

POS NO. NAME C 26 Braxton Fulford or 18 Cole Stilwell 1B 11 Cameron Warren 2B 5 Brian Klein SS 16 Josh Jung 3B 15 Parker Kelly LF 20 Max Marusak CF 9 Dylan Neuse RF 2 Gabe Holt DH 7 Cody Masters or 4 Dru Baker ROTATION RHP 34 Micah Dallas RHP 32 Caleb Kilian RHP 40 Bryce Bonnin BULLPEN RHP 29 Clayton Beeter RHP 28 Taylor Floyd RHP 17 John McMillon LHP 33 Dane Haveman

25

games.”

Floyd has been terrific this spring and has a filthy fastball and slider combo to go with a hard-nosed demeanor. DAVE HAVEMAN is consistent and has command of the zone with 52 strikeouts and just seven walks. CLAYTON BEETER is another young, talented arm and McMillon reportedly approached triple digits in the postseason. Tech also has plenty of other power options out of the pen, but none they trust as much as McMillon, Haveman, Beeter and Floyd.

Overall: 65 Wash, rinse and repeat.

No longer Omaha newbies, the Red Raiders are back for their fourth College World Series under Tim Tadlock, their fourth trip in six years. They stormed through the Lubbock Regional before taking two of three from Big 12 rival Oklahoma State in a taut

PROJECTED LINEUP

super regional. Now they have a seasoned bunch that knows the lay of the land in Omaha, and that’s critical for any team in the CWS. Texas Tech will be able to hit with anyone in the field, with one of the nation’s best and most versatile offensive lineups. Jung is an athletic force with big-time power, yet Warren was the Big 12 player of the year. He’s a consistent hitter who hits for massive power. Tech also has some speed in the lineup, though it will likely be without Holt, who is expected to miss the CWS with a broken thumb.

On the mound, Dallas has emerged as an ace and Kilian has good stuff with Omaha experience. Tech has a plethora of options in the bullpen, too.

Texas Tech is no longer just happy to be here. Tech wants to win, and has the roster to do damage in Omaha.

HT WT CL B/T AVG OBP SLG AB HR RBI SB 5-10 190 SO R/R .282 .384 .388 170 3 31 0-0 6-0 200 FR R/R .277 .419 .420 119 3 22 1-1 6-3 240 SR R/R .360 .451 .680 222 17 75 1-1 5-11 190 JR L/R .322 .417 .429 233 1 53 0-1 6-2 215 JR R/R .341 .477 .618 217 12 54 1-2 6-3 205 SO R/R .202 .280 .310 84 1 4 0-0 6-0 175 FR R/R .242 .309 .364 99 1 12 8-10 5-9 175 SO R/R .301 .417 .516 219 8 50 16-18 5-11 175 SO L/R .319 .413 .438 251 3 34 28-31 6-1 180 SO B/L .297 .374 .469 128 5 27 4-4 5-11 190 FR R/R .328 .404 .443 122 2 21 3-4 HT WT CL B/T W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 6-2 205 FR R/R 7-0 0 3.38 72.0 82 26 .239 6-4 180 JR R/R 8-3 0 3.89 83.1 72 18 .246 6-1 190 SO R/R 6-1 0 4.28 54.2 52 38 .224 HT WT CL B/T W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 6-1 205 FR R/R 0-2 8 2.79 19.1 38 18 .164 6-1 185 JR R/R 5-3 3 2.82 51.0 79 21 .236 6-3 230 JR L/R 2-3 3 3.15 40.0 55 28 .208 6-3 245 JR L/L 2-1 2 2.46 40.1 54 7 .281

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Vanderbilt “You look at all their games, a team might get through the order one time against them, but to get through that order three or four times is really, really hard. You’ll be cruising through, thinking you’re doing well, and then all of a sudden — bang, they put up a six-spot on you. ”

J.J. Bleday was the SEC player of the year and just one of the reasons Vanderbilt’s offense may be the most potent in the nation this year

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53-11 (23-7 SEC) | National Seed: 2 | RPI: 1

Coach: Tim Corbin (841-491, 22 seasons; 17th season at Vanderbilt) How They Got Here: Swept through Nashville Regional; beat Duke in three games in super regional Postseason History: ; 4th CWS (2011, ’14, ’15), champion, 2014; 18 regionals, 9 super regional Grading The Commodores Just as scouts grade prospects using the 20-80 scouting scale, we are using a 20-80 scale to evaluate teams in the CWS. We also spoke to opposing coaches and asked them to break down Vanderbilt.

We wrap it all up by giving them an overall grade from our experts, Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers.

Offense: 70 “They were the best team we played all year.

It was the best offense we played all year, I should say that. From top to bottom, you have experience, there’s power, there’s speed, there’s some guys with plate discipline, some guys who are super-aggressive, and they’ll match them up really good. One guy is aggressive, the next guy will take some pitches, so they do a good job mixing them up.

“AUSTIN MARTIN is like a stronger version of Jake Mangum — he’s just always on the barrel, but he can hit the ball out of the ballpark.

He’s really, really tough, he can hit pitcher’s pitches.

You feel like you execute a fastball in, and he’s able to find the barrel and hit it down the line for a double.

“In the two-spot you have J.J. BLEDAY, he’s obviously really good, SEC player of the year. There’s real power in there — his fly balls are different than everybody else’s. We pitched him fairly good and he still

got us couple times. He’s got really good feel to hit, that’s where it started, and obviously the strength has come over the past year.

“ETHAN PAUL is a senior who’s been doing it for a long time, can work some at-bats and grind it out, and PHILIP CLARKE is super-talented and aggressive. If he guesses right first pitch, he’s going to barrel it up somewhere. PAT DEMARCO you can pitch to, but it’s like crazy bat speed. If he guesses right and you hang a breaking ball, he can hit it 450 feet.

The rest of the lineup you can pitch to, but if you don’t execute you’re in a tough spot. Those first four guys, even if you execute they can get you.

“And then there’s STEPHEN SCOTT, I forgot about him, geez Louise.

Sometimes he can be the toughest guy in there.

He’s a senior with a ton of college at-bats who has lefthanded power, who’s tough. There’s just a lot of older guys in that lineup.

From top to bottom, the lineup is just really hard to navigate through.

“I think velocity ain’t gonna do it against them, I think you have to have a really good offspeed pitch, something to force them to swing and miss. If you try to go down and get them to chase, they just will not chase.”

Defense: 65 “They play really good defense, really good infield

defense. They’re really athletic. I think Clarke has gotten better behind the plate. He does a really good job throwing from his knees down to second base. I think he’s done a really good job with the staff. They do a good job of positioning in the outfield, having guys in the right spots. Their coaches are really well prepared. I wouldn’t say it’s a plus outfield defense, but it’s more than good enough.”

Starting Pitching: 60 “In the rotation, DRAKE FELLOWS is just a super competitor, really good breaking ball. You can get to him, but he’s just gonna keep his team in the game.

He doesn’t beat himself.

When it comes down to it he’s gonna make you hit his slider, and he’s just really, really competitive.

“KUMAR ROCKER is more stuff over command.

You’ll get pitches to hit, but it’s 94-96, it’s just not POS NO. NAME C 5 Philip Clarke 1B 22 Julian Infante 2B 2 Harrison Ray SS 10 Ethan Paul 3B 16 Austin Martin LF 19 Stephen Scott CF 18 Pat DeMarco RF 51 J.J. Bleday DH 20 Ty Duvall or 3 Cooper Davis ROTATION RHP 66 Drake Fellows RHP 80 Kumar Rocker RHP 29 Patrick Raby BULLPEN RHP 21 Tyler Brown RHP 44 Mason Hickman LHP 39 Jake Eder LHP 32 Hugh Fisher

27

sharp command. It’s in the zone, he throws strikes, but he’ll be up some, there’ll be pitches to hit. But it’s real stuff, and he’s continued to get better as the year has gone on. The curveball’s like a curve/slider deal. He mixes well, he uses the changeup, he can throw three pitches for strikes.

“And then PATRICK RABY has been starting since his freshman year. It’s three pitches, any pitch in any count, super-competitive, super-experienced.

He’s not gonna shut you out, but he’ll always give them a chance. It’s the same stuff it’s always been, 88-91, curveball/slider, changeup, and he mixes good. With their offense, they’ve got room for error.

Bullpen: 65 “Their bullpen for me is the best part of their pitching staff.

They have three lefties out of the pen with plus stuff, mid-90s fastballs

PROJECTED LINEUP

with really good secondary pitches. So if they have a lead after five they can just shorten a game. And then TYLER BROWN, it’s just a different fastball. He’ll be 95-97, and it’s a really good slider. He’s really good.

The bullpen will sometimes have some challenges with strike-throwing, but their main guys commanded the zone pretty good.”

Overall: 70 The Commodores entered the season as the nation’s top-ranked club and didn’t disappoint. They have a relentless offense, with balance throughout the lineup and no real weak spot.

Vandy also has a plethora of high-quality arms, though they were inconsistent through the season.

Rocker’s super regional no-hitter (with 19 strikeouts) against Duke showed their potential. Vandy has the pieces to be an overwhelming force in Omaha.

HT WT CL B/T AVG OBP SLG AB HR RBI SB 5-11 190 SO L/R .309 .389 .492 246 8 67 3-5 6-3 215 SR R/R .240 .343 .480 171 11 36 3-4 5-11 190 JR R/R .274 350 404 208 2 36 19-22 5-10 185 SR L/R .322 .390 .518 255 9 70 8-10 6-0 170 SO R/R .414 .503 .603 237 6 39 18-23 5-11 200 SR L/R .335 .457 .580 224 11 53 5-6 5-11 205 SO R/R .291 .368 .491 175 5 43 6-9 6-3 205 JR L/L .351 .466 .731 245 26 68 1-2 5-11 190 JR L/R .296 .440 .444 162 5 40 0-1 5-10 185 SO L/R .318 .441 .421 121 0 19 6-7 HT WT CL B/T W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 6-5 205 JR L/R 12-1 0 4.15 104.0 120 42 .244 6-4 255 FR R/R 9-5 0 3.91 78.1 78 16 .264 6-3 230 SR R/R 9-1 0 2.90 71.1 73 41 .251 HT WT CL R/L W-L SV ERA IP SO BB BAA 6-4 242 SO R/R 3-1 14 2.66 40.2 56 8 .204 6-6 230 SO R/R 8-0 3 2.12 80.2 107 20 .188 6-4 210 SO L/L 1-0 3 2.88 34.1 37 15 .190 6-5 185 SO R/L 2-0 4 4.41 34.2 46 21 .231

NEW MEMORIES, ENDURING CHARMS KEEP OMAHA SPECIAL the hill, closed in 2010, replaced by a luxurious and convenient downtown ballpark.

TD Ameritrade Park is certainly a more comfortable place for everyone to spend those two weeks, with its 360-degree open-air concourses, its perfect sight lines from every seat, its much improved concessions and its spacious player facilities.

And yet . . . I still miss Rosenblatt, with its iconic red, yellow and blue seats and its view of the Desert Dome and the hills beyond. But I’ve long since adjusted to the more stunning view that TD Ameritrade affords: city skyline to the right, the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge and the Iowa countryside to the left.

The feeling outside the ballpark is different too. Gone are the ramshackle businesses that sprung up in the neighborhoods around Rosenblatt, gone are the festive blue-collar house parties within walking distance of the ballpark. The NCAA controls all the FanFest activities outside TD Ameritrade Park, and they’re a lot more polished and antiseptic, though Omaha Baseball Village has stepped in to fill the void of informal fun. And the party lives on.

For two weeks every June, Omaha embraces this event wholeheartedly, creating a celebration of baseball and Americana.

And it’s nice to be able to walk from TDAP to the Old Market, where food and drink options abound along pleasant brick streets. To fully experience the College World Series, you need to experience the city, and the ballpark’s location makes that easy.

If you get a chance, venture outside the downtown area and check out the zoo, adjacent to a Rosenblatt-inspired Wiffle ball park where the old ’Blatt once stood. Check out the excellent Durham Museum in the old Omaha Union Station to get your history fix. Venture west to the Dundee area for food and drink with a different vibe.

There’s plenty to do in Omaha outside the baseball — but the baseball is the feature attraction, and it never disappoints. Soak it all in, and keep coming back.

—AARON FITT

D1Baseball’s top editors, Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers, have made more than 30 trips to Omaha between them. Part of it is professional, of course — they have been covering college baseball for nearly two decades — but Omaha’s appeal goes far beyond that for them. Here they give you a peek into what makes Omaha special to them. First up, Aaron Fitt:

T

here’s just something about Omaha. Well, that’s not quite right — there are a lot of somethings about Omaha.

This is my 15th straight year covering the College World Series, and since the very beginning in 2005, my annual trips to Omaha have felt more like sacred pilgrimages than business trips.

Maybe that sounds cheesy, but if you’ve ever made that trip yourself, you surely feel the same way. Because for those two magical weeks in June, the charms of this city are irresistible.

I feel the same familiar sense of anticipation mixed with peaceful contentment every year as soon as my plane begins its descent into Eppley Airfield, and I look out the window at the gentle rolling hills and expanse of the Missouri River stretching out in front of the Desert Dome at the Henry Doorly Zoo and the old reliable Woodmen building anchoring the Omaha skyline.

I feel it as I drive my rental car from the airport along Abbott Drive, and TD Ameritrade Park suddenly jumps up out of the horizon ahead of me. I feel it that first night in town while enjoying my first whiskey filet of the year at The Drover steakhouse, and then sipping a Boulevard Wheat on the patio at Mr. Toad’s in the Old Market — a longstanding pre-College World Series tradition I share with Kendall Rogers. (We are still in the process of figuring out how we’re going to deal with The Drover’s closure this year as it rebuilds following a fire last fall.)

We’ve long since settled into the same Omaha routines, because they’re comfortable and they just feel right. And Omaha in June is all about that nostalgic, welcoming feeling.

Plenty has changed about these annual Omaha trips over the last 15 years, of course. Venerable Rosenblatt Stadium, that charming diamond on

The bar scene at The Drover is always a hot spot during College World Series time—but not this year, as the restaurant rebuilds after a fire 28

The pageantry of the College World Series begins with the opening ceremonies, when all eight teams enter the stadium and anticipation builds 29

Old Market is a great gathering spot for dining and drinking before or after a game, and it’s an easy walk to the ballpark and downtown hotels

I

may live in Texas, but a part of me is always in Omaha. I’ve covered many College World Series. Sixteen to be exact. And people around the country always ask me: “Does it ever get old?”

Not even a little bit.

While I’ve covered some incredible moments at the CWS, moments that I’ll remember forever and will surely tell my kids about as they get older, it’s the moments I had centered around the College World Series and in Omaha before I began covering the sport that always made me regard Omaha as a second home.

My love for college baseball began when my parents, during my early teen years, took me to games all over Texas, following Texas A&M and the Southwest Conference, of course. In those years, I always wanted to go to the CWS. I wanted to go to Omaha.

I have since talked to LSU icon Todd Walker about this as we have gotten to know each other, but as a 10-year-old in 1993, he broke my heart. That year, Texas A&M had one of the best rotations in college baseball. It was incredible. But the Aggies ran into Walker, Skip Bertman and the Tigers in Omaha.

The Aggies had an early, commanding lead over LSU in their matchup, but as LSU did so many times in those days, they came back and Walker hit a grand slam to deliver the gut-crushing blow to the Aggies. I was sad. I was crushed. Walker ruined my night.

But now? I look back at that memory and can only smile. It’s cool to think about now that I’m so lucky to spend two weeks every year in Omaha covering the College World Series.

I attended my first College World Series in 1999, and it was like a dream come true. Man, the old Rosenblatt Stadium. The stadium on the hill. It was paradise to me. My parents and I didn’t stay for the entire CWS, but we stayed long enough for me to fall in love with Omaha.

I covered my first CWS back in 2003, and I watched Omaha close out Rosenblatt Stadium with a magical game between South Carolina and UCLA, with Whit Merrifield hitting a walkoff for the Gamecocks. The Bruins finished runner-up with a pitching staff that included pitchers by the names of Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer, who have done all right for themselves in the wake of that disappointment.

Other on-field memories come to mind, including last year’s craziness, when we all thought Arkansas was winning the national title. I was posted up behind the Oregon State dugout with a camera, waiting to capture the final out for the Hogs. Then, a drop, a hit by Cadyn Grenier and a home run by Trevor Larnach sent the series to another game. And we know the rest. That

will be forever be lodged into my memory for more reasons than one. It’s still one of the more mind-blowing moments I’ve ever seen in person.

And as special as the many games I’ve covered are to me, the moments off the field are almost as important.

Omaha is a special place. I tell everyone that. Often, I’ll have friends who aren’t as tied into college baseball ask about possibly going to the College World Series someday. I always just say, “Just go. You won’t regret it.” The ones who eventually have gone to Omaha? They didn’t go home disappointed. They fell in love, too.

Omaha and the CWS bring together people from across the United States. It’s what I call a true representation of Americana.

My memories of Omaha off the field run deep. In 1999, I came down with a terrible case of food poisoning. I still tried to push my way through and head to Rosenblatt Stadium with suffocating 95 degree temperatures and humidity the order of the day. I felt awful and ended up taking a nap in the backseat of a burnt orange Cadillac with Longhorns on the front of it. The car belonged to Scott Wilson, an avid University of Texas fan and someone whom I still consider a friend to this day. And by the way, Scott still goes to Omaha every year, even if Texas doesn’t. So, look for that burnt orange Cadillac in the parking lots around TD Ameritrade.

I’ve met plenty of interesting people during my travels to Omaha. One year, a former police chief from Aspen, Colo., who was making his first trip to the College World Series, approached me. He wanted to know all the hot spots. We ended up chatting for well over an hour.

In 2005, I was walking to the stadium to cover the national title series between Texas and Florida, and I heard someone yelling my name behind me. I looked back and it was my now brother-in-law in the general admission line with a few college friends. He was there to watch his Longhorns take home the crown, and I had no idea he would be there. It was one of those moments. I’ve also run into fathers and sons, CEOs of major corporations, and celebrities. And every time the topic of the College World Series or Omaha came up in conversation, we all agreed with one thing: This event and this city are special.

Another College World Series is here. Memories will be made. Champions will be crowned. And after two weeks in Middle America, we’ll all gather up our belongings and head home to get back to our normal routine.

But for me, and for many who attend the CWS, a little bit of us will stay in Omaha now and forever.

And to me, that’s pretty cool.

—KENDALL ROGERS

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