College World Series Preview: Eight Teams Battle for Glory

Baseball's biggest week has arrived with eight teams battling in Omaha for the College World Series championship. The double elimination tournament kicks off Friday,  June 13th and culminates with a three-game championship series beginning Saturday the 21st.

• Arizona, Coastal Carolina, Louisville, and Oregon on one side of the bracket
• Murray State, UCLA, LSU, and Arkansas on the other side 
• Controversy over LSU and Arkansas being on the same side of the bracket
• Murray State continues their Cinderella run as the tournament underdog
• Coastal Carolina coach bringing his whole family 
• Defense and pitching will be key factors in determining the champion

Stay tuned for the next episode featuring Jade and Jewls Castillo, Lady Conch softball coaches, discussing the growing popularity of softball and their experience at the Women's College World Series.

If you enjoyed this episode, drop a review, share and subscribe, because there's a lot of good stuff on tap. You can also follow Bring Joy on YouTube and Instagram. Check my website at joynulisch.com and go bring joy to the people in your world.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Thanks for tuning in to the Bring Joy podcast.
We're in season five and it'sall about baseball, talking big
leagues to the little leagues,yankees to the Conks and
everything in between.
I'll share my joy for the gamewith you and, whether you're a
fan of baseball or goodstorytelling, you'll be
entertained and each episodewill bring a little joy to your
day.
So sit back and relax.
Let's do this thing.

(00:24):
I have to keep this one shortand sweet.
I've had a cold all week and Icould barely hear myself think,
much less talk, but I had todrop an episode for the biggest
week of college baseball.
We have eight teams in Omahaready to battle it out for a
national championship.
The double eliminationtournament kicks off Friday, the

(00:46):
13th and the finals will be athree-game series that start on
Saturday, the 21st.
Now, in my last episode, whereI highlighted the Super
Regionals, I made a fewpredictions and, omg, I only got
three out of eight right.
And the biggest blunder is Icalled LSU the defending
national champions, which is notcorrect.

(01:08):
I know, bennett, they won it in2023 with Paul Skeens, who,
yeah, I dream about sometimes,him and pinstripes.
Hell, yeah, a girl can dream,right.
But back to the correction forthe Tennessee fans my bad
Skipping over the Vols winningthe title in 2024 was not cool.

(01:28):
How could I forget those homerun celebrations with the first
coat and the world'sintroduction to coach Tony
Vitello, who?
But hey, no pressure to winback-to-back titles because
Arkansas took you out of thesupers and will face off against
LSU in Game 1.
Now folks in the know say thesetwo are the best of the bunch.
Lsu and Arkansas shouldn't befacing off so early or even be

(01:52):
on the same side of the bracket.
I heard former FSU superstarand future college coach, doug
Minkiewicz suggest the committeeshould re-seed the remaining
teams after each regional roundand at a minimum before they
match up in Omaha, making for amore competitive tournament.
And, doug, I trust.
But for now it is what it isand as a baseball fan, I got

(02:16):
some peanuts and cracker jacksready for some good baseball.
So here are the teams in itArizona, coastal Carolina,
louisville and Oregon are on oneside of the bracket.
On the other side you haveMurray State, ucla, lsu and
Arkansas.
Yep, murray State is still init and whether you're a sucker

(02:37):
for a Cinderella story or not,the Racers from Kentucky can
play ball and have been allseason earning their spot.
Kentucky can play ball and havebeen all season earning their
spot.
And you gotta love a coach whoshares the experience with his
nine-year-old son the race'sbiggest fan and sticking with
nods to good dads with the beingfather's day and all.
Coastal Carolina's head coachis looking forward to sharing

(02:58):
the college world seriesexperience with his two
daughters and his young son, whowas unable to attend as he was
recovering from a seriousillness.
In 2016, when they won it all,the whole fam will be in the
stands cheering on dad and theShanty Clans I think I said that
right who have a legit chanceto win their second title.

(03:19):
It'll be the first for Arkansas, murray State and Louisville.
The other teams have won itbefore, as I mentioned earlier.
Lsu most recently won in 2023and UCLA are the furthest out
from their win in 2013.
Now, my daddy told me a longtime ago defense wins
championships.
In baseball, that starts withpitching.

(03:41):
There's big names in Omaha,starting with Cade Anderson of
the Tigers the big lefty candeal and Patrick Forbes from
Louisville he rocks, that radargun hitting 100 miles per hour
plus.
The starters need to handlebusiness and go deep into the
game so their coaches don't haveto go deep into the bullpens.
Now you know I love me somecatchers, and Coastal Carolina

(04:04):
has a switch hitting catchernamed Caden Bodine who handles
the plate like a pro.
There's two premier and shortstops in the tournament that are
fun to watch.
Arkansas has Vihava Aloy andthen Oregon State has SEC player
of the year, aviar Ake.
They play their positions welland have Pop at the plate With

(04:30):
FSU out of it, no Florida orTexas team in it.
I don't have any skin in whowins, but if you twist my arm
and say, pick one, I'll go withCoastal Carolina.
It's going to be a fun week ofbaseball and I'm excited to
catch as many games as I can.
Stay tuned for the next episode,where I welcome Jade and Jules
Castillo, lady Cork softballcoaches, to discuss the growing

(04:53):
popularity of softball and whatit was like to attend the
Women's College World Series.
That's going to be a goodconversation.
I'm Joy Newlish and Iappreciate you tuning into my
podcast.
My purpose is to bring joy intomy life and the lives of others
.
If you enjoyed this episode,drop a review, share and
subscribe, because there's a lotof good stuff on tap.

(05:14):
You can also follow Bring Joyon YouTube and Instagram.
Check my website atjoynewlishcom and go bring joy
to the people in your world.
Until next time, much love.