The 2023 College Baseball regular season is in the rearview mirror. Of the over 300 teams nationally, just eight will clinch a coveted spot in Omaha, Neb., at the College World Series. The NCAA Tournament begins play on June 2, while the CWS kicks off June 16. The best-of-three championship series begins June 24. Let’s dive into the most recent College World Series odds.
While not as popular as the College Football Playoff or March Madness, the CWS tournament garners some of sports’ most dedicated fans and explosive fan environments. This page will provide a comprehensive rundown on the College World Series odds for 2023, including odds, teams to watch, tournament format, and FAQs.
College World Series Odds 2023
LSU | Bet now +400 | Bet now +650 | Bet now +450 |
Wake Forest | Bet now +500 | Bet now +410 | Bet now +400 |
Arkansas | Bet now +900 | Bet now +1000 | Bet now +1200 |
Florida | Bet now +1100 | Bet now +1300 | Bet now +800 |
Tennessee | Bet now +1400 | Bet now +1300 | Bet now +1600 |
South Carolina | Bet now +1600 | Bet now +1500 | Bet now +1400 |
Stanford | Bet now +1800 | Bet now +2000 | Bet now +1800 |
Vanderbilt | Bet now +1800 | Bet now +2000 | Bet now +2000 |
Virginia | Bet now +2500 | Bet now +2200 | Bet now +2000 |
Texas | Bet now +3000 | Bet now +3400 | Bet now +3000 |
Kentucky | Bet now +3000 | Bet now +4200 | Bet now +5000 |
Oklahoma State | Bet now +3500 | Bet now +3400 | Bet now +3000 |
Duke | Bet now +3500 | Bet now +4200 | Bet now +5000 |
Oregon State | Bet now +4000 | Bet now +2900 | Bet now +4000 |
Clemson | Bet now +4000 | Bet now +3400 | Bet now +3000 |
Miami-FL | Bet now +4000 | Bet now +5000 | Bet now +5000 |
West Virginia | Bet now +5000 | Bet now +3400 | Bet now +6000 |
Coastal Carolina | Bet now +5000 | Bet now +4500 | Bet now +6000 |
Campbell | Bet now +5000 | Bet now +4800 | Bet now +3500 |
Auburn | Bet now +5000 | Bet now +6000 | Bet now +4000 |
East Carolina | Bet now +6000 | Bet now +4200 | Bet now +5000 |
Dallas Baptist | Bet now +7500 | Bet now +5000 | Bet now +6000 |
Southern Miss | Bet now +8000 | Bet now +5000 | Bet now +6000 |
College World Series 2023: Favorites
LSU Tigers
The national frontunners all season long slipped a bit toward the end of the regular season, dropping three of their final six games. However, led by a nearly-untouchable ace in Paul Skenes (1.77 ERA, 164 Ks in 86.2 IP), LSU always has an ace up their sleeve. Offensively, they’re led by a pair of the best hitters in the country, Dylan Crews (.423 BA) and Tommy White (20 HR). If there’s any reason for pessimism with LSU, it’s that the favorites rarely win the College World Series and their bullpen is their weakest unit.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Like LSU, Wake Forest hangs their hat on a ridiculous starting pitching rotation. Rhett Lowder and Josh Hartle combined for a 21-1 record this season and each tossed over 100 strikeouts. The third man, Sean Sullivan, leads the rotation in batting average allowed (.170). The group is bolstered by a strong bullpen and anchored by star closer Camden Minacci (13 saves). Offensively, they have a pair of 20+ home run hitters in Nick Kurtz and Brock Wilken.
Other Contenders
Arkansas Razorbacks
While not dominating the headlines like LSU and Wake Forest, Arkansas put together a terrific season. They rank second in College Baseball Nation’s RPI+, ahead of the aforementioned favorites, and field one of the country’s best defenses. Starter Hagen Smith (8-1, 2.56 ERA) headlines the pitching staff while ace Brady Tygart hopes to return to the rotation after missing several weeks with an injury. At full strength, the Razorbacks’ pitching staff is tough to beat.
Florida Gators
While many sports and leagues are turning to an offensive approach, all of the top teams in college baseball are so thanks to terrific pitching. Florida is no exception, led by Brandon Sproat and Hurtson Waldrep, both of whom recorded over 100 strikeouts this season. Where the Gators really excel is in the depth of their bullpen. Of their five relievers with at least 25 innings pitched, four have an ERA under 4.00. They also roster a ton of power at the plate, with five batters knocking 10+ home runs, led by first baseman Jac Caglianone (28).
Tennessee Volunteers
The Vols won 50 games last year – a feat accomplished by no teams this season. However, they were upended in a shocking Super Regional by Notre Dame. They returned most of their talent in 2023, headlined by a pitching rotation full of burners. Chase Dollander and Drew Beam both struggled out of the gate, as did reliever Chase Burns. While Tennessee faltered, they head into the postseason with few expectations, a stark contrast to where they were a year ago.
Longshots To Consider
Clemson Tigers
Clemson closed out the regular season on a 12-game win streak that included three sweeps over quality opponents (Louisville, Virginia Tech, North Carolina). Of the teams in contention for the College World Series, the Tigers might be hitting their stride at the right time. They rank eighth in RPI+, above what both their national rankings and CWS odds suggest. When it comes to postseason play, it’s 50% luck and 50% getting hot at the right time.
Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky began their season at a blistering pace, winning 17 games in a row in March and losing just three games by April. However, once the SEC schedule kicked in, UK finished 9-15 with series losses against LSU, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Florida. But if there’s reason to buy in, it’s that they still sit first in RPI+, which has been to be a proven indicator of postseason success.
College World Series Schedule
The College World Series final begins June 25 and is a best-of-three series. All games will be broadcast on ESPN.
- Regional tournament begin: Friday, June 2
- Super Regionals begin: Friday, June 11
- Opening Round begins: Friday, June 16
- Championship Game: Saturday–Monday, June 24–26
Basics Of College World Series Futures
Like many other tournaments, the most common future bets surround outright winners. Each matchup and series will have their own price, commonly bet on the moneyline. Moneyline betting refers to prices set by oddsmakers on each team to determine an outright winner.
For example, Ole Miss had a price of -130 to win Game 1 of the 2022 College World Series over Oklahoma (+105). A successful $10 bet on Ole Miss would yield $7.69 in earnings plus the initial bet amount back.
Another common futures bet example would be Oklahoma to win the College World Series (+110). If Oklahoma wins the series at +110, a $10 bet would have paid out $9.09 in winnings plus the initial $10 bet back. Other team futures may include odds to reach the Super Regionals or the College World Series.
Futures can also revolve around player performance like home runs hit in a particular series or runs allowed. They can also revolve around awards like the National Player of the Year or the Golden Spikes award. Betting on player futures is more common in professional sports than it is in college due to the brief time a player plays for a certain college.
College World Series Format
The College World Series refers to an eight-team tournament played at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. (formerly TD Ameritrade Park), each year to crown a champion in college baseball. The tournament is double-elimination, round-robin style until the final, which is a best-of-three series.
Prior to the College World Series is the NCAA Division-I Baseball Tournament. The first round of the tournament is the Regionals, a group stage made up of 16 four-team pods. They play a double-elimination, round robin-style tournament where the top team from each group advances to the next round. The second round, the Super Regionals, is a best-of-three series where the winner advances to the final eight in Omaha.
The top 16 teams in the Division-I Baseball Tournament receive seeds. The rest of the field is unranked officially, and teams carry that ranking throughout the remainder of the postseason. While the seeding is ordered based on the best teams to least, the top 16 seeds aren’t always those who make the final eight. For example in 2021, unranked NC State upset top-ranked Arkansas in the Super Regionals to advance to the CWS. Similarly, unranked Virginia knocked off #11 Old Dominion in the Regionals and unranked Dallas Baptist dethroned #6 TCU. Virginia advanced to the CWS.
Of the 64 total teams in the NCAA Tournament, 31 are auto-bids from conference champions while 33 other teams are at-large. The Regional hosts are the top 16 ranked teams and the remaining teams are placed by geography and matchup.
History And Favorites
Historically, college baseball lacked parity. Between 1958 and 1974, Southern California captured nine titles– including five straight from 1970-74– and was a runner-up once. Between 1975 and 1988; Arizona, Arizona State, Miami, Texas, and Stanford won 11 of 13 championships. However, since 2000, there have been 15 different schools that have won championships and only two schools (South Carolina and Oregon State) won back-to-back championships.
Southern California leads college baseball with 12 CWS championships, LSU and Texas are tied for second with six apiece, and Arizona State sits fourth with five championships. Florida State leads the nation in NCAA Tournament appearances without a championship (a whopping 58), followed by Clemson (44). East Carolina leads in NCAA Tournament appearances without a CWS berth (32), followed by South Alabama (28).
With the longest collegiate schedule (56 regular season games), the league has opened up in terms of contenders and favorites. There are a handful of regular residents in the CWS like Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Texas, and Ole Miss. The sport is potentially the most regionally-skewed in terms of success, with the SEC standing as far and away the dominant conference recently. The ACC, Big-12, and Pac-12 place multiple contenders each season, as well.
Here is a list of CWS Finals results since 2000.
| Year | Winner | Series Result | Runner Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Ole Miss | 2-0 | Oklahoma |
| 2021 | Mississippi State | 2-1 | Vanderbilt |
| 2020 | No CWS -- COVID-19 | ||
| 2019 | Vanderbilt | 2-1 | Michigan |
| 2018 | Oregon State | 2-1 | Arkansas |
| 2017 | Florida | 2-0 | LSU |
| 2016 | Coastal Carolina | 2-1 | Arizona |
| 2015 | Virginia | 2-1 | Vanderbilt |
| 2014 | Vanderbilt | 2-1 | Virginia |
| 2013 | UCLA | 2-0 | Mississippi State |
| 2012 | Arizona | 2-0 | South Carolina |
| 2011 | South Carolina | 2-0 | Florida |
| 2010 | South Carolina | 2-0 | UCLA |
| 2009 | LSU | 2-1 | Texas |
| 2008 | Fresno State | 2-1 | Georgia |
| 2007 | Oregon State | 2-0 | North Carolina |
| 2006 | Oregon State | 2-1 | North Carolina |
| 2005 | Texas | 2-0 | Florida |
| 2004 | Cal State Fullerton | 2-0 | Texas |
| 2003 | Rice | 2-1 | Stanford |
| 2002 | Texas | 1-0 | South Carolina |
| 2001 | Miami | 1-0 | Stanford |
| 2000 | LSU | 1-0 | Stanford |
Note: The CWS moved to a best-of-three series for the 2003 tournament.
