Which teams are in the 2022 College World Series?

One of the greatest strengths of college baseball is its unpredictability. Future MLB players are all over the field, but they are not yet professional. They are still developing their prodigious talent and college games can sway on small details.

The 2022 NCAA tournament has been a whirlwind of emotions and the running theme has been the upset. All of the apple carts have been overturned, and the teams who seemed to be shoe-ins are now on their way home to watch the College World Series with the rest of us, on television.

In what is definitely the biggest upset of the year, the Tennessee Volunteers were brought low by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Relying on solid technique and small-ball tactics, Notre Dame were not shaken by the Vols, nor did they cower in the face of the reputation that Tennessee have, quite justifiably, built for themselves as the strongest team in the country. Link Jarrett’s boys churned out solid play after solid play and found themselves in possession of Notre Dame’s first trip to Omaha in twenty years.

Not as much technical play as the Irish, perhaps, the Oklahoma Sooners used a different tactic to get through, knocking off number 4 ranked Virginia Tech by simply stomping on the gas pedal and putting up five home runs, to completely run the table 11-2 and send the Hokies packing.

The Arkansas Razorbacks upended the 10th ranked North Carolina Tarheels with a walk off single to take Game 2 by a score of 4-3. After a difficult SEC tournament and a gruelling regional in Stillwater, they have come alive in the super regional, looking like they have a little fight left in them yet.

With a 5-0 win in Hattiesburg, the Ole Miss Rebels have punched their ticket for the CWS. The last time they were there was 2014, and this is perhaps a sign of a program that was the national number one in the middle of April getting back on track after late-season wobbles. Since the regionals, Ole Miss have won every game and have shut out Southern Miss in both games at the super regional.

Texas A&M’s road to Omaha was unusual in that it was without incident. They finished the season strong, hosted a regional, in which they won every game, and hosted the super regional, beating Louisville in two straight.

With lightning in the area of Greenville, Texas had to wait for five hours before going to work and closing the door firmly on East Carolina. Three home runs helped the Longhorns on their way to a massive 11-1 win in a game where the Pirates emptied their bullpen and left it all on the field.

Auburn and Oregon State had a chess match, with both teams fielding outstanding pitching, but leaving their bats at home. In the end, the Tigers made the most out of the least, scoring four on just three hits, and the key to their win was the lack of productivity by the Beavers with men on base.

Stanford righted the ship and won two in a row against UConn to confirm their berth in Omaha. The Cardinal have relied heavily on a single explosive inning and with their starting pitchers struggling in the post season, they could face some trouble ahead as the competition gets tighter.

All eight teams qualified for the College World Series

One of these will be your national champions and with the rankings thrown to the wind, it will all come down to who can put together two more road series wins. All teams look strong in certain areas and all have their own individual achilles heels. The imperfection is what gives college baseball its spice and this has been one of the most exciting, unpredictable college baseball post seasons in recent memory.