2021 College World Series bracket: Schedule, storylines, players to watch, predictions

The 2021 College World Series bracket is set. These 8 teams are competing for the NCAA College World Series with our predictions for who wins it all.

Monday evening, the final Super Regional was wrapped up as the Mississippi State Bulldogs made it past the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Earlier in the day, the Virginia Cavaliers beat the Dallas Baptist Patriots.

The Super Regionals featured plenty of runs scored, records broken, and fascinating results.

North Carolina State lost by 19 runs in the first game of the Fayetteville Super Regional and then went on to beat Arkansas in back-to-back games. Arizona was able to win game 1 out in Tucson, was easily beaten in game 2, and then subsequently blew out Ole Miss in game 3 to advance to Omaha.

Texas was challenged by the South Florida Bulls, but the Longhorns had too much talent for USF to keep up. Stanford shocked Texas Tech as the Cardinal crushed the Red Raiders in two games. The Tennessee Vols had no issue defeating the LSU Tigers while Vanderbilt shut down ECU.

Now we officially have the eight teams who will be in the 2021 College World Series.

2021 College World Series teams

• Stanford Cardinal
• North Carolina State Wolfpack
• Arizona Wildcats
• Vanderbilt Commodores
• Texas Longhorns
• Mississippi State Bulldogs
• Virginia Cavaliers
• Tennessee Volunteers

Stanford, North Carolina State, Arizona and Vanderbilt make up the first bracket.

Texas, Mississippi State, Virginia and Tennessee are in the second bracket. The winners of each bracket will advance on to the College World Series finals, which is a best-of-three series.

Players to watch

Kumar Rocker was instrumental in Vanderbilt’s national championship run back in 2019 and is part of a duo that could bring the Commodores another title this season. Rocker boasts a 13-3 record, a 2.46 ERA, and 155 strikeouts in 106 innings pitched. While there is an argument to be made that Rocker isn’t even the best pitcher on his team, his experience will be key for Vandy’s chances in Omaha.

Arizona has several power hitters on its roster, but Jacob Berry might be the best. With a .359 batting average, a .692 slugging percentage, 17 home runs, and 70 RBIs this season, opposing pitchers will need to be careful as to how they approach Berry in Omaha.

Virginia’s Andrew Abbott has gotten a ton of work for the Cavaliers and he’s going to be a key reason as to why they’re able to compete in the College World Series. Though his ERA isn’t the most impressive at .304, his opponents have just a .228 batting average against him and he’s struck out 152 batters in 100.2 innings of work.

As with any team to make it this far, there are multiple stars on the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ roster. Landon Sims, Rowdey Jordan, and Logan Tanner all would’ve been solid picks, but make sure you keep an eye on Tanner Allen, the SEC’s Player of the Year. Allen has a .392 batting average and a .634 slugging percentage. On top of that, he’s only struck out 30 times this year.

Keep an eye on these storylines

Tim Corbin and the Vanderbilt Commodores are looking to defend their national title while also winning their third College World Series in the process. Will Kumar Rocker, Jack Leiter, and company be able to shut down the nation’s best teams in TD Ameritrade Stadium?

Can Tennessee’s power hitting continue in Omaha? The Volunteers have been consistent and dangerous at the plate all season. They’ve shown they can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Vanderbilt and Arkansas and even embarrassed Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament. Will that trend continue in Omaha?

It’s been a while since Texas has won a national title. The Longhorns are the highest-seeded team remaining in the NCAA Baseball Tournament and have a very talented and deep roster. They’re looking for their first national championship since 2005. Will UT be able to get revenge against Mississippi State for an early-season loss? Can the Longhorns show that they were the ones that actually deserved the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament?

The Mississippi State Bulldogs have the longest active streak in making it to the College World Series. The Bulldogs are back in Omaha for the third straight season. Will the third time be the charm for MSU? Mississippi State has made it to the College World Series a dozen times now and has yet to win it all. Will that championship drought be broken this year?

Here’s the schedule for the 2021 College World Series

June 19

• Game 1- Stanford vs. North Carolina State at 1 p.m. CT
• Game 2- Vanderbilt vs. Arizona at 6 p.m.

Both games are on ESPN.

June 20

• Game 3- Tennessee vs. Virginia at 1 p.m.
• Game 4- Texas vs. Mississippi State at 6 p.m.

Both games are on ESPN2.

June 21

• Game 5- Loser of Game 1 vs. loser of Game 2 at 1 p.m.
• Game 6- Winner of Game 1 vs. winner of Game 2 at 6 p.m.

Game 5 will be on ESPNU while Game 6 will be on ESPN.

June 22

• Game 7- Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 loser at 1 p.m.
• Game 8- Winner of Game 3 vs. winner of Game 4 at 6 p.m.

Game 7 will be on ESPNU while Game 8 will be on ESPN2.

June 23

• Game 9- Teams to be determined at 6 p.m.

Game 9 will be on ESPN.

June 24

• Game 10- Teams to be determined at 6 p.m.

Game 10 will be on ESPN2.

June 25

• Game 11- Teams to be determined at 1 p.m.
• Game 12- Teams to be determined at 6 p.m.

Game 11 will be on ESPN2 while Game 12 will be on ESPN.

June 26

• Game 13 if necessary- Teams to be determined at 1 p.m.
• Game 14 if necessary- Teams to be determined at 6 p.m.

If necessary, game 13 will be on ESPN and game 14 will be on ESPN2.

College World Series finals

• Game 1- 6 p.m. on June 28
• Game 2- 6 p.m. on June 29
• Game 3- 6 p.m. on June 30

Game 1 will be broadcast on ESPN2. Game 2 will be broadcast on ESPN. If necessary, game 3 will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Who will make it to the College World Series finals?

The first bracket features a thrilling game right out of the gate. Vanderbilt, with its dominant pitchers, will have to go up against Arizona, who can score at will.

The Commodores are arguably the best team in Omaha this year, thanks in large part due to the fact that Vandy has the two best starting pitchers in the entire country this season, but Arizona has shown that it is resilient this season. That was certainly true in the Super Regionals, though the Wildcats haven’t seen pitchers as good as Vanderbilt’s.

Assuming the Commodores can quiet Arizona’s bats and then get past a hot Stanford Cardinal team, then Vanderbilt will be in the championship series. That doesn’t seem all that improbable to happen.

In the second bracket sits a team with a ton of College World Series experience. The Mississippi State Bulldogs have made it to Omaha for the third straight time. This group is talented, well-rounded, and can win in multiple ways. Though MSU’s starters haven’t always been great, the Bulldogs have a pretty deep bullpen and demonstrated that they could outscore the likes of Notre Dame.

If Mississippi State can beat Texas (which it has done once already this season) and then make it past Tennessee (who is on a tear at the moment and handed MSU a 10-run loss in Hoover), then the Bulldogs should be competing against Vanderbilt in the CWS Finals.

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