It's been just under two weeks since the college baseball season started, and there are some familiar names on the top teams so far.
Wake Forest made its third College World Series (CWS) appearance last year and topped the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Reigning national champion LSU is right behind, followed by TCU, a team that also played in the CWS in 2023, and Florida, last year's runner-up team.
A team ranked highly in the first few weeks of play does not necessarily indicate a top contender for the CWS. There's still a lot of season left. For example, TCU ranked outside the top 15 in Week 2 last year and dropped out of the top 25 completely three weeks later. They finished the year in 7th place and advanced to the CWS semi-finals.
Through the opening games so far this season, here are the college baseball teams' standings based on winning odds provided by BetMGM.
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University baseball strength rankings week 2
1. Wake Forest (+700)
The team entered last year's College World Series as the top-ranked team in the nation and is an early favorite to win it all in 2024. The Demon Deacons have only won the college baseball championship once in program history, and that was in 1955. Last year's CWS was the first tournament since that championship.
With back-to-back tournament appearances in 2022 and 2023, a regional championship last year, and a 7-1 start this season, Wake Forest is on the right track.
2.LSU (+800)
LSU's roster is a little weaker, as two quality players were taken first (pitcher Paul Skeens) and second overall (outfielder Dylan Cruz) in the 2023 MLB Draft. They have 7 wins and 1 loss so far this season, and thanks to strong reinforcements, they remain one of the favorites to win this year.
Sophomore first baseman Jared Jones is in his first year taking over from former LSU star Tre Morgan and has hit four home runs in eight games so far this season. Starting pitcher Luke Holman, transferred from Alabama, had 18 strikeouts, one walk, and zero runs in two starts. Freshman left fielder Jake Brown is third on the team with a batting average of .368.
T-3. Florida (+1000)
The Gators lost their season opener to St. John's and their most recent game to Stetson, falling just short of a title in 2023, but have dominated every other opponent this year. Florida is 5-2 with an average margin of victory of 100. 7.8 runs in 5 wins.
Junior first baseman and pitcher Jack Carianone is looking like one of the top prospects in college baseball so far. He made his first start of the season on Sunday, striking out seven, walking two, and allowing two hits against 11 batters (.182 batting average). At the plate, he leads the Gators with a .481 batting average and ranks second on the team with an OPS of 1.230.
T-3. Arkansas (+1000)
After a strong regular season in 2023, the then No. 1 Razorbacks lost twice to TCU in the Super Regional and missed out on a CWS berth. They are 6-2 this year, most recently defeating Grambling State University by a 21-1 run rule win in seven innings.
For most of this year so far, pitching has been the dominant force for Arkansas. The only time a team has allowed as many as five points from him was in his second game against JMU, which he won on a 15-5 run rule.
There's no better example of the superiority of Arkansas pitchers than junior starting pitcher Hagen Smith. The Texas native tied the single-game program record with 17 strikeouts in the Razorbacks' 5-4 win over Oregon State on Friday. He needed just six innings (18 outs) and 78 pitches to accomplish this feat.
5. Tennessee (+1500)
The Vols finished the 2023 season as the No. 4 ranked team in the country after losing to LSU in the second round of the CWS. This year, they started 8-1, with their only loss coming in overtime in the second game of the season.
Tennessee's performance so far this season has been the result of solid pitching and a batting lineup with good pop. Six regular players have an OPS above 1.000: juniors Billy Amick, Christian Moore, and Robin Villeneuve, as well as redshirt sophomore Caballes Tears, sophomore Dalton Vargo, and freshman Dean Curley. .
Villeneuve, who transferred from junior college, had particularly impressive results, batting .563 (9 hits in 16 at bats), walking 5 balls, and hitting 2 home runs in 7 games (6 starts).
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T-6. Vanderbilt (+1800)
T-6. Oregon (+1800)
T-8. TCU (+2000)
T-8. Texas A&M (+2000)
T-10. Clemson (+3000)
T-10. Virginia (+3000)
T-10. Texas (+3000)
T-10. South Carolina (+3000)
T-14. University of California, Los Angeles (+3500)
T-14. East Carolina (+3500)
T-14. Duke (+3500)
T-17. Stanford (+5000)
T-17. Oregon (+5000)
T-17. Alabama (+5000)
T-17. North Carolina (+5000)
T-17. Auburn (+5000)
T-17. North Carolina (+5000)
College baseball notes:North's two home runs and 10 RBIs highlight Creighton's high-scoring start
When is the 2024 College World Series?
The 2024 college baseball postseason will begin with regional competition from May 31st to June 3rd. The Super Regionals will be held June 7-9 or June 8-10.
College World Series games will begin between the qualifying teams on June 14th, with the finals to be held June 22nd-23rd or 24th.
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