{"id":19655,"date":"2026-06-19T10:40:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T14:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=19655"},"modified":"2026-06-19T10:40:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T14:40:53","slug":"2026-cws-coverage-omaha-group-play-and-finals-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=19655","title":{"rendered":"2026 CWS Coverage &#8211; Omaha Group Play and Finals preview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CWS-No-Date-Logo.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"996\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CWS-No-Date-Logo-996x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19616\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CWS-No-Date-Logo-996x1024.jpeg 996w, https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CWS-No-Date-Logo-292x300.jpeg 292w, https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CWS-No-Date-Logo-768x790.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CWS-No-Date-Logo.jpeg 1350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 996px) 100vw, 996px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a couple of frenetic weeks of tracking CWS regional and super regionals, we&#8217;re through the pedestrian-paced group play in Omaha and have reached the final of the 2026 CWS tournament; here&#8217;s a recap of group play in Omaha for the 2026 CWS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Resources\/links I use heavily during CWS time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your final top 25 heading into the post-season according to <a href=\"https:\/\/d1baseball.com\/rankings\/\">d1baseball<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseballamerica.com\/rankings\/college-baseball-top-25\/\">baseballamerica<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/sports\/ncaa-baseball\/polls\/coaches-poll\/\">usatoday Coaches poll<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>WarrenNolan&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.warrennolan.com\/baseball\/2026\/rpi-live\">RPI rankings<\/a> (Note: these are dynamic and change with every game, so a team&#8217;s RPI two weeks ago won&#8217;t match what it is now).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Here&#8217;s D1Baseball.com&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/d1baseball.com\/college-baseball-tournament-central\/\">Tournament Central<\/a>, my favorite place to track the tourney.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Here&#8217;s the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/brackets\/baseball\/d1\/2026\">NCAA.com field of 64 Bracket<\/a> with some great data points at NCAA.com<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In the Top&nbsp;Bracket<\/strong> (#16 West Virginia, Troy, #5 North Carolina, Ole Miss )<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In the opening games<\/strong>, as they&#8217;ve had a habit of doing, WVA got two runs late to win it 7-5 over Troy, while UNC scored 5 runs in the 7th and 8th innings to sneak past Ole Miss and put themselves into a great position, having passed the first test by beating the sole SEC participant in the group.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the first elimination game,<\/strong> Troy got a historic program win, ousting the SEC&#8217;s Ole Miss with a two-and-out, to stay alive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the winner&#8217;s bracket game<\/strong>, UNC took control of the group with a solid 5-2 win over West Virginia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the play-in game<\/strong>, West Virginia waxed Troy 12-0 (as one might expect) to put themselves into the group final.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the group final<\/strong>, UNC jumped ahead early and the game was never in doubt, eventually winning 12-7 to wrap up the group without a loss and move to the CWS final.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Final Group standings<\/strong>: UNC, WVA, Troy, Ole Miss<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In the Bottom Bracket<\/strong> (#3 Georgia, #6 Texas, #7 Alabama, Oklahoma)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In the opening games<\/strong>, #7 Alabama could do nothing with Oklahoma&#8217;s starer Cord Rager (7ip, 3h, 0r) and lost 9-0. Meanwhile, Georgia&#8217;s Joey Volchko threw a complete game with 15Ks, 4 hits and one unearned run as Georgia dominated Texas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the first elimination game,<\/strong> #6 Texas destroyed #7 Alabama, scoring 7 runs on their starter in the first two innings to send them home 2 and out.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the winner&#8217;s bracket game<\/strong>, Oklahoma stunned #3 Georgia with 3 in the first, then made the lead stick as they took control of the bracket.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the play-in game<\/strong>, two Georgia arms tag-teamed for a 4-hit shutout to send Texas home and give themselves a shot at living up to pre-CWS predictions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the group final<\/strong>, Oklahoma never trailed, and blew out the game late to win 11-4 and move to the CWS final.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Final Group standings<\/strong>: Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas, Alabama<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Analysis\/commentary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UNC winning the Group A isn&#8217;t much of a surprise, given the weakness of the group. But Oklahoma beating three top-8 seeds and fellow SEC members is a shock, and a testament to the depth of the SEC. Oklahoma finished 14-16 in the SEC and was the 11th ranked team in the conference. And now they&#8217;re in the CWS final.  That&#8217;s why they play the games, eh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CWS Preview and Prediction<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thanks to clean weather and no extra games, both squad&#8217;s pitching staffs will be on full and regular rest. The potential third game &#8220;starters&#8221; would be slightly rushed back; they&#8217;d have 4 days rest instead of the normal 6-day cycle in college baseball, but that&#8217;s certainly not going to kill anyone&#8217;s arm, especially if its the final game of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The CWS national series starts on Saturday 6\/20\/26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sat 6\/20\/26: UNC&#8217;s Jason Decaro (10-2, 2.35 ERA) vs Oklahoma&#8217;s Cord Rager (6-3, 4.69 ERA)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sun 6\/21\/26: UNC&#8217;s Ryan Lynch (4-4, 4.53 ERA) vs Oklahoma&#8217;s Xander Mercurius (1-2, 5.51 ERA)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>(if needed) Mon 6\/22\/26. UNC&#8217;s Jackson Rose (5-0, 2.15 ERA) vs Oklahoma&#8217;s Nick Wesloski (2-1, 3.63 ERA)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suffice it to say, neither team is known for lock down pitching necessarily.  A couple of these &#8220;starters&#8221; are actually the staff&#8217;s long relievers, and some of these games may turn into bullpen games, or use openers, or other creative pitching plans.  Look for a high-offense final set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prediction?  UNC in three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a couple of frenetic weeks of tracking CWS regional and super regionals, we&#8217;re through the pedestrian-paced group play in Omaha and have reached the final of the 2026 CWS tournament; here&#8217;s a recap of group play in Omaha for the 2026 CWS. Resources\/links I use heavily during CWS time: In the Top&nbsp;Bracket (#16 West [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19655"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19674,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19655\/revisions\/19674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}