College World Series 2019: Bracket Dates, TV Schedule and Format
June 14, 2019
The regional and super regionals are over, and the College World Series field is set.
Texas Tech, Michigan, Arkansas, Florida State, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Mississippi State and Auburn will be the eight teams vying for the national championship this year in Omaha, Nebraska.
Those eight teams—all of which had players selected in this year's MLB draft—will be split into two brackets of four teams competing in a double-elimination tournament, meaning a team must lose twice to be knocked out.
After two rounds, at least one team in each bracket will be 2-0 and automatically in the semifinals while another will be 0-2 and eliminated. The two teams who are 1-1 play each other, and the winner of that game will play the 2-0 team in the semifinals.
If the 2-0 team wins the first game of the semifinals, they advance to the College World Series Finals; if not, they play another game against the same team and the winner of the game advances to the finals.
The College World Series Finals is a best-of-three game series. A printable bracket can be found here.
Schedule
Saturday, June 15 (Bracket 1)
Game 1: Texas Tech vs. Michigan, 2 p.m., ESPN
Game 2: Arkansas vs. Florida State, 7 p.m., ESPN
Sunday, June 16 (Bracket 2)
Game 3: Vanderbilt vs. Louisville, 2 p.m., ESPN
Game 4: Mississippi State vs. Auburn, 7:30 p.m., ESPN 2
Monday, June 17 (Bracket 1)
Game 5: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 2 p.m., ESPN
Game 6: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday, June 18 (Bracket 2)
Game 7: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 2 p.m., ESPN
Game 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 7 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday, June 19 (Bracket 1)
Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6, 7 p.m., ESPN
Thursday, June 20 (Bracket 2)
Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8, 8 p.m., ESPN2
Friday June 21 (semifinals)
Game 11: Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 9, 2 p.m., ESPN
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10, 7 p.m., ESPN
Saturday, June 22 (semifinals)*
Game 13: TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m., ESPN
Game 14: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m., ESPN
Monday, June 24
CWS Finals Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday, June 25
CWS Finals Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday, June 26*
CWS Finals Game 3: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m., ESPN
*if necessary
MLB 1st-Round Picks to Watch
JJ Bleday, OF, Vanderbilt
Bleday was the fourth overall pick in the MLB draft, selected by the Miami Marlins, who have five draft picks in the College World Series.
The 21-year-old was the SEC Player of the Year, MVP of the SEC tournament and a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award—college baseball's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.
Bleday had combined for six home runs in his freshman and sophomore years but found his power stroke this season, belting an NCAA-leading 26 home runs with an SEC-leading .717 slugging percentage. He also enters the College World Series with a streak of 45 consecutive games reaching base.
Josh Jung, 3B, Texas Tech
Jung was selected eighth overall by the Texas Rangers, becoming the second-highest draft pick in Texas Tech history.
The 21-year-old was co-Big 12 Player of the Year and named the Bobby Bragan Award winner, which is given to the top hitter from all Division I programs in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Jung enters the College World Series with a .342 average, 14 home runs and 56 RBI.
Ethan Small, LHP, Mississippi State
Small was drafted 28th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers and has been one of the best pitchers in the NCAA this year.
The 6'3" 190-pound southpaw was the SEC Pitcher of the Year and became the first pitcher in Mississippi State history to win the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year award.
Small, 22, leads the NCAA with 168 strikeouts and is 10-2 with a 1.76 ERA.
The left-hander has not allowed more than three runs a game this year, and Mississippi State is 13-4 when he pitches, although one of those losses came against Auburn—the Bulldogs' first-round opponent—but Small allowed just two runs in six innings that game.