College World Series 2018: Championship Predictions, Format and Full Bracket

The original NCAA tournament field of 64 has been whittled down to the elite eight, who will begin play at the 2018 College World Series on Saturday. 

Of the eight teams still standing, six were among the 16 national seeds. Florida is the No. 1 overall seed and has gone 5-1 in the regionals and super regionals. 

Four of the five power conferences will be represented in Omaha. Washington, despite being from the Pac-12, is the Cinderella of the group. This is the Huskies' first appearance in the College World Series in their 117th year of existence and the 71-year history of the event. 

Here's the full bracket for the 2018 College World Series:

College World Series Format

The College World Series is a double-elimination tournament. The eight teams are divided into two brackets, with the winners of the first-round automatically advancing to the second round. The losers will play an elimination game to determine which one will move on.

The winners of each bracket will advance to a best-of-three series that will determine the national champion. 

College World Series Prediction

Matt Stamey/Associated Press

Florida is seeking to become the first team to repeat as champion since South Carolina in 2010 and 2011. The Gators were pushed to the limit in the super regional against Auburn before Austin Langworthy hit a walk-off homer in the decisive third game:

They took a similar path last year before reaching Omaha, splitting two extra-inning games with Wake Forest in the super regional before winning five of six games to win the national title. 

Among the reasons Florida is just as dangerous this year—the program also has the SEC Player of the Year (Jonathan India) and SEC Pitcher of the Year (Brady Singer)—is the performance of closer Michael Byrne. 

Byrne threw four scoreless innings and allowed one hit with five strikeouts against Auburn to set up Langworthy's homer in Game 3. 

Florida is going to throw out Singer, who had a 2.30 ERA this season, to start its run in Omaha and will be able to use Byrne in a multi-inning stint with a lead or in a tie game. It's been a successful formula all year and one that is unlikely to change in Omaha. 

It helps that the Gators are starting against Texas Tech on Saturday. Just like the Red Raiders football team, their baseball squad is at its best playing shootouts. It ranks seventh in the nation with 469 runs scored and eighth with a .309 batting average. 

Texas Tech's top two starters by innings pitched, Davis Martin and John McMillon, sport ERAs over 4.00. The entire staff ranks 272nd out of 297 Division I teams with 5.57 walks per nine innings. 

There is so little margin for error against a Florida lineup that wasn't far behind Texas Tech with 414 runs scored, so giving it free baserunners is a recipe for disaster. 

Also on Florida's side of the bracket are Arkansas and Texas. The Razorbacks are the most dangerous threat to the Gators; they split four games during the season and in the SEC tournament. 

It also helps that Arkansas has Blaine Knight atop its rotation. The junior has gone 12-0 and has a 2.84 ERA this season. He held the Gators to one run over six innings in an 8-2 Razorbacks' win during the SEC tournament. 

Arkansas' offense has been on fire in the NCAA tournament; it has 52 runs in six games. 

Oregon State is the sleeping giant in the bottom half of the bracket and faces North Carolina. Washington has the worst offense in the College World Series, with 305 runs scored.

UNC's offense has scored 48 runs in five tournament games, but third baseman Kyle Datres' quote after the super regional suggested they could struggle moving forward. 

"Baseball's a lot about momentum," Datres told reporters. "And we've come together and put a lot of good swings up on balls here lately. Just going up there and having a quality at-bat, whether you get it a hit or not, just squaring the ball up—good things are going to happen."

The Tar Heels will have seven days off since their last game, so how does their momentum translate against a dangerous Oregon State team?

Because virtually every other team in Omaha has one significant question mark, Florida is the safest bet to walk away with another national championship. Oregon State will be a formidable opponent in the championship series, but the Gators will prevail in three games.

Prediction: Florida defeats Oregon State