Storylines, top players and predictions

As shot fans crossed the state number down the minutes until the commencement of the Men's College World Series, the large question remains: Who volition look arsenic nationalist champions?

After melodramatic exits from 2 top-three seeds aboriginal successful the regionals, the tourney has nary evident hierarchy.

Following a regular play mostly ruled by the SEC and ACC, this year's tourney brings a premix of competition, featuring teams from six conferences and 1 independent. Among them is underdog Murray State, whose unexpected travel to Omaha, Nebraska, has fans connected the borderline of their seats.

Our experts interruption down this year's MCWS, the storylines and players they're watching and their bold predictions of what to expect successful Omaha implicit the adjacent week and a half.

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Storylines | Players | Most to prove
Bold predictions | Who's winning it all?

1. What storylines are you astir excited to spot play out?

Ryan McGee: I deliberation it's beyond poetic that Murray State has crashed this party. This is the 75th day of the MCWS successful Omaha, and astir each twelvemonth determination is astatine slightest 1 unexpected squad -- from Hawai'i and The Citadel to Stony Brook and, astir famously, Fresno State successful 2008. So, successful grant of that day celebration, it would beryllium adjacent much fitting if the Racers went connected a small spot of a run. If they do, the grandstand volition follow. The radical of Omaha person ever fallen successful emotion with the underdogs.

Mike Rooney: The SEC brings a airy roster to Omaha this twelvemonth (by its standards), but LSU and Arkansas are 2 of the premier instrumentality bases successful assemblage baseball. Their Saturday nighttime matchup connected opening play volition beryllium rocking. The near broadside of the bracket guarantees a non-SEC programme volition beryllium successful the MCWS finals, but the question remains: Can that squad halt this juggernaut's rubric streak astatine 5 successful a row?

Chris Burke: We person 8 teams from six antithetic conferences (and 1 independent), and this tourney has been each astir parity. Does that mean we volition person a astonishment winner? The SEC has won 5 consecutive titles, and LSU and Arkansas are the favorites successful this year's field, but based connected the mode things person played retired truthful acold ... don't slope connected it!

David Dellucci: The 2025 Murray State shot squad was picked successful the preseason to decorativeness 5th successful the Missouri Valley Conference. The Racers person since defied the likelihood by mounting a schoolhouse grounds successful wins (44) and are the 4th determination 4-seed to marque it to the MCWS. The Racers won winner-take-all games vs. big teams successful the Oxford Regional and Durham Super Regional. They've demonstrated squad chemistry, determination, humility and an unflappable poise, astir notably revealed successful the bottommost of the ninth inning of Game 3 vs. Duke. After a telephone reversal prematurely ended their celebratory dogpile, play resumed with the Racers up by 1 tally and a runner connected first. After returning to their positions, pitcher Graham Kelham retired the adjacent batter, prompting a 2nd dogpile. It's harmless to accidental the Racers' instrumentality basal has accrued this play acold beyond their undergraduate enrollment of 8,111 students.

Kiley McDaniel: The past 3 West Coast winners of Omaha are Oregon State (2018), UCLA (2013) and Arizona (2012). Can 1 of them triumph different nationalist rubric and assertion the crown arsenic king of West Coast baseball?

2. Which players are you keeping your eyes on?

McGee: Oregon State mashes the ball. The Beavers person the second-most homers of immoderate squad successful Omaha -- 103 to Arkansas' 124. But what's awesome astir the Beavers is that truthful galore of those knocks person travel successful the astir important situations. Eleven of their 14 runs scored successful the supers last vs. Florida State were via the agelong ball. And they are besides adjacent accidental round-trippers -- 5 of their starting 9 person double-digit location runs. We each cognize that shortstop Aiva Arquette is wildly good. He's expected to beryllium the highest assemblage subordinate taken successful adjacent month's MLB draft, but the guys astir him are beauteous bully too.

Rooney: Murray State halfway fielder Jonathan Hogart and Oregon State 3rd baseman Trent Caraway caput to Charles Schwab Field having deed six location runs apiece successful this NCAA tournament. Hogart is simply a self-made prima subordinate successful his 5th twelvemonth of assemblage baseball, hitting his mode from Wabash Valley College to Louisiana Tech earlier coming location to the Racers. He has an unthinkable 49 extra-base hits this season. Caraway was a precocious schoolhouse All-American from a nationalist powerhouse successful Southern California (JSerra Catholic HS), but his archetypal 2 seasons were tamped down by injury, past mediocre performance. In fact, helium was hitting ninth for the Beavers successful the mediate of May. Caraway is not hitting ninth anymore, and the prima sophomore's endowment is successful afloat bloom.

Burke: As usual, the MCWS is packed with Real Dudes! This year's radical boasts players who volition beryllium precocious first-round MLB draught picks: Arquette (OSU), LHP Kade Anderson (LSU) and Golden Spikes finalist SS Wehiwa Aloy (Arkansas), among others. We volition besides get a front-row spot to ticker the subordinate who could beryllium adjacent year's No. 1 pick: SS Roch Cholowsky from UCLA. He was this year's Big 10 Player of the Year arsenic a sophomore and inactive has different twelvemonth connected campus. This tract is loaded with talent!

Dellucci: Many experts judge Cholowsky is the No. 1 collegiate subordinate successful the nation. He tin alteration the crippled with some his bat (.376 BA, 23 HRs, 73 RBIs) and glove, which person been recognized by Cholowsky being named Big 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Coastal Carolina's Caden Bodine is everything you privation successful a catcher. He's exceptional down the plate, committing lone 1 mistake each season, and helium leads the discourtesy with a .335 batting average. Bodine showed awesome powerfulness by cranking 2 location runs successful the Game 1 triumph of the ace regionals against Auburn.

McDaniel: There are tons of players with 2025 draught implications, with Bodine, Arizona OF Brendan Summerhill, Arquette, Louisville RHP Patrick Forbes, Aloy and Anderson each projected for the archetypal circular adjacent month. That said, Cholowsky is the champion imaginable successful Omaha and would apt beryllium the apical prime successful the draught if helium were eligible this year.

3. Who oregon what squad has the astir to beryllium successful Omaha?

McGee: Coastal Carolina volition beryllium a wrecking ball. To those who truly cognize the game, they besides cognize this is not 2016, and this squad is not wearing immoderate Cinderella solid slippers. Just inquire caput manager Kevin Schnall, who made that constituent precise intelligibly successful his quality league aft the ace regionals. Gary Gilmore is 1 of my favourite assemblage shot personalities of each time. To spot his erstwhile subordinate and heir pb this squad backmost to Omaha has been an astonishing storyline. Seeing them triumph it again and dedicating it to Gilmore (as helium continues to conflict wellness issues) would beryllium close retired of a movie.

Rooney: Coastal Carolina won a nationalist rubric successful 2016. The Chants person won 53 games (so far) successful 2025. Schnall's nine won a ace determination connected the roadworthy against an SEC squad that was a top-eight nationalist seed. Yet I'm inactive not definite we are taking this squad earnestly enough. The pitching unit that showed up successful Auburn looked national-championship good. Do we truly judge Coastal Carolina tin triumph 5 much games successful Omaha? Stay tuned.

Burke: The spotlight is squarely connected Arkansas. The Razorbacks are the favorite, and they person a instrumentality basal and a coaching unit that are hopeless to yet triumph the full thing. The roster is arsenic implicit arsenic immoderate I tin remember, loaded with elite pitching, location tally powerfulness and a defence that is rock-solid. This feels similar the Hogs' year, and determination are immoderate fired-up Razorbacks fans who can't hold to find out!

Dellucci: At archetypal glimpse of the MCWS bracket, my eyes instantly went to Arkansas, a squad that galore see to beryllium the astir talented successful the field. Not lone did the Hogs gully the highest-ranked squad successful the tract of 8 for their archetypal game, but it is SEC rival LSU, which won their erstwhile bid successful mid-May. To apical it off, there's a accidental the Hogs could play successful a title bid that volition diagnostic a rematch against Oregon State. Sure, that bid took spot six years ago, but each Arkansas instrumentality remembers Game 2, bottommost of the ninth with 2 outs, similar it was yesterday.

McDaniel: Murray State has already proved to beryllium overmuch amended than expected, and the 3 West Coast clubs, on with Coastal Carolina, person nationalist titles successful the past 13 years. LSU won a rubric successful 2023, and Louisville wasn't expected to beryllium here. Arkansas has nary nationalist titles successful programme past and is 1 of the 2 SEC bluish bloods successful the field. The Razorbacks request this one.

4. What are your bold predictions for this year's MCWS?

McGee: UCLA, Arizona and Oregon State each marque the semifinals and instantly denote the re-formation of the archetypal Pac-12 arsenic a shot league due to the fact that it's weird and dumb that the league that erstwhile ruled Omaha has torpedoed itself.

Rooney: Maybe not truthful bold, but I judge a "vintage" Pac-12 schoolhouse volition play for the nationalist rubric this year. Arizona, Oregon State and UCLA each look the portion with highly skilled pitching connected the mound and prima powerfulness connected the position-player side. These 3 programs ain 8 nationalist championships successful baseball. In fact, 5 of those nationalist titles were acquired successful the past 20 seasons. Someday the SEC volition surpass the historical Pac-12 arsenic the league that has won the astir nationalist titles successful baseball, but contiguous is not that day.

Burke: My bold prediction for this year's MCWS is that we volition person a non-Power 4 squad successful the championship. The past clip that happened was 2016 erstwhile Coastal Carolina won it all. It seems similar this mightiness beryllium the twelvemonth we spot 1 of the teams successful the Oregon State (independent)-Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt)-Murray State (MVC) radical marque a tally to the finals.

Dellucci: On April 22, aft College of Charleston bushed Coastal Carolina 4-2, Cougars caput manager Chad Holbrook told Kevin Schnall that his Chanticleers would not suffer different crippled for the remainder of the year. As we stand, 23 games later, the prediction is inactive holding. I'd accidental that was a bold connection astatine the time, but if that triumph streak gets to 27 and the Chants triumph it all, would idiosyncratic delight nonstop maine Coach Holbrook's telephone number? I person a question astir the upcoming Powerball lottery.

McDaniel: Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill and Arkansas RHP Gage Wood are the 2 2025 draught prospects who marque the astir wealth successful Omaha. Summerhill goes by prime 15 and Wood goes by prime 25 erstwhile each is said and done. A sleeper sanction to monitor: 2026 draught imaginable RHP Cameron Flukey of the Chanticleers.

5. Who's your prime to triumph it all, and why?

McGee: Arkansas is not the top assemblage shot programme to ne'er triumph it each -- that's Florida State. But the Razorbacks are successful the speech and person suffered an Omaha heartbreak that you would ne'er privation connected your worst enemy. The Hogs person large past -- location to 1 of assemblage baseball's crown jewel ballparks, and Dave Van Horn is arsenic wide respected arsenic immoderate manager I've ever known. If they hoist the trophy, it volition extremity decades of symptom for the programme and its coach, and I deliberation DVH mightiness locomotion close disconnected the podium and into the sunset. (This is the portion wherever I pass "Wooo Pig Sooie" federation that I antecedently predicted that Vandy and UNC were the teams to beat, truthful beware the #McGeeCurse. Sorry.)

Rooney: I picked Arkansas to triumph the nationalist rubric successful the preseason. Putting emotion aside, it seemed similar a logical choice. This radical is simply a fantastic blend of uber-talented players and programme pedigree. The Hogs transportation astatine a precocious level, the presumption subordinate radical is built to triumph successful a multitude of ways, and this programme has hardened itself with postseason scar insubstantial that often morphs into a winning toughness. Finally, skipper Dave Van Horn leads each progressive caput coaches with 10 trips to Omaha. This nine is built to spell the distance.

Burke: Arkansas and LSU person the deepest rosters and are the betting favorites -- those look similar harmless picks to me. So my conjecture is whoever survives Bracket 2 wins the full thing.

Dellucci: In our play preview, I picked LSU to triumph the title, truthful I'm sticking with the Tigers. Their discourtesy scored 28 runs successful 2 games successful the ace determination against West Virginia, and they person an incredibly beardown one-two punch successful the starting rotation with Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson, who person a combined 21 wins and 305 strikeouts. The Tigers' roster consists of a fistful of contributors from the 2023 nationalist title squad that gives it acquisition to grip the accrued media attention, hectic scheduling and a raucous ambiance that volition undoubtedly beryllium filled with LSU fans who get successful Omaha with the expectations to triumph it each -- and that includes the Rocco's Jell-O Shot Challenge.

McDaniel: LSU and Arkansas some person the extent of powerfulness arms to marque it to the end. Their first-round matchup volition springiness an easier way to whichever unsafe nine wins -- some teams are successful the top 3 successful pro endowment successful assemblage baseball. I'll thin to the Tigers.