College World Series 2012 Schedule: Underdogs That Will Surprise in Omaha

Fresno State’s incredible run in 2008 will never be forgotten and college baseball fans will want to see another underdog find success in Omaha.

There will be the traditional powers like UCLA and Florida to contend with, but a few scrappy teams sneaked into the tournament as well.

Here are three underdogs to watch at this year’s College World Series that have a good shot at turning some heads. 

Kent State

The Golden Flashes were placed at No. 74 in the nation when the NCAA did their most recent national rankings.

They faced a daunting matchup against No. 6 Oregon in the Eugene Super Regional. All three games of the series were decided by just one run, and the decisive matchup ended when Kent St. scored a run in the ninth inning to book a trip to Omaha.

The team will have plenty of momentum heading into its opening game against Arkansas. 

The Ohio-based school proved against Oregon that it can play with the top teams in the country. Kent St. has the most potential of any team in the tournament to be this year’s Cinderella story. 

Stony Brook

This New York-based university was ranked 86^th in the nation by the NCAA. 

That clearly did not matter to them in the Baton Rouge Super Regional when they defeated No. 7 LSU.

Stony Brook is the most surprising participant in the tournament, and they will have to prove extremely quickly that they are for real.

Their opening match is against UCLA, one of the favorites, and a positive result in this game will be the spark they need to make a run to the national title. 

Arkansas 

Arkansas is definitely not as much of an underdog as either Kent St. or Stony Brook, but they are still a surprising inclusion in the tournament.

They went up against No. 4 Baylor in the Waco Super Regional. After getting thrashed 8-1 in the first game of the series, they went on to win the next two games by a single run.

The third game was a 10-inning thriller and showed the Razorbacks' grit and focus.

This team may not face as daunting of a task as Kent St. or Stony Brook, but they also have a much better shot to win the tournament. If there is one underdog to watch closely, it is Arkansas.