SEC Teams Preview: NCAA Division I College World Series

Tennessee Volunteers bench celebrate a home run during the NCAA Men’s Baseball Super Regional. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The 2024 NCAA Division I College World Series will start on June 14 and will go until June 24 if game three of the National Championship Series is played at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. This is the first time in the history of the NCAA Division I CWS that two conferences will split the field, with four programs each from the SEC and ACC and eight teams from the Power Five.  

Tennessee has the best win-loss percentage in the country, at .821, and its record is 55-12.  

Texas A&M is second in the nation in win and loss percentage at .790, with a record of 49-13. North Carolina is next at .770, with a record of 47-14. Kentucky is tied for fourth with UC Irvine, with a record of 45-14 and a .763 win and loss percentage.  

The 2024 NCAA Division I College World Series will be televised on ESPN family networks.  

2024 NCAA Division I College World Series Participants- SEC Teams

Teams (Overall Record) (SEC Conference Record)

No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers (55-12) (22-8) – Head Coach, Tony Vitello (7th Season) 

Notes: 

• The Vols finished as a runner-up once in the College World Series in 1951.
• The Tennessee pitching staff is third in the nation with their ERA of 3.83 and is in a three-way tie for first place in WHIP with Arkansas and Lamar University at 1.23.
• Tennessee is fourth in NCAA Division I with 2.96 walks allowed per nine innings.
• The Volunteers offense leads the country in home runs with 173 and is second in the nation with 2.58 dingers per game.
• Tennessee is fourth in hits overall in Division I with 697.
• The Volunteers offense is ranked second in the nation with their slugging percentage at .613.
• Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore is fourth overall in Division I in home runs with 32.
• Moore is second in the country in total bases at 214.
• Volunteers junior first baseman Blake Burke is second in the country in doubles with 28.
• Moore is second in the nation in hits at 101, and Burke is tied for fourth with Florida two-way player Jac Caglione and Wofford University infielder Bryce Martinez at 97.
• Tennessee starting pitcher A.J. Causey is second in the nation with wins, and his record is 13-3.

Players To Watch: 

• – 1B – Blake Burke – .376 AVG, 66 G, 294 PA, 97 H, 28 2B, 1 3B, 19 HR, 56 RBI, 10 SB, 33 BB, 41 K, 1.162 OPS
• – IF – Christian Moore – .376 AVG, 66 G, 307 PA, 101 H, 17 2B, 32 HR, 71 RBI, 3 SB, 35 BB, 45 K, 1.248 OPS
• – IF – Billy Amick – .313 AVG, 59 G, 263 PA, 72 H, 13 2B, 23 HR, 64 RBI, 25 BB, 46 K, 1.070 OPS
• – RHP – AJ Causey – 13-3, 3.77 ERA, 17 G, 1 SV, 86 IP, 82 H, 36 ER, 13 HR, 19 BB, 117 K, 1.174 WHIP
• – RHP – 9-2, 3.34 ERA, 24 G, 5 SV, 67.1 IP, 67 H, 25 ER, 9 HR, 21 BB, 57 K, 1.307 WHIP
• – RHP – Drew Beam – 8-2, 4.44 ERA, 17 G, 2 CG, 93.1 IP, 96 H, 46 ER, 13 HR, 23 BB, 1.275 WHIP

Knoxville Super Regional

Game 1: (1) Tennessee 11, Evansville 6

Game 2: Evansville 10, (1) Tennessee 8

Game 3: (1) Tennessee 12, Evansville 1

No. 3 Texas A&M University Aggies (49-13) (19-11) – Head Coach, Jim Schlossnagle (3rd Season) 

Notes: 

• The Aggies lead the nation in walks with 396.
• Texas A&M is fourth in the country in home runs with 132.
• The Aggies pitching staff leads the nation with 11 shutouts.
• Aggies left-handed pitcher Evan Aschenbeck led the nation with a .80 WHIP during the 2024 regular season.
• Aschenbeck is also fourth in the country with his strikeout-to-walk ratio at 9.00 and is fourth in walks allowed per nine innings with eight. He led the SEC by giving up the least number of walks at eight and earned runs at 12.
• Aschenbeck led the SEC in saves with nine.
• Texas A&M will be without outfielder Braden Montgomery, who is tied for fifth in the nation with 85 RBI, with Troy University catcher Brooks Bryan. Montgomery suffered a right leg injury in game one of the Super Regional last Saturday. Montgomery underwent surgery in North Carolina and will not be with the program in Omaha.
• Aggies catcher Jackson Appel led the SEC in putouts with 536 and chances with 561.

Players To Watch:

• – OF – Haydeen Schott – .331 AVG, 62 G, 279 PA, 79 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 59 RBI, 1 SB, 31 BB, 51 K, .922 OPS
• – C – Jackson Appel – .330 AVG, 59 G, 255 PA, 70 H, 14 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 40 RBI, 15 SB, 31 BB, 25 K, .971 OPS
• – OF – Jace LaViolette – .314 AVG, 62 G, 307 PA, 75 H, 16 2B, 3 3B, 28 HR, 77 RBI, 6 SB, 57 BB, 74 K, 1.210 OPS
• – LHP – Evan Aschenbeck – 6-1, 1.66 ERA, 28 G, 9 SV, 65 IP, 44 H, 12 ER, 6 HR, 8 BB, 72 K, 0.800 WHIP
• –  RHP – Chris Cortez – 9-3, 2.83 ERA, 22 G, 57.1 IP, 37 H, 18 ER, 7 HR, 29 BB, 89 K, 1.151 WHIP
• – LHP – Ryan Prager – 8-1, 3.10 ERA, 17 G, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 87 IP, 73 H, 30 ER, 12 HR, 19 BB, 114 K, 1.057 WHIP

Bryan-College Station Super Regional

Game 1: (3) Texas A&M 10, Oregon 6

Game 2: (3) Texas A&M 15, Oregon 9

No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats (45-14) (22-8) – Head Coach, Nick Mingione (8th Season) 

Notes: 

• The Wildcats program is appearing in its first CWS.
• Head coach Nick Mingione won the 2024 SEC Coach of the Year Award.
• Kentucky infielder Nick Lopez was selected to the SEC First-Team and is seventh in the conference with his average at .350.
• Kentucky’s pitching staff only allowed one earned run against Oregon State University last week in the Super Regionals.

Players To Watch:

• – IF – Nick Lopez – .350 AVG, 56 G, 248 PA, 76 H, 22 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 50 RBI, 3 SB, 22 BB, 29 K, .960 OPS
• – OF – Ryan Waldschmidt – .346 AVG, 56 G, 260 PA, 71 H, 17 2B, 14 HR, 46 RBI, 24 SB, 36 BB, 43 K, 1.107 OPS
• – IF – Ryan Nicholson – .299 AVG, 56 G, 233 PA, 58 H, 10 2B, 21 HR, 61 RBI, 3 SB, 28 BB, 54 K, 1.080 OPS
• – IF – Emilien Pitre – .298 AVG, 59 G, 282 PA, 68 H, 19 2B, 9 HR, 56 RBI, 25 SB, 45 BB, 35 K, .927 OPS
• – RHP – Trey Pooser – 7-1, 3.46 ERA, 18 G, 2 SV, 83.1 IP, 61 H, 32 ER, 9 HR, 33 BB, 79 K, 1.128 WHIP
• – RHP – Robert Hogan – 1-0, 2.58 ERA, 22 G, 1 SV, 38.1 IP, 20 H, 11 ER, 5 HR, 19 BB, 38 K, 1.017 WHIP

Lexington Super Regional

Game 1: (2) Kentucky 10, Oregon State 0

Game 2: (2) Kentucky 3, Oregon State 2

Florida Gators (34-28) (13-17) – Head Coach, Kevin O’Sullivan (17th Season) 

Notes: 

• Florida won the NCAA tournament in 2017 and has finished as the runner-up three times.
• The Gators’ fielding percentage is .981, which is a five-way tie for third place in the country with Cal-State Northridge, Arkansas, Navy, and the University of San Diego.
• Florida two-way star Jac Caglianone is sixth in the nation with his batting average of .411 and is third in total bases at 203.
• Caglianone is tied for fourth in the country in slugging percentage at .860 with Morehead State University infielder Roman Kuntz.

Players To Watch: 

TWP – Two-Way Player 

PS – Pitching Stats 

HS – Hitting Stats 

• – TWP – PS – Jac Caglianone – 5-2, 4.71 ERA, 15 G, 72.2 IP, 61 H, 38 ER, 10 HR, 48 BB, 82 K, 1.500 WHIP
• HS – .411 AVG, 62 G, 297 PA, 97 H, 7 2B, 33 HR, 68 RBI, 3 SB, 52 BB, 25 K, 1.392 OPS
• – OF – Ty Evans – .316 AVG, 49 G, 224 PA, 61 H, 10 2B, 1 3B, 13 HR, 43 RBI, 19 BB, 58 K, .987 OPS
• – IF – Colby Shelton – .257 AVG, 62 G, 294 PA, 62 H, 12 2B, 1 3B, 20 HR, 55 RBI, 5 SB, 34 BB, 75 K, .943 OPS
• – RHP – Fisher Jameson – 5-0, 4.35 ERA, 32 G, 3 SV, 60 IP, 56 H, 29 ER, 10 HR, 15 BB, 71 K,
• – RHP – Brandon Neely – 3-4, 5.45 ERA, 25 G, 4 SV, 71 IP, 67 H, 43 ER, 11 HR, 27 BB, 93 K, 1.324 WHIP
• – RHP – Liam Peterson – 3-4, 5.97 ERA, 16 G, 60.1 IP, 60 H, 40 ER, 15 HR, 36 BB, 72 K, 1.591 WHIP

Clemson Super Regional

Game 1: Florida 10, (6) Clemson 7

Game 2: Florida 11, (6) Clemson 10

SEC 2024 Season Awards:

Player of the Year: Charlie Condon, Georgia

Pitcher of the Year: Hagen Smith, Arkansas

Freshman of the Year: Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Drew Beam, Tennessee

Coach of the Year: Nick Mingione, Kentucky

SEC Top 200 Ranked Draft Prospects From MLBPipeline.com In 2024 CWS:

No. 3, Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida

No. 8, Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M

No. 25, Christian Moore, 2B, Tennessee

No. 26, Billy Amick, 3B, Tennessee

No. 39, Ryan Waldschidmt, OF, Kentucky

No. 59, Ryan Prager, LHP, Texas A&M

No. 72, Dylan Dreiling, OF, Tennessee

No. 100, Chris Cortez, RHP, Texas A&M

No. 135, Colby Shelton, SS, Florida

No. 178, Travis Smith, RHP, Kentucky

No. 185, Emilien Pitre, 2B, Kentucky

2024 SEC Standings:

SEC East Division

School                        Conference     Overall 

Tennessee                       22-8              55-12

Kentucky                          22-8               45-14

Georgia                           17-13              43-17

Vanderbilt                        13-17               27-9

South Carolina                13-17              37-25

Florida                              13-17             34-28

Missouri                            9-21              23-32

SEC West Division     

School                        Conference       Overall 

Arkansas                         20-10               44-16

Texas A&M                     19-11               49-13

Mississippi State             17-13               39-23

Alabama                          13-17               33-24

Ole Miss                          11-19               27-29

Auburn                              8-22                27-26

2024 NCAA Division I College World Series Schedule

All Games At Charles Schwab Field 

All Game Start Times Eastern Standard Time

Friday, June 14 

Game 1 – No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 12 Virginia – 2 p.m. – ESPN

Game 2 – No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Florida State – 7 p.m. – ESPN

Saturday, June 15 

Game 3 – No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 10 NC State – 2 p.m. – ESPN

Game 4 – No. 3 Texas A&M vs. Florida – 7 p.m. – ESPN

Sunday, June 16 

Game 5 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 –  2 p.m. – ESPN

Game 6 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 7 p.m. – ESPN

Monday, June 17

Game 7 – Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – 2 p.m. – ESPN

Game 8 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 – 7 p.m. – ESPN

Tuesday, June 18

Game 9 – TBD vs. TBD – 2 p.m. – ESPN

Game 10 – TBD vs. TBD – 7 p.m. – ESPN

Wednesday, June 19

Game 11 – TBD vs. TBD – 2 p.m. – ESPN

Game 12 – TBD vs. TBD – 7 p.m. – ESPN

Thursday, June 20

Game 13 (if necessary) – TBD vs. TBD – 2 p.m. – ESPN

Game 14 (if necessary) – TBD vs. TBD – 7 p.m. – ESPN

2024 NCAA Division I CWS – National Championship Series Schedule 

Saturday, June 22

NCS Final Game 1 – TBD vs. TBD, 7:30 p.m. – ESPN

Sunday, June 23

NCS Final Game 2 – TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. | ABC

Monday, June 24

NCS Final Game 3 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN

Matt Tallarini

Matthew (Matt) Tallarini is the Founder and Chief Correspondent for the World Baseball Network. Matt played semi-professional baseball with the Pelham Mets in Pelham, New York for four years, including the 2018 Semi Pro World Series. During the pandemic, Matt began engaging with international baseball, as a way to keep connected to the sport. Matt created the World Baseball Network and its signature website, WorldBaseball.com as a way to promote and inform similar likeminded fans about the players, teams and leagues innovating the sport of baseball and feeding into Major League Baseball (MLB). As a result of Matt’s efforts, World Baseball Network is now the benchmark standard for international baseball coverage, including MLB, MiLB, NCAA, Korea, Japan, Caribbean, Baseball United, WBC, WBSC and more. In a short time, Matt has interviewed a who’s who of global baseball legends and coaches. These include: Former Yankee closer Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera; Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman; former Yankee Luis Sojo veteran of four Yankee World series teams; Mickey Callaway former MLB manager; Paul Mainieri LSU National Championship coach; Eric Holtz manager Team Israel of the 2020 Olympics; Ian Kinsler former MLB player and now Israel national team player; Harold Ramirez of the Tampa Bay Rays formerly with the Indians and Cubs; Joey Meneses of the Washington Nationals; and Mike Cameron current USA Baseball advisor former-MLB outfielder. Matt Tallarini is 2015 graduate of Mitchell College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and a 2022 graduate of Iona University with a Masters in Finance. Since its inception, Matt has been the Chief Correspondent for World Baseball Network. Matt has interviewed and interacted with many international players and coaches including former Yankee closer Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, former Yankee Luis Sojo veteran of four Yankee World series teams, Mickey Callaway former MLB manager, Paul Mainieri LSU National Championship coach, Eric Holtz manager Team Israel of the 2020 Olympics, Ian Kinsler former MLB player and now Israel national team player, Harold Ramirez of the Tampa Bay Rays formerly with the Indians and Cubs, Joey Meneses of the Washington Nationals, Mike Cameron current USA Baseball advisor former-MLB outfielder. Matthew is 2015 graduate of Mitchell College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and a 2022 graduate of Iona University with a Masters in Finance.

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