The 2023 Men's Division I Baseball Championship gets underway Friday, June 2, as 64 schools try to become the last team standing in Omaha come late June. Regional round action kicks off this weekend, as the top 16 seeds host a four-team double-elimination tournament, with the winner advancing to next weekend's Super Regional round.
The Super Regionals, which take place June 9-11, feature eight best-of-three series, with the winning schools punching their tickets to Omaha. The College World Series begins on June 16, with the eight Super Regional winners competing in two four-team double-elimination brackets. The winning school in each bracket then moves on to the best-of-three CWS Finals, taking place June 24-26.
Entering the regional round, the top-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+400) sit as the betting favorites to win the CWS, per Caesar's Sportsbook. Wake's attempting to become the first non-SEC school to win the CWS title since 2018 when the Oregon State Beavers defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks. Last season, the Ole Miss Rebels entered the field of 64 with the final at-large bid and relied on their elite run-prevention unit to knock off Oklahoma in the CWS Finals. If last season's championship result is a precursor to what could transpire this go-around, it's truly anyone's game.
Looking to place a futures bet on the College World Series? Below, we'll highlight the two odds-on favorites (Wake Forest, LSU) and two sleepers (Oklahoma State, Texas A&M) who profile as intriguing longer-shot bets to win the 2023 Men's College World Series.
2023 College World Series Title Odds
Odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook
| School | CWS Odds |
| Wake Forest | +400 |
| LSU | +800 |
| Florida | +800 |
| Arkansas | +900 |
| Clemson | +1400 |
| Tennessee | +1800 |
| Stanford | +1800 |
| Virginia | +1800 |
| Vanderbilt | +1800 |
| South Carolina | +2500 |
| Texas A&M | +3000 |
| Oklahoma State | +3000 |
| Campbell | +3500 |
| Texas | +3500 |
| Kentucky | +3500 |
| Auburn | +4000 |
| Oregon State | +4000 |
| East Carolina | +5000 |
| Coastal Carolina | +5000 |
| Miami FL | +5000 |
| Duke | +5000 |
| Southern Mississippi | +6000 |
| North Carolina | +6000 |
| Dallas Baptist | +6000 |
| Iowa | +6500 |
| West Virginia | +8000 |
| Indiana State | +8000 |
| Texas Tech | +8000 |
| Oregon | +8000 |
| TCU | +8000 |
| Washington | +10000 |
| Connecticut | +10000 |
| Northeastern | +10000 |
| North Carolina State | +10000 |
| Maryland | +10000 |
| Arizona | +12500 |
| Boston College | +12500 |
| Oral Roberts | +15000 |
| Troy | +15000 |
| Oklahoma | +17500 |
| Cal State Fullerton | +17500 |
| Sam Houston State | +20000 |
| Louisiana-Lafayette | +20000 |
| Indiana | +25000 |
| Santa Clara | +25000 |
| Charlotte | +27500 |
| UNC Wilmington | +30000 |
| Xavier | +30000 |
| Nicholls State | +45000 |
| Wright State | +45000 |
| Maine | +50000 |
| San Jose State | +50000 |
| Tulane | +50000 |
| Lipscomb | +65000 |
| George Mason | +65000 |
| Eastern Illinois | +75000 |
| Army | +100000 |
| Rider | +100000 |
| Samford | +125000 |
| Penn | +125000 |
| Central Connecticut State | +150000 |
| Florida A&M | +150000 |
| Ball State | +150000 |
2023 College World Series betting odds, picks: Favorites
Wake Forest Demon Deacons +400 (implied title probability: 20 percent)
Led by the nation's top pitching staff (2.82 ERA) and an offense ranked 12th in slugging (.539), the Demon Deacons have a real shot to win their second College World Series in school history. Wake's deep and reliable group of arms, highlighted by back-to-back ACC Pitcher of the Year Rhett Lowder (12-0, 1.69 ERA, 114:19 K: BB), can carry them through a relatively challenging Winston-Salem Regional.
Although Wake is the tournament's top seed, the selection committee did it no favors by putting fellow 40-win programs, No. 2 Maryland (41-19), and No. 3 Northeastern (44-14) in the Winston-Salem Regional. The Terrapins knocked out Demon Deacons a season ago in the College Park Regional, but now that head coach Tom Walter's bunch has a year of postseason experience under its belt, look for a reversal of fortune.
Despite solid competition in its regional, a Wake bunch that ended the regular season with a 29-3 home record and a 13-4 record against the RPI Top 25 should be able to take care of business en route to the Super Regionals.
College baseball diehards hope to see a Super Regional matchup featuring Wake and a 16th-seeded Alabama squad that's starting to hit its stride, winning nine of its past 12 games. If both schools can advance through their respective regionals, the Crimson Tide profile as a live underdog to take down the top-seeded Demon Deacons.
Rather than taking Wake to win the title with the betting market already giving it a 20-percent chance to do so, it might be wiser to wait and see if the Demon Deacons get to Omaha before expending a portion of your bankroll on the odds-on favorite.
LSU Tigers +800 (implied title probability: 11.11 percent)
LSU, the tournament's fifth-overall seed, has the second-best odds to win the 2023 College World Series at +700. LSU lucked out in their regional draw, opening the Baton Rouge Regional against the 19-40 Tulane Green Wave, who earned an automatic bid after winning the AAC Tournament as the conference's No. 7 seed. LSU sits as a -600 favorite to defeat Tulane in Game 1, seemingly putting it in the driver's seat to advance to the Supers.
LSU's offense, led by the 2023 MLB Draft's projected No. 1 overall pick, Dylan Crews (.420, 15 HRs, 59 RBIs), owns the nation's fifth-highest team slugging percentage (.559) and scored the fourth-most runs this season (540).
A potential Super Regional matchup against a Kentucky squad that LSU went 2-1 against in the regular season puts Jay Johnson's crew in a solid position to return to Omaha for the first time since 2017. A mini late-season slide saw the Tigers earn the fifth-overall seed after looking like a sure-fire top-two seed, but everyone's record resets to 0-0 in the postseason. An 8-1 price tag on a team as talented as LSU makes for an appealing chalk bet for bettors looking toward one of the favorites.
2023 College World Series betting odds: Sleepers
Oklahoma State Cowboys +3000 (implied title probability: 3.23 percent)
Oklahoma State's an intriguing sleeper pick with 30-1 odds, as the 'Pokes offense is one of the more potent units in the nation, ranking 11th in slugging (.539). The Stillwater Regional featuring Dallas Baptist, Washington, and Oral Roberts is a well-rounded field, but Oklahoma State's still the betting favorite to advance to the Supers.
Seven players are hitting .300 or better, and OSU's 99 long balls are good for the 24th-best mark in D-1. Roc Riggio (.334, 1.161 OPS) always seems to play his best on the biggest stages, while ace Juaron Watts-Brown figures to record his fair share of outs, boasting a .210 batting average against over 78 innings of work.
Texas A&M Aggies +3000 (implied title probability: 3.23 percent)
Texas A&M isn't a top-16 seed but is a legit threat to get past top-seeded Stanford in the Palo Alto Regional. Stanford's offense can score 15 runs on any given day, but its pitching staff's inconsistencies (5.99 ERA) make the Cardinal a vulnerable No.1 seed. Texas A&M's offense is a disciplined bunch that drew the second-most walks in D-1, a good sign that they'll get plenty of runners on base this weekend.
The Aggies entered the SEC Tournament as the No. 10 seed but got to the championship game before ultimately falling to Vanderbilt, 10-4. Regardless, A&M won four games in six tries last weekend in Hoover. If Jim Schlossnagle's crew can parlay their red-hot postseason play into winning the Palo Alto Regional, it will be a tough out next weekend against the winner of the Coral Gables Regional.
