College World Series 2019: Dates, Schedule and Top Contenders

The SEC has a strong chance of adding a baseball national championship in a few weeks. That's because the conference makes up half of the College World Series field.

For the fourth time in its history, the SEC is sending four schools to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series, which begins Saturday. Vanderbilt and Mississippi State clinched their places on Sunday, then Arkansas and Auburn joined the field Monday.

The SEC previously had four teams reach the College World Series in 1997, 2004 and 2015.

The other four schools in this year's College World Series field are Florida State and Louisville of the ACC, Michigan (Big Ten) and Texas Tech (Big 12).

The College World Series takes place at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. It features double-elimination play in two four-team brackets, with the two winners meeting in a best-of-three finals, which begins June 24.

2019 College World Series Schedule

All times ET. The full bracket can be found at NCAA.com.

Saturday, June 15

Game 1: Texas Tech vs. Michigan, 2 p.m.

Game 2: Arkansas vs. Florida State, 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 16

Game 3: Vanderbilt vs. Louisville, 2 p.m.

Game 4: Mississippi State vs. Auburn, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, June 17

Game 5: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 2 p.m.

Game 6: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, June 18

Game 7: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 2 p.m.

Game 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, June 19

Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6, 7 p.m.

Thursday, June 20

Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8, 8 p.m.

Friday, June 21

Game 11: Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 9, 2 p.m.

Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10, 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 22

Game 13: TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. (if necessary)

Game 14: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. (if necessary)

Monday, June 24

College World Series Finals Game 1, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, June 25

College World Series Finals Game 2, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, June 26

College World Series Finals Game 3, 7 p.m. (if necessary)

Top Contenders

Vanderbilt (54-11)

Wade Payne/Associated Press

Key Players

OF JJ Bleday (.350/.464/.717, 26 HR, 69 RBI)
UTL Austin Martin (.410/.503/.619, 8 HR, 42 RBI)
UTL Stephen Scott (.339/.460/.591, 12 HR, 55 RBI)
RHP Drake Fellows (17 GS, 12-1, 4.15 ERA, 120 K, 104 IP, 2 CG, 1 SHO)
RHP Kumar Rocker (17 G, 14 GS, 10-5, 3.50 ERA, 97 K, 87.1 IP, 1 CG, 1 SHO)
RHP Mason Hickman (18 G, 11 GS, 8-0, 2.23 ERA, 116 K, 84.2 IP, 0.96 WHIP)

The Commodores have to be considered the favorite to win the national title, as they are the No. 2 team in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 rankings. (No. 1 UCLA was eliminated in the Super Regionals by Michigan.)

JJ Bleday was selected by the Miami Marlins with the No. 4 pick in the 2019 MLB draft, and he's hit more home runs in a single season than any player in Vanderbilt history.

Drake Fellows (sixth round, San Diego Padres) and Stephen Scott (10th round, Boston Red Sox) were both selected on the second day of the draft.

Kumar Rocker may not have the flashiest numbers, but he's coming off one of the most dominant performances in college baseball history, after tossing a 19-strikeout no-hitter against Duke in the Super Regionals.

This is a dangerous team that could easily win the program its second national championship, which it previously won in 2014.

Mississippi State (51-13)

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

Key Players

OF Jake Mangum (.355/.411/.462, 1 HR, 22 2B, 39 RBI)
IF/OF Tanner Allen (.348/.423/.519, 7 HR, 22 2B, 64 RBI)
IF Justin Foscue (.338/.402/.582, 14 HR, 22 2B, 59 RBI)
LHP Ethan Small (17 GS, 10-2, 1.76 ERA, 168 K, 102 IP)
RHP JT Ginn (16 GS, 8-4, 3.36 ERA, 103 K, 80.1 IP, 1 CG)
RHP Peyton Plumlee (20 G, 15 GS, 7-4, 3.67 ERA, 63 K, 81 IP)

The Bulldogs didn't win the SEC regular-season or tournament championship this season, but that's because Vanderbilt won both. Mississippi State lost its only matchup against Vandy 1-0 in the SEC tourney.

This is another strong SEC team to watch, though. The Bulldogs will open the College World Series against a familiar foe—Auburn, which it beat twice in three games during the regular season.

Ethan Small is the top player on this squad, as he was a first-round selection (No. 28 overall) of the Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB draft. Jake Mangum (fourth round, New York Mets) was also an early selection.

Mississippi State is in the same bracket as Vanderbilt, so in order for the Bulldogs to win their first national championship, they'll likely need to avenge their earlier loss to the Commodores first.

Texas Tech (44-18)

Brad Tollefson/Associated Press

Key Players

IF Cameron Warren (.354/.448/.664, 17 HR, 76 RBI)
IF Josh Jung (.342/.476/.636, 14 HR, 22 2B, 56 RBI)
IF/OF Dylan Neuse (.307/.418/.518, 8 HR, 6 3B, 51 RBI)
IF/OF Gabe Holt (.320/.413/.438, 3 HR, 3 3B, 35 RBI)
RHP Caleb Kilian (16 GS, 8-3, 3.93 ERA, 80 K, 89.1 IP, 1 CG, 1 SHO)
RHP Micah Dallas (17 G, 11 GS, 7-0, 3.38 ERA, 82 K, 72 IP

If a non-SEC team is going to win this year's College World Series, it could be the Red Raiders, who won the Big 12 regular-season championship and are making their third CWS appearance in four seasons.

Josh Jung is an exciting player who was selected No. 8 overall by the Texas Rangers in the MLB draft. Gabe Holt (seventh round, Milwaukee Brewers) and Caleb Kilian (eight round, San Francisco Giants) were Day 2 selections.

While Texas Tech has never won a national championship—and it had never reached the College World Series before 2014—this is a program that has improved tremendously over the past decade. Perhaps this is the year the Red Raiders, led by a balanced lineup with plenty of potent hitters, bring home the title.