College World Series 2023: Championship Bracket and Predictions

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons slugged their way into the College World Series with 75 runs in five games.

The top-ranked side out of the ACC needs its offense to translate to Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, to finish the dominant run through the NCAA baseball tournament.

However, the dimensions are much deeper in Omaha than they are in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. That could mean the Demon Deacons have to find different ways to win.

Wake also has to navigate a difficult side of the bracket that contains the LSU Tigers, Stanford Cardinal and Tennessee Volunteers. A SEC opponent awaits the Demon Deacons if they win or lose in their opening game, which could spell some trouble for the No. 1 overall seed.

The No. 2 overall seed Florida Gators appear to have a better path to the best-of-three championship series since two unseeded programs are on their side of the bracket.

Florida has to get through the Virginia Cavaliers first, but the Gators have the look of a team that could make noise in Omaha with their hitting and pitching.

College World Series Bracket and Schedule

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HOOVER, AL - MAY 27: Florida Gators utility Wyatt Langford (36) celebrates his first inning double during the 2023 SEC Baseball Tournament game between the Florida Gators and the Vanderbilt Commodores on May 27, 2023 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Friday, June 16

Oral Roberts vs. TCU (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Virginia vs. Florida (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Saturday, June 17

Wake Forest vs. Stanford (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

LSU vs. Tennessee (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Sunday, June 18

Oral Roberts/TCU Loser vs. Virginia/Florida Loser (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Oral Roberts/TCU Winner vs. Virginia/Florida Winner (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Monday, June 19

Wake Forest/Stanford Loser vs. LSU/Tennessee Loser (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Wake Forest/Stanford Winner vs. LSU/Tennessee Winner (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Tuesday, June 20

Elimination Game (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Elimination Game (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Wednesday, June 21

Winners' Bracket Game (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Winners' Bracket Game (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Thursday, June 22

Winners' Bracket Games (if necessary, 2 & 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Saturday, June 24

Championship Series Game 1 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Sunday, June 25

Championship Series Game 2 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Monday, June 26

Championship Series Game 3 (if necessary, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Wake Forest Struggles in Its Bracket

Eakin Howard/Getty Images

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 26: Nick Kurtz #8 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons runs the bases after hitting a home run against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first inning during the ACC Baseball Championship at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on May 26, 2023 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Wake Forest will be playing in a ballpark in Omaha that is 35 feet deeper in right, 25 feet deeper in left and eight feet larger in center than its home ballpark. The Demon Deacons will not crush the long ball every inning like they did for most of the regional and super regional rounds.

Additionally, Wake Forest has to deal with three tough opponents in its side of the bracket.

LSU boasts two potential top-five MLB draft picks in pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews. Wake would avoid Skenes if he starts the opener against Tennessee, but it could encounter the right-hander later in the tournament.

Stanford, who is Wake's first opponent on Saturday, ranks ninth in Division I in team batting average at .319. The Cardinal are also tied for 10th in team home runs.

In fact, all four teams in Wake's bracket reside in the top 10 in Division I in team home runs, so they all have the potential to match the Demon Deacons' output.

The toughest team for anyone to deal with in that half of the bracket could be Tennessee, who is in Omaha one year after it was eliminated in the super regional round as the No. 1 overall seed.

The Volunteers produced a 5-1 record on the road in the last two rounds. Its pitching staff did not allow more than five runs in a single game.

Tennessee is the only unseeded team in that half, but it could end up being the most dangerous to Wake and the two others.

Florida Flies Through Its Bracket

AP Photo/John Raoux

Florida's Jac Caglianone beats against South Carolina in an NCAA college baseball tournament super regional game Saturday, June 10, 2023, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Florida looks like it could be the team to beat in Omaha.

The Gators went 5-1 in the last two weeks, with their only defeat coming by one run against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Gainesville regional. Florida avenged that loss by outscoring Texas Tech 13-1 in consecutive games.

Florida's pitching staff held the South Carolina Gamecocks to four runs in 18 innings during the Gainesville super regional.

The Gators have the pitching dominance that can slow down the three fantastic offenses in its bracket from the Virginia Cavaliers, Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and TCU Horned Frogs.

Virginia went 1-1 in the two games it scored five runs or less in the first two rounds. Florida's pitching staff is capable of limiting the ACC side and forcing it into the losers' bracket.

Oral Roberts and TCU slugged their way through the last two weeks, but they may not have the pitching depth to compete with the Gators with games happening in quick succession.

If Florida continues to shine, it could be the third straight SEC team to win in Omaha. The SEC has seven College World Series champions dating back to 2010.