College World Series 2017: Bracket Dates, TV Schedule and Format

The eight teams for the 2017 College World Series are set. Beginning on Saturday, June 17, Louisville, TCU, Cal State Fullerton, Oregon State, Florida, LSU, Texas A&M and Florida State will all battle in tournament play for the title of the college world's best baseball team.

The tournament is a double-elimination format with two separate brackets. Once only two teams remain, they'll battle in a best-of-three series in the College World Series Finals.

We're here with everything you need to know about the College World Series, including scheduling and format information and the latest buzz.

2017 College World Series Schedule (all times ET)

Saturday, June 17

Game 1: Cal State Fullerton vs. Oregon State @ 3 p.m. ET on ESPN

Game 2: Florida State vs. LSU @ 8 p.m. on ESPN

Sunday, June 18

Game 3: Louisville vs. Texas A&M @ 2 p.m. on ESPN

Game 4: TCU vs. Florida @ 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Monday, June 19

Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 @ 2 p.m. on ESPN 

Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 @ 7 p.m. on ESPN

Tuesday, June 20

Game 7: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 @ 2 p.m. on ESPN

Game 8: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 @ 7 p.m. on ESPN

Wednesday, June 21

Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 6 @ 7 p.m. on ESPN

Thursday, June 22

Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 5 @ 8 p.m. on ESPN2

Friday, June 23

Game 11: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 9 @ 3 p.m. on ESPN

Game 12: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 10 @ 8 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday, June 24 (if necessary)

Game 13: Game 11 Teams Play Again @ 3 p.m. on ESPN

Game 14: Game 12 Teams Play Again @ 8 p.m. on ESPN

Monday, June 26

Finals Game 1 @ 7 p.m. on ESPN

Tuesday, June 27

Finals Game 2 @ 8 p.m. on ESPN

Wednesday, June 28 (if necessary)

Finals Game 3 @ 8 p.m. on ESPN

How The Tournament Works

There will be two separate brackets in the College World Series. Oregon State, Cal State Fullerton, LSU and Florida State will make up one bracket, while Texas A&M, Louisville, TCU and Florida will make up the other. For clarity's sake, let's consider these Divisions 1 and 2.

As we mentioned before, this is a double-elimination tournament, which means—you guessed it—a team will have to lose twice before being eliminated. After the first four games are played, there will be a winners bracket and a losers bracket for Round 2.

The losers bracket in Round 2 consists of elimination games.

In the following round, the winners of the losers bracket will face the losers of the winners bracket in another group of elimination games. The winners of Round 3 will then play the winners of the Round 2 winners bracket—twice if that's what's needed to hand the final team its second loss.

The emerging teams from Division 1 and Division 2 will then face off in a best-of-three series for the College World Series title.

For a look at how the eight teams got to this point, check out this full tournament bracket on NCAA.com.

Latest Buzz

Heimlich Won't Attend Series

The Oregon State Beavers have a quality baseball team. They set a new record for wins in the Pac-12 this season. The Beavers also bested Vanderbilt in a best-of-three series in the Super Regionals.

However, the Beavers haven't gotten to this point without their fair share of controversy, and it surrounds pitcher Luke Heimlich. The left-hander was a big part of Oregon State's success this season, posting an 11-1 record with a 0.76 ERA.

However, The Oregonian published a story earlier this month exposing the fact that Heimlich is a registered sex offender. According to court records obtained by The Oregonian, Heimlich pleaded guilty to a charge of sexually molesting a six-year-old female relative when he was 15 years old.

Heimlich went undrafted in this week's MLB draft, and it appears he won't be attending the College World Series either. He did not participate in the Super Regionals matchup with Vanderbilt.

Heimlich said the following in a statement, per Danny Moran of OregonLive.com:

"I'm sad to say I am not joining them because doing so would only create further distraction for my teammates, more turmoil for my family, and given the high profile of the national championship, direct even more unwanted attention to an innocent young girl. I want to wish my teammates the best. I hope they understand this decision as my family and I continue to work through this together. My hope is to return to OSU next year as a student-athlete and continue to earn the trust of my community."

Oregon State University President Ed Ray made it known that he would welcome Heimlich back with the university next season.

"If Luke wishes to do so, I support him continuing his education at Oregon State and rejoining the baseball team next season," Ray said in a written statement, per Moran.

However, Ray also stated that the school, which doesn't exclude students with prior felony convictions from athletic competition, would review its policies.

"This review should consider the possibility that some offenses and situations are so serious that we should no longer let such a student represent the university in athletic competition and other high-profile activities sponsored by the university by virtue of their offense," Ray wrote, per Moran.

Even with Heimlich not traveling with the team, this is a story that is likely to cause distractions for as long as the Beavers remain in the tournament.

Florida Pitchers Will be Front and Center

The Florida Gators will have their full pitching staff on hand in the College World Series, and it's a good thing. Florida is one of the worst hitting teams in the country—the Gators are batting just .262 as a team.

It has been pitchers like starters Alex Faedo, Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar, reliever Tyler Dyson and closer Michael Byrne who have gotten the Gators this far.

During the Super Regionals, the Gators beat Wake Forest two games to one. The wins came in low-scoring affairs—2-1 and 3-0—where pitching was key. When hitting took over, the Gators lost 6-8. If Florida is going to notch a win against TCU in the next round, it would seem a low-scoring affair would be desired.

However, Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan recently explained that he isn't necessarily worried about his team's formula.

He said the following, per Associated Press sports writer Mark Long:

"When you run our three starters out there and you've got a guy at the end and you've got a couple of other guys out there in the middle, then you just figure out ways to win. I think people put too much emphasis on how you win. The bottom line as a coach is you try to look at your club and look at your personnel and say, ‘How are we going to get this thing done?'"

The Horned Frogs are going to make it difficult for the Gators to find a way to win. This is the fourth straight year the team has made it to Omaha, and the bats have been hot more than not.

TCU advanced past Missouri State in two games in the Super Regionals, with a combined score of 11-3. The team produced 29 runs in three games during the Fort Worth Regionals.

"They're just an excellent collection of arms and very disciplined hitters," Missouri State coach Keith Guttin said after the Super Regionals, per Gil LeBreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "They're a challenge. I haven't seen all the other teams in person, but I think they'll be very competitive."

TCU made it to the semifinals in last year's College World Series before losing twice to eventual champion Coastal Carolina. Interestingly enough, TCU beat Coastal Carolina 6-1 in the second round.