College World Series 2023: Championship Predictions, Format and Full Bracket
The NCAA Men's College World Series is underway and Friday, Oral Roberts and Florida stunned the field with massive come-from-behind victories in the ninth inning to ensure the 2023 tournament will be anything but boring.
Those two teams meet in the next round of competition, each seeking the opportunity to play for a national championship, but who will join them?
Find out which teams will vie for the opportunity to battle the Golden Eagles and Gators for the most coveted prize in college baseball with this look at the bracket, television schedule and a prediction on the eventual victors.
Bracket Dates and Television Schedule
June 17
Game 3: Wake Forest vs. Stanford (2:00 p.m., ESPN)
Game 4: LSU vs. Tennessee (7:00 p.m., ESPN)
June 18
Game 5: TCU vs. Virginia (Elimination Game) (2:00 p.m., ESPN)
Game 6: Oral Roberts vs. Florida (7:00 p.m., ESPN)
June 19
Game 7: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 (Elimination Game) (2:00 p.m., ESPN)
Game 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 (7:00 p.m., ESPN)
June 20
Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6 (Elimination Game) (2:00 p.m., ESPN)
Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8 (Elimination Game) (7:00 p.m., ESPN)
June 21
Game 11: Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 9 (2:00 p.m., ESPN)
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 (7:00 p.m., ESPN)
June 22
Game 13: Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 9 (2:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m., ESPN or ESPN 2) (if necessary)
Game 14: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 (7:00 p.m., ESPN 2) (if necessary)
Men's College World Series Schedule
June 24
Game 1: Bracket Winner 1 vs. Bracket Winner 2 (7:00 p.m., ESPN)
June 25
Game 2: Bracket Winner 1 vs. Bracket Winner 2 (3:00 p.m., ESPN)
June 26
Game 3: Bracket Winner 1 vs. Bracket Winner 2 (7:00 p.m., ESPN) (if necessary)
Championship Prediction: Wake Forest over Oral Roberts
The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles entered the NCAA Men's College World Series as an underdog, competing in their first world series in 45 years. They were not supposed to make it past TCU Friday, losers by multiple runs some pundits predicted.
This, despite a win-loss record just one off of the Deacs tournament-best.
All Oral Roberts did to prove the doubters wrong was storm back in the ninth inning to defeat TCU, overcoming one of the hottest offenses in baseball to win and advance in the tournament.
They still have to get past Florida next but there is a certain magic to this Golden Eagles squad that feels very much like destiny. The extraordinary hitting of Jonah Cox, solid pitching and a resiliency reserved for the greatest underdog squads in sports come together to make the team as strong a candidate to leave Omaha with a national championship as any.
Unfortunately, to do so, they have to overcome the best team in the tournament: the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Deacs are led by the home run-hitting Brock Wilken and are the most complete team in the tournament. There are no obvious holes. They sit atop the nation in ERA and can hit the ball out of the park at any given point.
A national title and they will become the first team since 1999 to enter the No. 1 seed and actually leave Omaha with the championship.
And they will.
No other team can measure up, not even the gutsy Golden Eagles.
The Deacs take the title and etch their names in the history books.