College World Series 2017: Bracket Predictions, Start Times for Sunday Schedule

The Louisville Cardinals headline the Day 2 schedule for the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.

The power-hitting Cardinals face the Texas A&M Aggies at 2 p.m. ET Sunday in a game that will be broadcast by ESPN. TCU and Florida will meet at 7 p.m., and that game can be seen on ESPN2.

Sunday, June 18

Game 3: Louisville (52-10) vs. Texas A&M (41-21) @ 2 p.m. ET on ESPN

Game 4: TCU (47-16) vs. Florida (47-18) @ 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Louisville features slugger Brendan McKay, who was selected with the No. 4 pick in this week's draft by the Tampa Bay Rays and is also a sensational pitcher.

McKay was named as the starter against the Aggies by head coach Dan McDonnell, getting the nod over Kade McClure.

The left-handed McKay brings a 10-3 record and a 2.34 ERA to the College World Series, and he was named the winner of the Dick Howser Trophy Friday. That honor goes to the top collegiate baseball player in the country.

McDonnell said that McKay has been instrumental in helping the Louisville baseball program grow quite a bit.

"He left his mark," McDonnell said, per Danielle Lerner of the Louisville Courier-Journal. "He came to our program at a time when we were fortunate to go into the ACC, and it couldn't have been a better marriage. Because you need a superstar player like Brendan along with all the other talented players we've had around him to elevate each other and allow us to compete in a great baseball league."

Corbin Martin, a junior right-hander for the Aggies, will get the start against the left-handed McKay. Martin brings a 7-3 record and a 3.35 ERA to the CWS.

Martin is a strong power pitcher, and he seemed a bit overwhelmed as head coach Rob Childress gave him the starting assignment.

"It's very humbling," Martin said, per Lerner. "Being able to go against a guy like that, it's pretty huge. I can't scrutinize every pitch. I've just got to out there for the guys and trust the guys behind me."

The TCU Horned Frogs have made their fifth trip to Omaha since 2010, and head coach Jim Schlossnagle's team is ready to do more than an appearance. The Horned Frogs have their minds set on a championship.

"Last year was bitter," said right fielder Austen Wade, per Carlos Mendez of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (h/t NCAA.com). "We put ourselves in a great position by winning the first two games. We're in the driver's seat, and then suddenly things just don't fall our way. That's not how it should have gone last year."

Catcher Evan Skoug has been hot with the bat for the Horned Frogs. He has homered in four of the five NCAA tournament games, and he has 12 runs batted in over that span.

Florida is making its third College World Series appearance in a row, and the Gators are a balanced unit with a .262 team batting average and a 3.55 collective ERA.

Junior catcher JJ Schwarz is the team's top offensive force as he leads the Gators in runs scored (42), hits (64), home runs (12), RBI (53) and slugging percentage (.470).

Pitcher Alex Faedo is the team's top hurler, and he comes to Omaha with a 7-2 record, a 2.55 ERA and an opponents' batting average of .221.

Predictions

Louisville has a powerful team, and the combination of McKay and Drew Ellis will be difficult for Texas A&M to hold in check. In addition to his pitching exploits, McKay hammered 17 home runs and drove in 56, while Ellis blasted 20 homers and drove in 61 runs.

Louisville should defeat the Aggies Sunday, and the Cardinals may be able to put the game away fairly early.

Florida and TCU appear to be a somewhat tighter matchup, but the Horned Frogs are deeper and more inspired after their near-miss last year. Look for TCU to beat Florida and get off to a good start in the College World Series.

As the bracket plays out, Louisville should emerge as the team that reaches the best-of-three College World Series championship.