College World Series 2017: Bracket, TV Schedule and Favorites Entering Omaha
The College World Series is light on Cinderella teams, instead loaded with elite programs looking to leave Omaha, Nebraska, with NCAA's crown.
Among the eight schools to survive the 64-team tournament, five hold a top-10 national rank. Everyone but Texas A&M—a 41-21 club who defeated underdog Davidson in the Super Regionals—finished the season within the top 25.
While many titans will clash for the title, 54-4 Oregon State stands tall as the consensus favorite.
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The College World Series bracket splits the field into four-team, double-elimination groupings. The two winners will meet in a best-of-three championship series. Let's take a look at the bracket and schedule, courtesy of NCAA.com.
Bracket 1: No. 1 Oregon State, No. 3 LSU, No. 16 Florida State, No. 20 CSU Fullerton
Bracket 2: No. 4 Florida, No. 6 TCU, No. 7 Louisville, Texas A&M
Schedule
Saturday, June 17: CSU vs. Oregon State, 3 p.m. ET on ESPN
Saturday, June 17: Florida State vs. LSU, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Sunday, June 18: Louisville vs. Texas A&M, 2 p.m. ET on ESPN
Sunday, June 18: Florida vs. TCU, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Monday, June 19: Game 5 (Elimination Game), 2 p.m. ET on ESPN
Monday, June 19: Game 6, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Tuesday, June 20: Game 7 (Elimination Game), 2 p.m. ET on ESPN
Tuesday, June 20: Game 8, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Wednesday, June 21: Game 9 (Elimination Game), 3 p.m. ET on ESPN
Thursday, June 22: Game 10 (Elimination Game), 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Friday, June 23: Game 11, 3 p.m. ET on ESPN
Friday, June 23: Game 12, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Saturday, June 24: Game 13 (if necessary), 3 p.m. ET on ESPN
Saturday, June 24: Game 14 (if necessary), 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Monday, June 26: CWS Final Game 1, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Tuesday, June 27: CWS Final Game 2, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Wednesday, June 28: CWS Final Game 3 (if necessary), 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Favorites:
Oregon State
Anything other than an Oregon State triumph should be considered a huge upset.
The Beavers, who boast a 21-game winning streak, have not lost since April 29. They have annihilated the competition in the regionals and Super Regionals, obtaining five victories by a cumulative 44-9 margin.
Creighton's sports information director, Rob Anderson, put their dominance into historical perspective:
They have also tallied just 29 total home runs, giving them a mediocre .412 slugging percentage. Their lack of fence-clearing power, however, has not severely hindered a squad batting .296 with 101 doubles.
Besides, Oregon State's offense doesn't typically need to light up the scoreboard as the pitching staff makes its job easier by relinquishing an NCAA-best 2.2 runs per contest. The program has a strong chance of winning its third championship in school history, but its run was tarnished by a troubling report regarding pitcher Luke Heimlich.
LSU
Believers in momentum will give LSU a puncher's chance. After eliminating Mississippi State in Sunday's 14-4 rout, they have scored 8.5 runs per game during an active 16-game winning streak.
It wasn't always smooth sailing. The Tigers lost 10 times from March 24 to April 25, and they're a tame 16-10 away from Alex Box Stadium. Per The Times-Picayune's Ron Higgins, head coach Paul Mainieri said his team is right where it belongs.
"We get to finish in Omaha, it's where everybody predicted we would be before the year," Mainieri said. "We've always known everybody expected that of us. I know at various points along the way that some people doubted that maybe we could do it."
Right fielder Greg Deichmann—drafted 43rd by the Oakland Athletics—has fueled LSU's offense with 19 home runs and a .320/.429/.606 slash line. He's complemented by four other starters batting above .310.
First-round pick Alex Lange leads the rotation, but Eric Walker is the school's not-so-secret weapon. The freshman has allowed one run with one walk and 16 strikeouts in his last two starts, and a Super Regional sweep kept him fresh for an early CWS turn.
Unfortunately, LSU resides in the same quadrant as Oregon State, so it faces a difficult path to the finals.
Louisville
There's no clear favorite in the quadrant without Oregon State, as Florida, TCU and Louisville are all prestigious powerhouses with legitimate title dreams. Out of those three potent threats, the Cardinals boast the most balance.
In addition to scoring 7.3 runs per game, the 52-10 Cardinals' 2.85 ERA ranks third in the nation. Their offense is powered by Brendan McKay, a first baseman batting .343/.464/.657 with 17 home runs. Anchoring their rotation is Brendan McKay, a southpaw who has stockpiled 140 strikeouts in 104 innings.
Before the Tampa Bay Rays drafted him with the fourth pick, the two-way star went hitless in two Super Regional wins over Kentucky. He also, however, allowed two runs and set the program record for strikeouts to send Louisville to Omaha.
The MLB-bound stud is far from a one-man show. Drew Ellis, selected 40 picks later by the Arizona Diamondbacks, led Louisville's offense into Nebraska. NCAA Baseball highlighted his sizzling two games against Kentucky, during which he upped his home run tally to 20:
Louisville also brandishes a deep crop of relievers. Adam Elliott, Sam Bordner and Lincoln Henzman have combined to yield 16 runs in 107 innings, so no opponent can afford to fall behind.
The opening schedule also favors Louisville, who open against Texas A&M while No. 4 Florida and No. 6 TCU collide. By handling business against the bracket's weakest link Sunday, the Cardinals can create some margin for error against the ranked schools during the double-elimination stage.
Note: All statistics obtained from NCAA.com and official team athletic pages.
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