The Men's College World Series is kicking off and this year's field is one you don't want to miss.
We welcome Troy and West Virginia to Omaha as they'll be making their MCWS debuts, while the SEC set a record by clinching five of the eight spots in this year's field. To make this MCWS even more enticing, there are no returning teams from last year's field of eight.
The Georgia Bulldogs were double champions in the SEC this season after earning the conference's regular-season title and the SEC tournament title. Over the past seven seasons, only two SEC programs have pulled off the trifecta. Can Georgia make it three?
Our experts break down this year's MCWS with storylines, players they're watching and bold predictions to look for over the next week and a half in Omaha.
Jump to:
Storylines | Players | Most to prove
Predictions | Who could win it all?
What are you most excited about for this year's MCWS?
Chris Burke: I can't wait to see if Georgia can pull off the trifecta. Since 2019, we've had two teams win the SEC regular season, SEC tournament and win the national championship. Vanderbilt in 2019 and Tennessee in 2024 pulled it off, and this Georgia team gives me similar vibes. It will be fascinating to watch this team try to finish it off in Omaha.
Mike Rooney: This tournament has been a joyous contradiction. Men's College World Series first-timers Troy and West Virginia provided some of the best moments (and atmospheres) of the first two weekends. Their maiden voyage to Omaha will be a celebration of the sport. And yet, the behemoth that is the SEC has set a record with five teams headed to Nebraska. Conversely, over the past three seasons, only North Carolina has made more than one trip to the MCWS. The messages might be mixed, but there is no denying that this field of eight offers plenty of intrigue.
David Dellucci: I love the atmosphere around downtown Omaha and Charles Schwab Field, and after seeing the record-breaking crowds at regionals and super regionals, I can't wait to watch these fanbases bring that same passion to the 2026 MCWS. With no repeat teams from last season and Troy and West Virginia making their first trips to Omaha, the excitement will be electric.
Ryan McGee: I am burning rawhide incense and praying to the hardball gods that this wacko show we saw in the first two rounds of the tourney keeps on rolling in Omaha. I think this is a legit wide-open field. We are living in a window of near-perfect college baseball parity right now. Someone should write a column about that. Wait, I did!
Kiley McDaniel: The college players in the back half of the first round of the 2026 MLB draft aren't inspiring teams the way they normally do, so Omaha provides a platform for some prospects to emerge. Ole Miss right-hander Taylor Rabe and North Carolina shortstop Jake Schaffner are among the quickest risers in the past month-plus and could continue this week. Mississippi right-hander Cade Townsend and Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron are both already projected for the middle of the first round, but with a wide range that could improve this week; Texas center fielder Aiden Robbins is also in that mix but toward the end of the first round
Which players are bringing the heat?
Burke: There are a ton of stars and great storylines coming into the MCWS, but Texas might be the team that carries the most star power. The players in the Nos. 1-3 spots in the lineup are as talented as any. Aiden Robins, Carson Tinney and Anthony Pack Jr. come to Omaha red-hot and on power surges. But the Longhorns aren't just talented offensively, they have a true ace in All-American left-hander Dylan Volantis and a lock-down closer in Sam Cozart. If you are looking for stars, tune in when the Longhorns play.
Rooney: Georgia's Daniel Jackson is a catcher with 31 home runs and 26 stolen bases. Not a typo. West Virginia catcher Gavin Kelly is an early favorite to be the first pick in the 2027 MLB draft. UNC center fielder Owen Hull, who comes to the MCWS with a whopping 81 RBIs, had four doubles in Game 3 of the Tar Heels' Omaha-clinching win over USC. Alabama's Justin Lebron played his best baseball down the stretch, and the uber-athletic shortstop comes to Nebraska with 16 homers and 40 steals. Texas freshman Cozart and UNC freshman Caden Glauber were two of the most dominant relievers in the this season. Not every star made it to Omaha this year ... but we have plenty of backup.
Dellucci: There is no shortage of talent and storylines in this tournament. John Bashford Boroff III was batting .114 in early May, but in the NCAA tournament he batted .462 to go along with six HRs and 18 RBIs and played his way into folk-hero status while earning the nickname "Jabe Ruth." Jackson is a generational talent hitting .396 with 31 HRs and is four stolen bases shy of being only the second player in Division I baseball to join the 30-30 club. Jason DeCaro pitched a shutout, giving up only one walk and two hits against USC in Game 2 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional, and Dylan Volantis comes into Charles Schwab with an era of 2.03 and 126 strikeouts. Check them out now, because they will be big leaguers in a few years.
McGee: I am excited for the larger sports audience to meet a pair of SEC dual-threat guys: Lebron and Jackson. Both of them are super fast, both can rake and both will hear their names called next month in the MLB draft, with Lebron expected to go early.
McDaniel: I don't expect Troy to go deep in the tourney, but I think their catcher Jimmy Janicki is the best pro prospect in the tournament. I wonder if he'll get pitched to enough to prove that to more casual fans. Lebron might be the most physically talented prospect in the event, and if he can make a little more contact than he has this year, could be the headline star in Omaha. Jackson, however, is red-hot and is the easy call here.
Which team has the most to prove?
Burke: North Carolina has made it to the Men's College World Series 13 times, 11 this century, without a title. That is the second-most trips without closing the deal in the sport. The Tar Heels fought their way to Omaha on the strength of arguably the best pitching staff in the country and if they can generate enough offense, this could be the year they finally bring the trophy home to Chapel Hill.
Rooney: It's hard to say that the SEC has the most to prove given that the league has won six straight titles. But with over half of the field of eight coming from the Southeastern Conference, this would be a heck of a year to have that streak broken. Or maybe it would be right on brand given that the 2026 NCAA baseball tournament has been nothing but unpredictable. We know that the SEC will have a team in the finals as the league's teams populate the right side of the bracket. And a seventh straight title would be quite the flex given that perennial league powerhouses LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas and Vanderbilt are not among the five in attendance.
Dellucci: Georgia leads the nation with 174 home runs. Seven players have double-digit homers, and Kolby Branch and Tre Phelps are each one homer shy of joining three other teammates in the 20-homer club. With Foley Field being a hitter-friendly park and 119 of those round-trippers coming at home, the Bulldogs will need to add to that overall total while playing at Charles Schwab Stadium to silence their critics.
McGee: This is a long list. I've been calling this the MCWS Redemption Tour. Georgia seeking to ease the sting of their last visit in 2008, when it lost to Fresno State. Bama, which hasn't been to Omaha much, and UNC, which has been there a bunch, but both have finished second twice. Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco, whom people wanted to fire 18 months ago, with a chance to win it all again. Troy and WVU. Oklahoma's last title was in 1994. They all have something to prove. But Texas, easily one of the top three programs of all time, hasn't won it all in 21 years, and Jim Schlossnagle, who still gets criticized for bolting A&M for Austin two years ago, is 0-for-8 in Omaha trips. That's a lot to prove for the Horns.
McDaniel: Ole Miss is in the weaker of the two sides of the bracket, and I think many expect the Rebels to get to the final because of the SEC pedigree and pitching staff. On the other hand, North Carolina is carrying the torch for the ACC and can similarly see a path to the final without the gauntlet of the all-SEC side of the bracket.
What are your bold predictions for this year's MCWS?
Burke: West Virginia will take the town by storm. There is no better story going than the one being written by the Mountaineers, and it feels as if they are going to be a tough out this week. I'm not saying they are going make the finals, but I'd be surprised if they don't at least win a game, and I'd be very surprised if their fanbase doesn't show up in big numbers. I can't wait to see the 'Eers in Omaha.
Rooney: Would it be bold to predict that one of the three non-SEC fanbases will win the Jello-shot competition at Rocco's? The enthusiasm radiating from the state of West Virginia and the city of Troy, Alabama, lit up the super regional round of this tournament in unprecedented ways. Those scenes were everything we all love about college baseball. And college sports for that matter. So, per capita, I think these two schools and programs will have an outsized impact on this Men's College World Series. Count me in for all of it.
Dellucci: Is predicting another SEC championship a bold prediction? Probably not. But for that to happen, Ole Miss will lean heavily on its pitching staff. Hunter Elliot, a 2022 national champion, has the talent and experience to lead the way for flame thrower Taylor Rabe and Cade Townsend. The bullpen led by JP Robertson, Hudson Calhoun and Walker Hooks can pitch on multiple days and shut down high-powered offenses in Arizona State, Nebraska and Auburn in the regional and super regional rounds.
McGee: I don't know if we get to the ridiculous mark set in 2023 of eight one-run games, but I do think we get close.
McDaniel: We won't get the All-SEC final because North Carolina will come out of their side of the bracket. Want hotter? Janicki (2027 eligible) will be the highest-drafted player out of everyone in Omaha this year. Hottest? Jackson will win the Golden Spikes award and MCWS MVP carrying his Bulldogs to the title.
Who's your pick to win it all?
Burke: I'll stop short of predicting a championship, but I'll say it feels as if the winner is coming from the right side of the bracket, the all-SEC field. Buckle up y'all, this is going to be a fun couple of weeks.
Rooney: Georgia is the obvious choice. The Bulldogs were the double champion of the league that holds five of the eight spots in this year's field. And the truth is that it wasn't particularly close. Georgia's 23-7 record cleared second-place Texas by an eye-popping 3½ games. This team led the country in home runs by a wide margin, fielded a stellar .983 and the pitching staff is plenty good. All that said, give me Texas in its record 39th appearance in the MCWS. Volantis and Cozart give the Longhorns two dominant arms at both ends. Robbins and Tinney give Jim Schlossnagle's lineup two dynamic superstars capable of taking over a game. Oh ... and outfielder Pack might be the national freshman of the year.
Dellucci: The Georgia Bulldogs are favorites to win it all with their ability to score and a .339 batting average with 25 homers and 54 runs scored in NCAA tournament. But don't overlook their pitching led by a solid rotation of Dylan Vigue, Joey Volchko and Caden Aoki and dependable bullpen options such as Matt Scott, Justin Byrd and Zach Brown who gave up no homers and had a 1.00 ERA in the Athens Regional.
McGee: UNC has so much pitching depth and Texas plays the kind of baseball that is adaptable to the Chuck and built to win those close games I'm counting on. So, let's says Horns over Heels in three games.
McDaniel: Texas. The Longhorns have the deepest roster of pro-level talent and have been rolling this postseason. I am a bit worried that their all-SEC side of the bracket is loaded with good teams that know each other, so I will lean toward whichever of Texas/Georgia/Alabama/Oklahoma comes out of that group of teams, but I think the Longhorns have the best chance to do that.