It’s down to eight teams in college baseball, as the 2024 College World Series will begin on June 14. Bracket A (Virginia, North Carolina, Florida State, Tennessee) action will kick off on the 14th, while June 15 will see Bracket B (NC State, Kentucky, Florida, Texas A&M) begin play. So, what does each team look like heading into Omaha. Here’s our 2024 College World Series preview, plus our predictions for the event.
Florida
We start our 2024 College World Series preview and predictions with the Florida Gators, who could be considered the great surprise of the tournament. Florida enters play in Omaha with a 34-28 record but has been on a roll since mid-May. Florida won two of three against Georgia in their final regular-season series, then rode the wave in Stillwater and beat OK State twice to move on to the Supers. The Gators nearly lost Game 2 against Clemson in what was a classic but a Michael Robertson double walked it off for Florida.
Now, Jac Caglianone and Florida get another shot at the title, just one year after falling short in the final against LSU. There’s no doubt Florida has talent on this team, as a deep lineup that includes the two-way sensation, Cade Kurland, Luke Heyman, and Colby Shelton proved that the Gators lineup can get it done in tight spots. However, a young pitching staff has their work cut out for them.
Florida State
Link Jarrett and Florida State coasted through the regular season. The Seminoles went 18-0 to begin the season and feature a deep lineup that includes likely first-round pick Cam Smith, ACC Player of the Year James Tibbs, Marco Dinges, Max Williams, and Drew Faurot, among others. The Seminoles’ pitching staff includes ace lefty Jamie Arnold, who is a likely Day 1 pick to come next July. Florida State steamrolled through the Regionals and Supers, including a sweep of UConn last weekend.
Pitching staffs will be hard-pressed to shut the Seminoles down.
Kentucky
The Kentucky Wildcats are not your everyday, college baseball powerhouse. Six of Kentucky’s regulars batted less than .300 on the season and just two hit double-digits in home runs. It’s not a surprise to see few home runs on this team, especially since Kentucky’s manager stated in 2019 when their new park opened that it would be less friendly towards power hitters. Because of that, the Wildcats play a strong brand of small ball, highlighted in their Super Regionals sweep of Oregon State.
This won’t be easy for the Wildcats, even though Kentucky enters as the #2 national seed. Still, doubt the Wildcats at your peril.
North Carolina
North Carolina enters the 2024 College World Series with the third-most wins (47) this season, behind Texas A&M (49) and Tennessee (55). The Tar Heels survived multiple scares in the Regionals but dominated West Virginia in the Supers to get to Omaha.
North Carolina, a top-20 team in home runs, has a dominant lineup, led by likely 2024 first-round pick Vance Honeycutt and one of the NCAA’s best freshmen, Gavin Gallaher. Speaking of freshmen, pitcher Jason DeCaro has emerged as the ace of UNC’s pitching staff. The Tar Heels should remain a top team in 2025 but all eyes are on whether UNC has enough to go all the way.
NC State
Four ACC teams made the 2024 College World Series, and NC State was the last to clinch their spot in Omaha. The Wolfpack took down Charlie Condon and Georiga last weekend, despite the Bulldogs taking the second game of their Super Regionals series. In NC State’s clincher, four players, Alex Sosa, Garrett Pennington, Alec Makarewicz, and Eli Serrano III, belted home runs.
Makarewicz and Pennington highlighted a deep offense, one that also includes one of the nation’s best catchers, Jacob Cozart.
Virginia
Three teams from last year’s College World Series return for 2024. Two of those teams are from the SEC (Florida, Tennessee), and the other is Virginia. Pitching has always been a strong point for the Cavaliers but like with the 2023 team, the bats have been the story. This was true in the Super Regionals, as the Cavaliers scored 17 runs over their two-game sweep of Kansas State. Virginia’s offense is deep, led by Ethan Anderson, Griff O’Ferrall, Casey Saucke, Henry Godbout, and Harrison Didawick. Eight of Virginia’s nine starters batted .330 or better.
Pitching-wise, Jay Woolfolk and Evan Blanco did enough to get Virginia past Kansas State. However, the Cavaliers don’t have that true ace, something to watch in Omaha.
Tennessee
Three teams in the top five of the NCAA Division in home runs, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas A&M, are in the College World Series. The Volunteers, with 173, stand above the rest. Sure, one could argue the heightened elevation in Knoxville played a role. But, it’s not an accident as to how dominant this team’s offense is. Nine Tennessee hitters hit the double-digit market in home runs, including likely Day 1 picks in this year’s draft, Billy Amick (23) and Christian Moore (32).
The Vols can also pitch, as AJ Causey has been an innings-eater for Tennessee, while Zander Sechrist threw 6.1 strong innings last weekend to get the Volunteers past Evansville.
Texas A&M
We’ll finish our look at the eight 2024 College World Series teams with the Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies steamrolled through the regular season and postseason to this point, as Texas A&M swept Oregon to get to Omaha. The Aggies feature three 20+ home run hitters in their lineup, Gavin Grahovac (22), an injured Braden Montgomery (27) who’s unavailable thanks to a season-ending ankle injury, and Jace LaViolette, all of whom will likely be future first-round picks. On the mound, Ryan Prager has been the team’s ace starter, while Evan Aschenbeck (72:8 K:BB ratio) was dominant out of the pen.
A&M checks all the boxes heading into Omaha.
Prediction
We’ll go with Texas A&M to win the 2024 College World Series. A&M has arguably the most talented roster among the eight teams remaining, both on the mound and in the field. And to this point. the Aggies have virtually passed every test.