The 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament has already delivered more than a fair share of thrills. And already several of the top teams in the national rankings have been eliminated.
No. 5 Arkansas went down in the regionals. No. 6 Clemson and No. 7 Georgia were each taken down in the super regionals.
Heading to Omaha are two double-digit seeds in No. 10 NC State and No. 12 Virginia and an unranked team in Florida, the reigning national runner-up. Among the early favorites still left to play are No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 North Carolina and No. 8 Florida State.
Fans hoping to see a first-time national champion could be in luck. Virginia and Florida are the only teams still standing that have won a title in the past, and even those two have only won one each, coming back in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Florida State, Tennessee and North Carolina have each reached the finals, but come up short. Kentucky, NC State and Texas A&M have not reached the last series of the year.
MORE: Which teams are playing in the 2024 College World Series?
Omaha tends to be an unpredictable time of year for even the most informed baseball fans. Sporting News is taking a look at the odds of the 2024 College World Series, and breaking down the favorites and sleepers, while making a prediction at the winner.
Here's what you need to know about this year's field.
2024 College World Series odds
Updated odds courtesy of bet365
| Team | Odds |
| Tennessee | +275 |
| Texas A&M | +300 |
| Kentucky | +500 |
| North Carolina | +650 |
| Florida State | +850 |
| Virginia | +900 |
| NC State | +1200 |
| Florida | +1400 |
Who will win the College World Series in 2024?
The Volunteers head into Omaha as the betting favorite. Bookmakers like the SEC overall, with the top three teams all coming from the conference in an all SEC-ACC field.
Of the top eight national seeds, five have arrived. This year's field features seven ranked national teams in total and only one unranked team, a true underdog in Florida, a No. 3 regional seed. The Gators, however, are coming off a defeat in last year's College World Series finals defeat, and have arguably the best player still left playing in two-way phenom Jac Caglianone.
Betting markets might be high on the SEC teams, but there's reason to like the ACC teams. North Carolina and Virginia each swept their Big 12 foes in the supers. No. 10 NC State took down No. 7 Georgia on the road in the super regional, one of only two road teams to win in the supers, along with Florida.
College World Series favorites
Tennessee (+275)
The last time Tennessee was the No. 1 seed, the Volunteers fell in the super regional to Notre Dame. Tony Vitello's squad is back as the top team and this time have reached Omaha. This team is a quieter No. 1 seed than the 2022 team that was the top team in the country all season, but it is still star-studded nonetheless.
The Volunteers are the most balanced team left in the 2024 field. They ranked third in Division I in ERA at 3.83, and the next closest CWS team is Texas A&M at 3.94. Drew Beam and Zander Sechrist give Tennessee a standout 1-2 punch in the rotation, and the bullpen features a litany of powerful relievers capable of ushering in the end of the game.
Then there's the lineup. Eight Volunteers have hit double-digit homers, led by Christian Moore with 32, Billy Amick at 23 and Dylan Dreiling with 20. All but one lineup regular has an OPS over 1.000. Moore, Amick, Blake Burke and Kavares Tears are all considered draft prospects who could go in the first three rounds, the former two as possible first-rounders.
A No. 1 overall seed has not won the College World Series since 1999. Tennessee looks as primed as any team to break that spell.
Texas A&M (+300)
The Aggies are going to be competing in the College World Series without star Braden Montgomery, who suffered a season-ending injury in Game 1 of the super regionals against Oregon. The depth of Texas A&M means the squad is still far from out of the running.
Jace LaViolette is a top 2025 MLB Draft prospect, and he's shown why this season, having launched 28 homers to accompany a 1.210 OPS. Gavin Grahovac is a top 2026 MLB Draft prospect, and he, too, posted an OPS north of 1.000 at 1.019 with 22 homers. The lineup, as a whole, has a team .977 OPS and is hitting .300 as a team with 132 home runs, the fourth-most among Division I teams and second behind only Tennessee's 173 home runs.
Texas A&M trails only the Volunteers with an ERA of 3.94. Ryan Prager is a legit ace and a possible top-three round pick. The bullpen is electric, led by Evan Aschenbeck with a 1.66 ERA and minuscule 0.80 WHIP.
Bats often grab the headlines in Omaha, but this pitching staff, and bullpen in particular, have the possibility to silence any lineup in the postseason. That, combined with the deep group of hitters, could be enough to power the Aggies even while missing the switch-hitting slugger.
College World Series sleepers
Florida State (+850)
There might not be a bigger star duo in this year's field than Florida State with Cam Smith and James Tibbs. Both are considered likely first-round selections, with Tibbs potentially as high as a back-end, top 10 selection. Smith is batting over .400 with a 1.174 OPS, while Tibbs is up to a 1.310 OPS and a .374 average with 28 homers.
The Seminoles have plenty of offensive firepower beyond the two stars. They rank ninth in batting average (.316) among Division I teams, trailing only Virginia among CWS teams. Five batters in the lineup have at least 13 homers and four have an OPS north of 1.000.
Florida State is led by ace Jamie Arnold, who sports a 2.77 ERA in 100.2 innings, though the pitching depth tends to falter a bit more from there, with only reliever Brennen Oxford (2.94 ERA in 52 innings) having an ERA below 4.00. But all the pitching needs to do is give the Seminoles a chance with his lineup.
Virginia (+900)
This isn't the same-old Virginia team of the mid-2010s that would just pepper hits. This Cavaliers team has some serious thunder. There are four Cavaliers with at least 14 home runs, and at 116 total, they're tied for 11th in the nation.
But make no mistake: this team is also going to be pepper a lot of hits. The team average of .336 trailed only Austin Peay among Division I teams in 2024. Eight batters in the lineup are hitting at least .332. That's absurd. Just about anyone can steal bases, too.
The knock on Virginia is the pitching. The team has a 5.39 team ERA, and it has particularly struggled to find a second starting pitcher after Evan Blanco. There's little doubt Virginia will hit, so if the pitching can get even a little bit hot, that could be enough to lift Virginia to a title.
College World Series prediction 2024
It would be easy to pick the Volunteers to win the whole thing. That lineup has no quit in it, and the pitching boasts a robust 3.83 ERA, the lowest of any team left in the field.
But in case you haven't heard, No. 1 seeds have something of a curse on their hands. The No. 1 seed hasn't even reached the College World Series finals since 2009, and since national seeding started in 1999, the No. 1 seed has won it all once: 1999.
Tennessee will continue the trend of No. 1 seeds to struggle, falling in its bracket to North Carolina. The Tar Heels are coming off a thrilling series against West Virginia. Vance Honeycutt might still be striking out a touch more than evaluators would like to see, but he also launched two homers in the supers and has looked like he's ready to put the team on his back.
The Tar Heels have a dominant bullpen, led by Dalton Pence and Matthew Matthijs, that has been shutting down opponents for much of the season. Freshman starter Jason DeCaro looked sharp against the Mountaineers, and if Shea Sprague can heat up and pitch like he did in the middle of ACC play, he'd give another standout starting option for North Carolina.
In the other bracket, Texas A&M remains the favorite despite Montgomery's injury. Florida and NC State both have collective ERAs in the 6.00s, while Kentucky lacks the type of home-run power typically needed to survive in Omaha. The Aggies still have LaViolette in the middle of the lineup along with several other boppers and, much like the Tar Heels, they boast a stellar bullpen that should help them secure wins late in games.
A College World Series final between North Carolina and Texas A&M should provide plenty of fireworks and some late-game dramatics between two stellar bullpens and lineups that each feature stars. But in Game 3, Honeycutt makes one more statement with a later homer as a Tar Heel to end his collegiate career with a title and give another boost to his draft stock.
