Upsets were the name of the game in the NCAA baseball super regionals, as chalk became an endangered species.
Six of the eight favored teams, that were able to host the best of three super regional series’ in their home stadiums, ended up losing to the underdog visitors. Out of the 15 teams that were named national seeds in the NCAA bracket, only four advanced to Omaha for the College World Series.
Below, we’ll break the College World Series odds and share a winning pick!
College World Series
Friday, June 17 to Monday, June 27, 2022 at Omaha’s Charles Schwab Field
College World Series Preview
Among the Goliaths to fall in the super regionals was the prohibitive favorite to win it all for most of the college season—Tennessee. The Vols were the undisputed top team in the nation.
They went 33 games—two and a half months—before losing two games and entered the weekend with a 56-7 record. Tennessee then lost two games in three days and will be home when the CWS begins.
That means that hope has made the trip to Omaha, as the eight teams in attendance will play for the title in what promises to be a wide-open College World Series.
College World Series Odds
Here’s a look at the field. The College World Series odds are available with BMR’s top-rated sportsbooks and betting sites:
- No. 2 National Seed Stanford +450: The Cardinal is the top remaining team, with Tennessee’s collapse. They’re also one of two teams to return to the CWS from last year. Stanford struggled and had to come back in the super regionals to make it to Omaha, but they have a strong starting pitching rotation led by Alex Williams and a game-breaking player in outfielder Brock Jones.
- No. 9 Texas +450: The Longhorns are the other returning team from last year and also had to come back to survive the super regionals. Texas relies on an explosive offense to slug its way to wins, led by player of the year candidate Ivan Melendez.
- No. 5 Texas A&M +550: The Aggies made it to the CWS in Jim Schlossnagle’s first year as head coach. The Aggies have yet to lose in their NCAA tournament run this season.
- Notre Dame +550: The Irish were the team that went into Knoxville and knocked off Tennessee. Notre Dame has one of the top pitching staffs in the nation.
- No. 14 Auburn +700: The Tigers are scoring nearly 10 runs a game in the NCAA Tournament and knocked off No. 3 Oregon State in the supers. The offense is led by Sonny DiChiara.
- Arkansas +550: The Razorbacks might be the only team in the field that has better pitching than Notre Dame. The Hogs shut down UNC in the Chapel Hill super regional and enter the World Series with strong momentum.
- Oklahoma +1000: The Sooners won their last five regular-season series but were snubbed by the selection committee and had to travel for the regional and super-regional rounds. They’ve been overlooked all year and will look to continue upsetting folks in Omaha.
- Ole Miss +1000: The last team on the NCAA bubble, Ole Miss has shown it belongs in the bracket by going undefeated in the first two weekends of play. They didn’t allow a run in the super regionals and rely on pitching a defense.
College World Series Betting Pick
The old baseball adage is that good pitching will beat good hitting, but it’s tough to imagine anyone shutting down the Texas offensive show.
The Horns scored 26 runs in three regional games and 27 in three super-regional contests. Melendez set the Division I home run record, and six other players have double figures in home runs.
Seven regulars have OPS over .900. The Longhorns also have one of the top pitching staffs in the field, so they aren’t just a one-dimensional team. Stanford has a mix of pitching and offense as well and would be the best betting alternative to the Longhorns.
For a sleeper team, look for Arkansas to make a push at landing coach David Van Horn his first-ever College World Series title after seven previous trips to Omaha.
College World Series Pick: Texas Longhorns (+450) with Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds prod
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