The field for the 2024 College World Series is a bit skewed with only two conferences represented among the eight teams. And there’s a good chance we have a first time baseball national champion with six programs vying for their first title. Oddsmakers have the Texas AM Aggies and Tennessee Volunteers as the favorites to win the tournament, though it’s really up for grabs. The 2024 College World Series starts on June 14 and runs through no later than June 24 with all games played at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.
Considering how good Texas AM and Tennessee are and have been throughout the season it isn’t a surprise to see them as the betting favorites. Toss in the Kentucky Wildcats, who finished with the same conference record of 22-8 as the No. 1 seed Vols and the SEC has a real good shot at winning a national championship. A feel good story out of Omaha would be to see Florida State finally win a title. The Seminoles are making their 24th appearance in the CWS and they’ve come away empty handed each time. No other school has more than 12 trips without a championship.
2024 College World Series Odds
Texas AM Aggies +225
Tennessee Volunteers +275
Kentucky Wildcats +425
North Carolina Tar Heels +600
Florida State Seminoles +900
Virginia Cavaliers +1000
Florida Gators +1300
NC State Wolfpack +1400
The Field
Like I mentioned it’s an interesting collection of teams with four from the SEC and four from the ACC. And only Florida and Virginia among the squads have won a CWS championship. Boasting the best record in college baseball, Tennessee enters as the No. 1 seed, though early futures odds had them behind Texas AM as the favorite. The Vols dominated the Knoxville Regional winning all three games by a combined score of 33-12. A loss to Evansville in Game 2 of the Super Regional may have been what they needed to keep their head straight. The Vols responded with a 12-1 trouncing to punch their ticket.
Tennessee is about as balanced a team as you’ll find in college baseball. Led by Blake Burke, who’s hitting .376, the Vols hit .310 as a team and average 9.2 runs. Three different players have hit at least 20 home runs with Christian Moore leading the way with 32 and a team high 71 RBIs. The pitching is equally strong, which is a huge factor when playing a lot of games in a short amount of time. The staff boasts a 3.85 ERA with closer Aaron Combs one of the best. He has 54 strikeouts in 37.1 innings with five saves and a 2.65 ERA.
The Aggies have a potent offense as well averaging 8.8 runs while hitting .300. In their only meeting with Tennessee the Aggies lost 7-4 in the SEC Tournament. The trio of Braden Montgomery, Jace LaViolette and Gavin Grahovac combined for 77 home runs. The staff isn’t as deep as Tennessee’s but they have an ace in Ryan Prager, who is 8-1 with a 3.10 ERA.
Kentucky went undefeated in the regional tournaments winning five games by a combined score of 34-11. Over the last four games they allowed just three runs with two shutouts. They are making their first trip to the CWS but I doubt that gets in their way. UK matched SEC champ Tennessee’s 22-8 league record and has plenty of momentum heading into the CWS.
The biggest surprise is Florida reaching the CWS with a record of 34-28. The Gators were a .500 team in mid-May and got a regional bid with a 28-27 record. They emerged from the losers bracket to beat Oklahoma State twice in the Stillwater Regional and swept Clemson to advance to the CWS. It’s hard to see them doing any damage with a team ERA of 6.16, but they have one of the most exciting players in Jac Caglianone, who’s hitting .411 with 33 home runs and a 1.392 OPS.
With Oregon State out of the picture maybe North Carolina can get over the hump. The Heels lost to OSU in the 2006 and 2007 CWS finals and were eliminated by the Beavers in their last trip to Omaha in 2018. The ACC champs went 22-8 in ACC play behind an offense that averages 8.7 runs. They also have strong pitching which might be enough to get the job done.
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