Omaha Outlook: Everything you need to know about this year’s College World Series

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) —This year’s group of eight could make for a special two weeks in Omaha. Everything you need to know about this year’s Men’s College World Series, including storylines, tidbits, and fun facts about each of the eight teams.

Can another SEC team find its way in hoisting the trophy?

• An SEC ball club has won the last five NCAA championships. The last non-SEC team to win was Oregon State in 2018. This year, it will be up to LSU or Arkansas to keep that trend going.

There’s a first for everything

• 2025 marks the first time since 1957 that zero teams from the previous season made it back to the College World Series.
• Seven conferences represent this year’s group in Omaha. (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, MVC, Pac-12, Sun Belt, SEC x2). It’s the first time the final eight has featured this many since 2003.
• Four teams are all making their return to Charles Schwab field for the first time since they last won a championship. (LSU ’23, Oregon State ’18, Coastal Carolina ’16, UCLA ’13)

No. 13 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers  (53-11)

• Coastal is back. The Chanticleers have made their second appearance in Omaha, the first time since they won the national championship in 2016. Can they do it again? They’re winners of 23 straight games. 
• Their last loss dates back to April 22. They finished with a 26-4 overall record in the Sun Belt Conference, and are led by Blake Barthol and Sebastian Alexander each totaling over 50 RBI’s on the season. The Chanticleers also have been stellar on the mound all season long. They have the 2nd best combined ERA in the country, with an average of 3.21 through 549.1 innings pitched.
• Coastal Carolina is poised to make another deep run, and they’ll begin that journey against the last team they faced at Charles Schwab Field in 2016, vs the Arizona Wildcats Friday afternoon.

Louisville Cardinals  (40-22)

• Louisville comes in as the lone ACC team, when just a year prior four teams out of this conference were playing in Omaha. The Cardinals finished .500 in conference play, and have gotten hot at the right time, placing them back in the college world series for the first time since 2019.

• They went 3-0 in the Nashville Regional which included taking down the No. 1 overall seed, the Vanderbilt Commodores. Louisville will look to become the first team out of the ACC to win the title since Virginia did it back in 2015, but they’ll have to start with the No. 8 overall seed in Oregon State Friday night.

Murray St. Racers (44-15)

• Do you believe in miracles? Are you a fan of an underdog? Well I’ve got just the team for you. Murray State had to scratch and claw to get to the big stage, making for their first ever appearance in Omaha. 

• The Racers are the fourth regional No. 4 seed to make it this far, joining three other schools (Oral Roberts ‘23, Stony Brook ‘12, Fresno St. ‘08). But, they deserve to be here. They had to take down No. 15 Ole Miss twice, and No. 18 Georgia Tech to make it out of the Oxford Regional. Then, after losing game one to Duke in the super regional, they bounced back with a 10 run victory in game two, and survived an extra innings classic in game three to punch their ticket.
• The Racers home ballpark only seats about 800 people. That will be a huge change for them as they step onto Charles Schwab Field, holding up to 24,000.

No. 6 LSU Tigers (48-15)

• The Tigers are one of two SEC teams to make it to Omaha. Which is kind of a down year for the conference because since 1990, they’ve been responsible for sending three or more teams 14 different times. The most by any conference in baseball. 
• LSU had a bit of a scare in the regionals after dropping one game to Little Rock, and then having to come back in the regional final to advance to the supers. That’s when they got their track back on course, routing the West Virginia Mountaineers through two games with a combined score of 28-14 advancing to their first appearance in just two years, when they last won the championship in 2023. If you want to beat this LSU Tigers team, you’ll have to avoid striking out. The Tigers rank 3rd in the country in K/9 innings. 
• The SEC has crowned the last five Men’s College world series champions, and it will have to be up to either LSU or Arkansas to continue that trend.

No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks (48-13)

• If there’s one thing to know about this year’s Razorbacks team, it’s that they win games on the field, and on the mound. They have the best strikeout to walk ratio in the nation, and are the second best team in the country in fielding percentage. It will take a really strong offensive team to be able to hang with the Hogs. But, they’ve proven they can win with the long ball as well, ranking fourth in the country with Home runs this season (124).
• This is Arkansas’s fifth appearance in Omaha since 2015, where they last lost a heartbreaker to Oregon State in the 2018 championship series. The Razorbacks have the fourth most CWS appearances without a title, including this season with their 11th time. It will be a battle of the SEC to begin their quest for a first ever title vs. LSU Saturday night.

UCLA Bruins (47-16)

• Bruin Baseball. In their first year competing in the Big Ten Conference, they’ve found themselves playing on the biggest stage of them all. It’s their first ticket punched to Omaha since 2013, when they won the title vs. Mississippi State 8-0. 
• They’ll strive to be the first ever Big Ten team to win a title since 1966. It’s the longest championship drought of the power five conferences in the sport.
• A player to look out for is SS Roch Cholowsky, who is one of the best sluggers in baseball. The Sophomore ranks 5th in the nation in Home Run’s with 23, totaling 73 RBI’s. Along with Cholowsky at Shortstop, the Bruins have a strong presence in the infield. UCLA has turned the most double plays in all of baseball with 63. 

No. 8 Oregon St. Beavers (47-14-1)

• The Beavers are back on the biggest stage. Oregon State comes into this year’s College World Series on a hot streak, winning 10 of their last 12 games. The No. 8 overall seed ran through their Corvallis regional, and defeated Florida St. in three games in the super’s. Oregon State is the winningest team in the super regional era, winning three NCAA championships in 2006, 2007, and 2018.
• The Beavers also know how to get on base. They rank 3rd in the nation in base on balls. This is their first appearance at Charles Schwab Field since 2018, when they last won the championship.

Arizona Wildcats (44-19)

• Arizona’s first year in a new conference has them back in a spot they’re all too familiar with. This will be the Wildcat’s 19th time reaching the College World Series in Omaha, but their first since 2016 when they fell just short to Coastal Carolina in the Championship series.
• This isn’t the strongest of Arizona’s teams from the past, but they’re good enough to contend for a title. If it means anything, the Wildcats can hit for triples. They rank 1st in the nation with 36, which is seven more than the next best.

Channel 8 predictions

• Jake Homan: Arkansas (Runner up: Coastal Carolina)
• Nate Johnson: Arkansas (Runner up: Louisville)
• Mark Fischer: LSU (Runner up: Coastal Carolina)
• Nolan Dorn: LSU (Runner up: Coastal Carolina)
• Annie Elming: LSU (Runner up: Coastal Carolina)
• Aidan Andrews: Coastal Carolina (Runner up: Arkansas)
• Emma Norwood: Arizona (Runner up: LSU)