College World Series Preview: Eight Teams Battle for Glory

Baseball's biggest week has arrived with eight teams battling in Omaha for the College World Series championship. The double elimination tournament kicks off Friday,  June 13th and culminates with a three-game championship series beginning Saturday the 21st.

• Arizona, Coastal Carolina, Louisville, and Oregon on one side of the bracket
• Murray State, UCLA, LSU, and Arkansas on the other side 
• Controversy over LSU and Arkansas being on the same side of the bracket
• Murray State continues their Cinderella run as the tournament underdog
• Coastal Carolina coach bringing his whole family 
• Defense and pitching will be key factors in determining the champion

Stay tuned for the next episode featuring Jade and Jewls Castillo, Lady Conch softball coaches, discussing the growing popularity of softball and their experience at the Women's College World Series.

If you enjoyed this episode, drop a review, share and subscribe, because there's a lot of good stuff on tap. You can also follow Bring Joy on YouTube and Instagram. Check my website at joynulisch.com and go bring joy to the people in your world.

Chapters

• 0:00 Season 5 Baseball Podcast Introduction
• 0:37 College World Series Preview
• 1:40 Teams and Coaches Spotlight
• 3:33 Key Players to Watch
• 4:45 Episode Wrap and Next Week Preview

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Thanks for tuning in to the Bring Joy podcast. We're in season five and it's all about baseball, talking big leagues to the little leagues, yankees to the Conks and everything in between. I'll share my joy for the game with you and, whether you're a fan of baseball or good storytelling, you'll be entertained and each episode will bring a little joy to your day. So sit back and relax. Let's do this thing. I have to keep this one short and sweet. I've had a cold all week and I could barely hear myself think, much less talk, but I had to drop an episode for the biggest week of college baseball. We have eight teams in Omaha ready to battle it out for a national championship. The double elimination tournament kicks off Friday, the 13th and the finals will be a three-game series that start on Saturday, the 21st. Now, in my last episode, where I highlighted the Super Regionals, I made a few predictions and, omg, I only got three out of eight right. And the biggest blunder is I called LSU the defending national champions, which is not correct. I know, bennett, they won it in 2023 with Paul Skeens, who, yeah, I dream about sometimes, him and pinstripes. Hell, yeah, a girl can dream, right. But back to the correction for the Tennessee fans my bad Skipping over the Vols winning the title in 2024 was not cool. How could I forget those home run celebrations with the first coat and the world's introduction to coach Tony Vitello, who? But hey, no pressure to win back-to-back titles because Arkansas took you out of the supers and will face off against LSU in Game 1. Now folks in the know say these two are the best of the bunch. Lsu and Arkansas shouldn't be facing off so early or even be on the same side of the bracket. I heard former FSU superstar and future college coach, doug Minkiewicz suggest the committee should re-seed the remaining teams after each regional round and at a minimum before they match up in Omaha, making for a more competitive tournament. And, doug, I trust. But for now it is what it is and as a baseball fan, I got some peanuts and cracker jacks ready for some good baseball.

Speaker 1: 2:20

So here are the teams in it Arizona, coastal Carolina, louisville and Oregon are on one side of the bracket. On the other side you have Murray State, ucla, lsu and Arkansas. Yep, murray State is still in it and whether you're a sucker for a Cinderella story or not, the Racers from Kentucky can play ball and have been all season earning their spot. Kentucky can play ball and have been all season earning their spot. And you gotta love a coach who shares the experience with his nine-year-old son the race's biggest fan and sticking with nods to good dads with the being father's day and all. Coastal Carolina's head coach is looking forward to sharing the college world series experience with his two daughters and his young son, who was unable to attend as he was recovering from a serious illness. In 2016, when they won it all, the whole fam will be in the stands cheering on dad and the Shanty Clans I think I said that right who have a legit chance to win their second title. It'll be the first for Arkansas, murray State and Louisville. The other teams have won it before, as I mentioned earlier. Lsu most recently won in 2023 and UCLA are the furthest out from their win in 2013.

Speaker 1: 3:36

Now, my daddy told me a long time ago defense wins championships. In baseball, that starts with pitching. There's big names in Omaha, starting with Cade Anderson of the Tigers the big lefty can deal and Patrick Forbes from Louisville he rocks, that radar gun hitting 100 miles per hour plus. The starters need to handle business and go deep into the game so their coaches don't have to go deep into the bullpens. Now you know I love me some catchers, and Coastal Carolina has a switch hitting catcher named Caden Bodine who handles the plate like a pro.

Speaker 1: 4:11

There's two premier and short stops in the tournament that are fun to watch. Arkansas has Vihava Aloy and then Oregon State has SEC player of the year, aviar Ake. They play their positions well and have Pop at the plate With FSU out of it, no Florida or Texas team in it. I don't have any skin in who wins, but if you twist my arm and say, pick one, I'll go with Coastal Carolina. It's going to be a fun week of baseball and I'm excited to catch as many games as I can.

Speaker 1: 4:46

Stay tuned for the next episode, where I welcome Jade and Jules Castillo, lady Cork softball coaches, to discuss the growing popularity of softball and what it was like to attend the Women's College World Series. That's going to be a good conversation. I'm Joy Newlish and I appreciate you tuning into my podcast. My purpose is to bring joy into my life and the lives of others. If you enjoyed this episode, drop a review, share and subscribe, because there's a lot of good stuff on tap. You can also follow Bring Joy on YouTube and Instagram. Check my website at joynewlishcom and go bring joy to the people in your world. Until next time, much love.