Who To Back for College Baseball's World Series

Baseball is back! Well, sort of anyway, this is actually a piece about college baseball and the College Baseball World Series which takes place in June each year. If you haven't been to it, I've heard the College Baseball World Series is spectacular. My friend and his dad go each year and it is one of those trips that I've always looked forward to but haven't made it. I won't be going this year either, but I will have some money on hopefully one or two of the teams that make it to the final game.

The College World Series is a tournament-style play and the final series is a three-game set. This year seems to be the year of the SEC as three of the top teams in the preseason rankings are in the SEC. Tennessee, LSU, and Florida are all at the top of most polls in some order. Let's take a quick look at some of the top teams and where you should put your money.

LSU had a solid season last year and ended in the top-25 in the nation. Ultimately they didn't play for much but with a good returning roster and some of the best transfers and recruits coming in, the expectations are high for them this year. If you're unfamiliar with one of their recruits - Tommy White - he made Twitter explode last year with the bombs he hit for North Carolina State before coming over to play third base. He isn't a typical third basemen, and defense could be an issue, but what he lacks in that area, he makes up for with the stick. Their rotation doesn't have someone that is likely to be an ace in the majors, but they have very strong pitchers and could be a good choice to win the championship this year. At +750, I think this is good value, but you do have to hope they get it all together.

Tennessee is the next team to consider here and they are actually the betting favorite. Where LSU doesn't have someone I'd say will be a stud for sure at the professional level, Tennessee does. They have Chase Dollander returning after last year's super regionals loss. They led the nation in ERA last season, and I am not sure that is repeatable. Where LSU should have a superb lineup, Tennessee will have a solid rotation. I personally wouldn't put a bet on them this year. I think they will need to adjust to their losses from the past two seasons. If their pitching is great, they will be able to compete for the championship, but I'm not sure their offense will be good enough. At +500, I would guess you'll get better odds later.

The last team I want to mention here - and in fairness, this is only three teams so it isn't a comprehensive breakdown of who could win, just who I like (LSU as of now) - is Miami. This is the other team I'll put a small amount down right now at +6000. They had the top-ranked recruiting class going into the 2020 season. That was obviously a cluster of a year, but now they are in their third year - if you want to call it second, or whatever, fine, I'm not going to argue with you, but they've likely had somewhere around three years of practice together. They didn't play great last year, but had a fine season. They have good talent at a lot of key spots and I think they could surprise some people even with being one of the top-ranked teams going into the season. At 60:1 I think the value is the opposite of Tennessee - I think Tennessee is a better team, but no value. Miami is a good team, but has a lot of value on this ticket.

We are four months away from the results of this actually paying off, but I think this is a good opportunity to start evaluating. I'd guess that the odds won't drastically change for a week or so anyway, but maybe take a look at some teams and see how they perform out of the gates - just keep in mind, many play poor competition as warmup similar to football and basketball teams.

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