The “Greatest Show on Dirt” starts on June 12, as the final eight schools in the 2026 college baseball season will vie for the national title in Omaha. We know that the SEC is guaranteed one school in the final — but which one will advance? And what about the likes of North Carolina, Troy, and West Virginia, three schools that have the chance to do something very special this June? Here’s a preview of the 2026 event.
Top Half
- (#5) North Carolina
- (#16) West Virginia
- Ole Miss
- Troy
On paper, this set looks good for North Carolina, although it won’t be an easy one.
UNC will get a hot Ole Miss team, one that went into Auburn and swept the Rebels’ SEC rival down in Alabama. It’s an older, grizzled Rebels team, and one that has the experience and the depth both up and down the roster to make it through. Plus, the best K/9 (11.4) among the four teams in this grouping.
However, North Carolina’s pitching staff, headlined by Jason DeCaro, Ryan Lynch, Caden Glauber, Folger Boaz, and Walker McDuffie, is experienced and well-rounded. So, this should be high entertainment in the quest to go 1-0, and in turn, be in a smooth position to get through that half of the bracket.
On the other side, West Virginia will walk into Game #1 in Omaha as a heavy favorite to defeat Troy. As we noted in our CWS-themed power rankings article, the Mountaineers have one of the deepest pitching staffs here, as well.
The Mountaineers also have the bats, and that matters, too. Gavin Kelly, Armani Guzman, Paul Schoenfeld, and Sean Smith were all over both Kentucky in the Regionals and Cal Poly in the Supers.
But don’t sleep on Troy. Heading into the CWS, the Trojans actually have the highest team SLG (.484). Even though Troy is from the Sun Belt, the Trojans earned their spot thanks to how many top-tier teams the school played in non-conference play. So, this stage shouldn’t scare Jimmy Janicki and company.
Bottom Half
- (#3) Georgia
- (#6) Texas
- (#7) Alabama
- Oklahoma
What do you get when you take an arguable top-five pitching staff and match that group up with arguably the best offense in college baseball? You get what should be one fantastic game on June 12 between Georgia & Texas.
The Bulldogs’ offense brought it in the Super Regionals, even without Tre Phelps in Game 1. And as for Texas, Dylan Volantis & Ruger Riojas pitched well against Oregon in the Super Regionals.
Even though Georgia’s lineup is filled with power hitters, the Longhorns should make this a very interesting grouping, one that may feature multiple matchups between these two teams.
However, just one of these schools can avoid an elimination contest in its second game. Alabama & Oklahoma, filling out an all-SEC group, will face off on June 13 to decide who will face UGA or UT in the 1-0 game.
Unlike the Georgia/Texas matchup, the Crimson Tide and Sooners faced off in the regular season. Alabama took two of three from Oklahoma in early April, a series that was the Bryce Fowler series. The senior outfielder had seven hits, two of which were home runs, across those three contests.
Should the Crimson Tide, a veteran group led by two quality junior pitchers, Tyler Fay & Zane Adams, get through the Sooners, Alabama could look for revenge against the Longhorns. Alabama lost two of three in Austin later on in April.
But before anything of that nature, the Tide must withstand a very good and deep pitching staff that the Sooners possess.
Predictions
We’ll take Texas and Ole Miss to move to the final, with the Longhorns winning it all.
Check out more of our college baseball rankings.