Wednesday, July 02

The Men's College World Series is my favorite baseball event, and I've attended 31 of them and watched upwards of 300 games in Omaha. I haven't been to Charles Schwab Field since 2019, which is a travesty. Every year I have fans tell me that going to the CWS is on their baseball bucket list, and I always respond that they'll enjoy it even more than they realize when they do.

Regional play and Super Regionals were full of upsets this year, with just three of the top eight national seeds advancing to Omaha. The two most talented teams are also the two highest seeds to get there -- No. 3 Arkansas and No. 6 Louisiana State -- and they have to face off in the first round. No. 8 Oregon State is the third national seed on hand.

Below is a preview of what to watch for at the CWS, which starts Friday. Teams are listed in the order of their chances to win the national championship, from best to worst. Detailed scouting reports for all Draft Top 200 Prospects can be found here.

Arkansas

Best 2025 Prospect: SS Wehiwa Aloy, the Southeastern Conference player of the year, has more power than most shortstops and has raised his defensive profile this spring.

Draft Top 200 Prospects: Aloy (No. 22), LHP Zach Root (No. 43), RHP Gage Wood (No. 50), OF Charles Davalan (No. 55), 3B Brent Iredale (No. 168).

Underclassman To Watch: RHP Gabe Gaeckle.

Quick Take: Root and Wood are on a roll, and that will make the difference as the Razorbacks win their first-ever CWS championship.

Louisiana State

Best 2025 Prospect: LHP Kade Anderson is the best pitcher in the Draft, a polished four-pitch southpaw who could go No. 1 overall to the Nationals.

Draft Top 200 Prospects: Anderson (No. 3), RHP Anthony Eyanson (No. 66), 2B Daniel Dickinson (No. 72), RHP Chase Shores (No. 85), 1B Jared Jones (No. 99), OF Ethan Frey (No. 130).

Underclassman To Watch: OF Derek Curiel.

Quick Take: Anderson and Eyanson also are a formidable 1-2 pitching punch, and the Tigers could take the national title if they prevail over Arkansas in their opener.

Oregon State

Best 2025 Prospect: SS Aiva Arquette is the consensus best college position player available, a 6-foot-5 slugger who may be able to stay at shortstop.

Draft Top 200 Prospects: Arquette (No. 6), OF Gavin Turley (No. 78), 3B Trent Caraway (No. 140), LHP Nelson Keljo (No. 175).

Underclassman To Watch: RHP Dax Whitney.

Quick Take: The balanced Beavers have the best chance of reaching the CWS championship series because they don't have to clash with Arkansas or LSU.

Coastal Carolina

Best 2025 Prospect: C Caden Bodine is a switch-hitter with some of the best contact skills in the college class and also frames well behind the plate.

Draft Top 200 Prospects: Bodine (No. 38), RHP Jacob Morrison (No. 181).

Underclassman To Watch: RHP Cameron Flukey.

Quick Take: Don't sleep on the Chanticleers, who have won 23 straight games to return to Omaha for the first time since their 2016 national title.

UCLA

Best 2025 Prospect: OF A.J. Salgado is the only Bruin to reach double figures in homers (12) and steals (14) this spring.

Draft Top 200 Prospects: None.

Underclassman To Watch: SS Roch Cholowsky.

Quick Take: The Bruins are a solid club but not as loaded as Arkansas or LSU, both of whom are in their half of the bracket.

Arizona

Best 2025 Prospect: OF Brendan Summerhill, a potential 20-20 center fielder, has some of the best all-around tools in the college crop.

Draft Top 200 Prospects: Summerhill (No. 19), SS Mason White (No. 138), OF Aaron Walton (No. 166).

Underclassman To Watch: RHP Owen Kramkowski.

Quick Take: The Wildcats are a sneaky-good team that rallied after losing, 18-2, in their super regional opener at North Carolina.

Louisville

Best 2025 Prospect: RHP Patrick Forbes has an explosive fastball that reaches 100 mph and flashes a plus low-80s slider.

Draft Top 200 Prospects: Forbes (No. 36).

Underclassman To Watch: OF/C Zion Rose.

Quick Take: Forbes is more than capable of beating Oregon State in the opener, which could launch the Cardinals on a run.

Murray State

Best 2025 Prospect: C Will Vierling, who spent his first two college seasons at Louisville, is an offensive-minded catcher who makes consistent contact.

Draft Top 200 Prospects: None.

Underclassman To Watch: SS Conner Cunningham.

Quick Take: The Racers are making their first trip to Omaha and they're just one of four No. 4 seeds in a four-team regional to get there since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1999.

Who is the lone Hall of Famer to win Most Outstanding Player accolades at the Men's College World Series?

A. Reggie Jackson

B. Mike Mussina

C. Tom Seaver

D. Dave Winfield

• They waited longer than they should have, but the Red Sox finally called up baseball’s best prospect, right fielder Roman Anthony.
• Corona (Calif.) HS right-hander Seth Hernandez may be the most talented player in the 2025 Draft, and he’s definitely the Gatorade national prep baseball player of the year. Ben Weinrib has the details.
• In Jonathan Mayo’s latest first-round projection, he forecasts the Nationals taking Louisiana State left-hander Anderson with the No. 1 overall pick.

On June 10, 1965, Steve Arlin turned in the most impressive pitching performance in Men's College World Series history. The Ohio State right-hander pitched a 15-inning, complete-game 1-0 victory over Washington State, striking out a CWS-record 20 hitters. But that marathon effort left him unable to start either of the final two games against Arizona State and the Sun Devils prevailed for the championship. Arlin returned to the Buckeyes and finished the job in 1966, winning Most Outstanding Player honors as Ohio State defeated Oklahoma State for the national title. The 13th overall pick in the secondary phase of the June 1966 Draft, he signed with the Phillies for $77,500 (the second-highest bonus that year) and worked his way through the Minors while simultaneously attending dental school. He reached the big leagues in 1969 -- a year before graduating from dental school -- and went 34-67 with a 4.33 ERA in six seasons. His grandfather, Harold Arlin, was the first professional baseball broadcaster, calling a Phillies-Pirates game for Pittsburgh radio station KDKA in 1921.

D. Dave Winfield

Winfield starred for Minnesota at the 1973 Men's College World Series, going 7-for-15 (.467) with a homer in four games, striking out 14 in a 1-0 shutout of Oklahoma in the opener and fanning 15 in the semifinals against Southern California. He took a 7-0 lead into the ninth before tiring, and the Trojans rallied against the Golden Gophers bullpen for an improbable 8-7 victory en route to the fourth of their record five consecutive national championships. The No. 4 overall pick in the 1973 Draft, Winfield immediately joined the Padres after the CWS. Though he made 12 All-Star Game appearances and hit his way to Cooperstown, many teams believed he showed more promise on the mound and he threw as hard as any Draft prospect in the early 1970s.

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Contact Jim.Callis@mlb.com

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