Power ranking 2024 College World Series teams by championship odds before Selection Monday
The NCAA baseball tournament will remain fluid until Selection Monday. That's how the saying goes and this year is no exception. With just five days to go until the field of 64 is decided, there are still several bubble teams vying for College World Series contention.
Still, just because a team sneaks its way into the regionals does not mean it will suddenly have a much better chance of winning the College World Series. That said, since 1999, there have been 12 unranked teams to win it all. Under the current 16 host team format, only six of those would have counted, but that would still be the most of any seed in the tournament, double that of the next-closest (No. 2 and No. 3 seeds each have three championships in that time frame).
While the NCAA basketball tournaments may be known for its madness, the College World Series can be just as chaotic, and that's bad news for this year's favorites. Here's every team still in contention for the College World Series, ranked based on their 2024 title odds. All odds via BetMGM.
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Power Ranking 2024 College World Series teams
Favorites:
T-1: Texas A&M (+600)
T-1: Tennessee (+600)
3: Arkansas (+700)
4: Kentucky (+900)
5: Clemson (+1000)
Among this group, it's tough to determine a standout. Each of them could very well win the tournament, but Tennessee is one of the favorites for a reason. All year long, the SEC has been the best conference in college baseball and Tennessee entered the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed. They've tangled with the best and beaten them consistently. Unlike some other teams considered favorites, the Volunteers never really hit a cold stretch at any point this year. They're likely the safest bet of the tournament, if that's even a possibility in a tournament like this.
Contenders:
T-6: Wake Forest (+1600)
T-6: LSU (+1600)
T-6: Oregon St (+1600)
9: Florida St (+1800)
T-10: North Carolina (+2200)
T-10: East Carolina (+2200)
T-10: Georgia (+2200)
T-13: Duke (+2500)
T-13: Mississippi St (+2500)
T-15: Virginia (+3500)
T-15: NC State (+3500)
17: Oklahoma (+4000)
Wake Forest opened the college baseball season as the No. 1 seed but after several stretches of underwhelming play, most people have forgotten about them. That shouldn't be the case though. Wake Forest was ranked preseason No. 1 because of their incredible talent and most of their roster is still intact from when they lost in the College World Series Finals to LSU last year. They know how to get it done in the clutch and they have the talent to take over the tournament. They'd be a solid bet for someone looking for a slightly bigger payout.
Dark Horses:
T-18: Vanderbilt (+5000)
T-18: South Carolina (+5000)
T-18: Dallas Baptist (+5000)
T-18: Alabama (+5000)
T-18: Arizona (+5000)
T-18: UC Irvine (+5000)
T-24: Florida (+6600)
T-24: TCU (+6600)
T-24: Oklahoma St (+6600)
T-24: UC Santa Barbara (+6600)
T-24: Indiana St (+6600)
T-29: Texas (+8000)
T-29: Southern Miss (+8000)
T-31: Coastal Carolina (+10000)
T-31: Louisville (+10000)
T-31: Campbell (+10000)
T-31: Ole Miss (+10000)
T-31: Oregon (+10000)
T-31: West Virginia (+10000)
T-31: Troy (+10000)
T-31: Louisiana (+10000)
T-31: Miami (+10000)
T-40: Kansas St (+12500)
T-40: Virginia Tech (+12500)
T-40: Georgia Tech (+12500)
T-40: UCF (+12500)
T-40: Nebraska (+12500)
T-45: Northeastern (+15000)
T-45: Indiana (+15000)
T-45: Arizona St (+15000)
UC Santa Barbara is eighth in the country in ERA. 'Nuff said.
Mike Gutierrez and Ryan Gallagher could very well be the best 1-2 punch in this year's tournament. To put their pitching in perspective, the Gauchos are in position to win the Big West despite most of the conference's best hitters playing for UC Irvine. In fact, Irvine has not only last year's Big West Player of the Year in Caden Kendle, but this year's potential Big West Player of the Year in Irvine's Myles Smith. The Gauchos are very likely going to finish ahead of the Anteaters, and yet Irvine has better odds. Make it make sense.
Longshots:
T-48: Auburn (+20000)
T-48: UCLA (+20000)
T-48: Connecticut (+20000)
T-48: Boston College (+20000)
T-48: Maryland (+20000)
T-48: Grand Canyon (+20000)
T-48: Cal State Fullerton (+20000)
T-48: Old Dominion (+20000)
T-48: USC (+20000)
T-48: Long Beach State (+20000)
T-58: Stanford (+25000)
T-58: Iowa (+25000)
T-58: Notre Dame (+25000)
T-58: Oral Roberts (+25000)
T-58: Texas St (+25000)
T-58: UNC Wilmington (+25000)
T-58: Florida Gulf Coast (+25000)
T-58: Washington (+25000)
T-58: UTSA (+25000)
T-58: Charlotte (+25000)
T-58: Cal State Northridge (+25000)
T-58: Sam Houston St (+25000)
T-70: Wofford (+30000)
T-70: Tulane (+3000)
T-72: Army (+50000)
T-72: Penn (+50000)
The Iowa Hawkeyes are surprisingly low in their odds considering they finished the regular season fourth in the Big Ten with a 14-10 record and were 17-11 against non-conference opponents. That is a winning squad that has done damage against a wide variety of opponents, but for them to have worse odds than Auburn, who finished with an 8-22 record against SEC opponents is laughable.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College World Series: Power ranking all teams by odds
