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Our College World Series Power Rankings

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The College World Series begins on Saturday and with the way the super regionals went last weekend, this could be the best CWS in years. This group of eight teams doesn’t necessarily reflect the regular season at all.

The best two conferences by far were the ACC and SEC, and yet the each sent just one team to Omaha while the mediocre Big 12 sent all three of its tournament bids. The Big West even sent two teams after not being deemed worthy of earning a host site. It’s been a wild season thus far and Omaha shouldn’t be anything different.

These power rankings are my attempt to orders these teams by their likelihood to win the CWS, not necessarily by most-talented or who was better in the regular season. Remember, both sides of the bracket aren’t created equally.

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In reverse order. Here we go.

8. Arizona

Considered the “best” team in weak Pac-12 all season long, Arizona caught the attention of the nation with a two-game sweep over Mississippi State in the super regionals. Led by first-year head coach Jay Johnson the Wildcats lack the talent on their roster that the rest of the field has. Bobby Dalbec has been a two-way threat with seven home runs and seven saves. Dalbec also went 8 2/3 scorless in the game one win over MSU and will be key if the Wildcats make any kind of run.

7. UCSB

The Gauchos upset national-seeded Louisville on one the greatest moments in the history of the super regionals to get to Omaha. Similar to Arizona, UCSB is an outlier in terms of overall talent on the roster. However, DH Austin Bush single-handedly took over the Nashville regional, hitting four home runs on the weekend leading to an upset over Vanderbilt. The Gauchos also have a legitimate No. 1 pitcher in Shane Bieber (12-3, 2.84) how could give OSU problems in the opener.

6. Coastal Carolina

Like a majority of the teams in the field, the Chanticleers are coming into the CWS as a hot team that is coming off a sizable upset. Coastal knocked off LSU in a whacky series that was influenced by bad weather. While they are a mid-major team, the Chanticleers have an offense with hitters with 15+ home runs. If Coastal can get good pitching they are a legitimate threat to pull off an upset or two.

5. TCU

The Horned Frogs are one three teams returning from last year’s field, but are bringing a different core this season. TCU is led more by an offense that hits over .300 as a group rather than the frontline pitching that it relied on in 2015. Mitchell Traver (1-2, 3.00) has pitched only 24 innings due to injury, but has ace potential.

4. Oklahoma State

OSU enters the CWS as the hottest team in the country. The Cowboys are the only team without a loss in the NCAA tournament. This isn’t your father’s OSU team as the Cowboys rely on starting pitching depth instead of a powerful offense. The only question mark for OSU is the offense.

If the Cowboys can keep getting contributions from the likes of Conor Costello, Jon Littell and even Collin Theroux at the bottom of the order then they will challenge Miami for a spot in the championship series. However, if the offense returns to its regular season form, it could be a short trip for the Cowboys.

3. Texas Tech

Who would’ve thought the Big 12 would have three teams in Omaha? Texas Tech proved itself as the best of the bunch during the regular season. The Red Raiders have veteran presence’s on offense in Tanner Gardner (.382 avg.) and Eric Gutierrez (.326 avg., 12 HR’s), who was the Big 12 POY and a holdover from the 2014 CWS squad.

The biggest knock on Tech is that its top two pitchers, Davis Martin and Steven Gingery are both freshman.

2. Miami

The Hurricanes have been a consensus top-three all season long and are the lone representative from the ACC. Miami is led by catcher Zack Collins (.357 avg., 15 HR’s) who is a force in the middle of the lineup. No one will doubt the potency of Miami’s offense, but this team does lack starting pitching depth that other teams in the field have.

1. Florida

The Gators have been considered the top team in the nation since the preseason polls came out. Florida’s Sunday is A.J. Puk who was drafted sixth overall if that says anything about its rotational depth. Logan Shore will start game one of the CWS boasting a 12-0 record after pitching on Friday night’s against the best pitchers on other SEC staff’s. While Florida is the favorite, it’s important to note that they’ve failed to win the CWS in four previous appearances under coach Kevin O’Sullivan.

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