2024 NCAA baseball tournament preview: Field of 64 is set, what to know ahead of College World Series

The NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament field of 64 for 2024 was announced and sown, and the first round action – known as regionals – begins on Friday. The tournament precedes the eight-team Men’s College World Series in Omaha, which begins June 14.

Given the urgency of the moment, it’s time to preview the 2024 edition of the tournament. Keeping the ancient and sacred traditions, we will do this now through the FAQ format. Ping!

So it’s like the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament, right?

Wrong, actually. The most well-known basketball tournaments are, to be honest, simpler than the baseball version of these things. See how this works:

• The first round is known as the regional and is a four-team double-elimination format. When possible, each of the 16 one-seeds hosts their respective regional. Only one team in four survives each regional, which makes the opening round a bit of a purge.
• The winner of each regional advances to the 16-team super regionals, which is a best-of-three series between two regional winners.
• The winner of each super regional – there are eight teams in total – advances to the College World Series in Omaha.
• The College World Series consists of two four-team brackets. Each bracket operates in a double-elimination format until the last two teams are left standing. At this point, the slate is clean and it’s a best-of-three series to determine the national champion.
• It’s definitely not what you’re used to if you’re a March Madness consumer, but the baseball hootenanny typically delivers similar levels of tension and excitement.

Who are the favorites?

The tournament field includes 16 national seeds, of which the top eight can be considered the pre-tournament favorites to reach the CWS in Omaha. These top eight national seeds will also receive super regionals if they advance that far. As for this year’s top eight seeds, here they are in order:

1. Tennessee (50-11)
2. Kentucky (40-14)
3. Texas A&M (44-13)
4. North Carolina (42-13)
5. Arkansas (43-14)
6. Clemson (41-14)
7. Georgia (39-15)
8. Florida State (42-15)

Obviously, all eight of these teams won’t end up in Omaha, but they have the strongest pre-tournament resumes, at least in the selection committee’s estimation, and all are expected to make deep runs. Interestingly, only one top seed, Georgia in 1990, has ever won the College World Series before.

Is the SEC still the best conference in college baseball?

It is like. This year, the SEC set a tournament record by getting 11 bids. That means only three teams – Ole Miss, Auburn and Missouri – failed to make the field of 64. And as you can see above, the SEC claims five of the top eight national seeds. More specifically, the SEC has won the last four national championships and five of the last six. So yes is the answer.

Is repetition a possibility?

And yes. Last season, LSU – driven by names like Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews – won the belt and the title. This year, they are back in the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill regional. They had a 40-21 record during the regular season, but a 13-17 record in SEC games probably prevented them from hosting a regional. Still, the Tigers have a chance as long as the powerful combination of Tommy White and Jared Jones brings the thunder. Of note is that no team has won consecutive Men’s College World Series since South Carolina in 2010 and 2011.

Who is Cinderella this year?

We’ll go with Oral Roberts. Last year, the Golden Eagles made a surprise trip to Omaha, making them the Cinderellas of the CWS. This year they are the Cinderella of the entire tournament. That’s because Oral Roberts was just 27-30-1 during the regular season and 13-15-1 in the Summit League. They got an automatic bid only by winning the conference tournament. They will be the fourth seed in the Norman regional and are expected to go home early.

Who are some players to watch?

Our draft/prospect expert, RJ Anderson, will soon dive deeper into which players in this year’s tournament have the potential to be key contributors at the highest level. Before that, though, we’ll give you some names to watch, straight from Monsieur Anderson. In no particular order, these players are:

• Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Georgia
• Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State
• Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida
• JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, West Virginia
• Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest
• Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest
• Seaver King, 3B/OF, Wake Forest
• Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
• Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M
• James Tibbs, OF, Florida State

In particular, Condon is an elite power prospect. His 35 home runs this season are a record in the BBCOR (Bat Ball Coefficient Restitution) era, which began in 2011 when composite bats were first used. Caglianone, meanwhile, is one of the most attractive two-way college players in recent memory.

With all the necessary information defined, let the games begin, which will happen soon.