Image Courtesy: The Courier-Journal
The Men’s College World Series returns to Charles Schwab Field in Omaha to determine the 2024 national champion. The field is comprised of 50% ACC teams and 50% SEC teams. The ACC-SEC Challenge in Omaha will determine who is the best conference in America. Top overall seed Tennessee bounced back after a game 2 loss in game 3 against Greenville Regional champion Evansville by hitting seven bombs against the Purple Aces to move to Omaha for the second consecutive season. The Volunteers are the odds on favorite to get Tony Vitello his first national championship as head coach. Kentucky, who shared the regular season SEC title with Tennessee, won 22 games in the SEC before sweeping through the regional and super regional rounds. The Wildcats played impressive baseball to eliminate fifteen seed Oregon State, led by future MLB Draft first round pick Travis Bazzana, ending the Pac-12 conference for good. The three seed is Texas A&M, who despite losing star outfielder Braden Montgomery to a season ending injury, is playing good baseball as they head to Omaha for the first time since 2022. The combination of pitching and hitting will make them a tough out the rest of this June. The Aggies open their Omaha run against Florida, a team no one thought deserved to be in college baseball’s Big Dance. They entered the tournament with 27 overall losses going 13-17 in the SEC. Since heading to Stillwater, the Gators have gone 5-1, defeating 11.Oklahoma State and 6.Clemson on the road. Kevin O’Sullivan’s team is now playing its best baseball of the season, being led by another likely high draft pick Jac Caglianone, a terrific two way player that can hit and pitch with the best of the best. North Carolina, the national four seed, swept West Virginia in the Chapel Hill Super Regional after being challenged to a seven game regional against upstart two seed LSU. The clutch hitting of outfielder Vance Honeycutt helped lead the Tar Heels back to the College World Series for the first time since 2018. They will face twelve seed Virginia, who did not have to travel to Fayetteville for the super regional round to play 5.Arkansas, who was upset by Kansas State and SEMO, and was unable to get out of the Fayetteville Regional for the second consecutive season after making it to Omaha last in 2022. The 8.Florida State, the ACC Tournament champion, will have to face top seed Tennessee on opening night in primetime. The Seminoles dominated UConn in game one of the Tallahassee Super Regional, 24-4, before having come back against the Huskies to win game 2 and become the first team officially headed to the College World Series. Elliot Avent’s ten seeded NC State Wolfpack are back in Omaha for the first time since 2021, when they upset number one overall seed Arkansas before being eliminated because too many of their players tested positive for COVID-19. The Wolfpack are out for revenge after going on the road to beat seven seed Georgia in three games in Athens. Enjoy reading my picks for every game of the 2024 College World Series:
June 14
Game 1 (2 PM ET, ESPN)
4.North Carolina 47-14 (22-8) ACC
12.Virginia 46-15 (18-12) ACC
Carter’s Pick: 4.North Carolina
Game 2 (7 PM ET, ESPN)
1.Tennessee 55-12 (22-8) SEC
8.Florida State 47-15 (17-12) ACC
Carter’s Pick: 1.Tennessee
June 15
Game 3 (2 PM ET, ESPN)
2.Kentucky 45-14 (22-8) SEC
10.NC State 38-21 (18-11) ACC
Carter’s Pick: 10.NC State
Game 4 (7 PM ET, ESPN)
3.Texas A&M 49-13 (19-11) SEC
Florida 34-28 (13-17) SEC
Carter’s Pick: Florida
June 16
Game 5 (2 PM ET, ESPN)
8.Florida State
12.Virginia
Carter’s Pick: 8.Florida State
Game 6 (7 PM ET, ESPN2)
1.Tennessee
4.North Carolina
Carter’s Pick: 4.North Carolina
June 17
Game 7 (2 PM ET, ESPN)
2.Kentucky
3.Texas A&M
Carter’s Pick: 3.Texas A&M
Game 8 (7 PM ET, ESPN)
10.NC State
Florida
Carter’s Pick: 10.NC State
June 18
Game 9 (2 PM ET, ESPN)
1.Tennessee
8.Florida State
Carter’s Pick: 1.Tennessee
Game 10 (7 PM ET, ESPN)
3.Texas A&M
Florida
Carter’s Pick: 3.Texas A&M
June 19
Game 11 (2 PM ET, ESPN)
1.Tennessee
4.North Carolina
Carter’s Pick: 1.Tennessee
Game 12 (6 PM ET, ESPN)
3.Texas A&M
10.NC State
Carter’s Pick: 3.Texas A&M
June 20
Game 13 (If Necessary) (TBA, ESPN)
Bracket 1
1.Tennessee
4.North Carolina
Carter’s Pick: 4.North Carolina
Game 14 (If Necessary) (TBA, ESPN2)
Bracket 2
3.Texas A&M
10.NC State
Carter’s Pick: 3.Texas A&M
Championship Series
June 22
Game 1 (7 PM ET, ESPN)
3.Texas A&M
4.North Carolina
Carter’s Pick: 3.Texas A&M
June 23
Game 2 (3 PM ET, ESPN)
3.Texas A&M
4.North Carolina
Carter’s Pick: 4.North Carolina
June 24
Game 3 (If necessary) (7 PM ET, ESPN)
3.Texas A&M
4.North Carolina
Carter’s Pick: 3.Texas A&M
2024 College World Series Champion: 3.Texas A&M
