The transfer portal has impacted college baseball just as meaningfully as it has football and basketball. As Exhibit A, consider the 2023 LSU Tigers.
Head coach Jay Johnson was able to lure top talent from other schools, including first baseman Tommy White, who all but rewrote the power records at North Carolina State last season. The ACC Freshman of the Year, White mashed 27 home runs in just 266 plate appearances. He headlined a transfer class for LSU that also included Vanderbilt shortstop Carter Young, Vandy pitcher Christian Little, Air Force pitcher and catcher Paul Skenes, and UCLA pitcher Thatcher Hurd.
It would have been an even more impressive haul if two other players who transferred to LSU — pitcher Dylan Tebrake and shortstop Jack Pineda — had not opted to sign pro contracts after being drafted last summer.
Friday marks the start of the NCAA baseball season, and the mobile sportsbooks still like LSU plenty (and, yes, you can bet on college baseball at any book that has the bandwidth to set lines for it). At DraftKings (the source of all odds in this article), the Tigers — who were just 17-13 in the SEC last year in Johnson’s first season — are the second favorite to win the College World Series at +750.
In a sign of just how dominant the SEC has become in baseball, seven of the eight CWS favorites are from the conference, and LSU isn’t even viewed as the top dog. Tennessee, with an absurd abundance of pitching talent, is the +500 chalk to win the World Series.
Stanford is the lone team outside the SEC to crack that CWS top eight, with the Cardinal’s odds set at +1000. Ole Miss (+1200), Vanderbilt (+1400), Florida (+1500), Texas A&M (+1800), and Arkansas (+2200) all are viewed as serious contenders.
Games of note this weekend
No. 15 TCU vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt (at Globe Life Field)
The Commodores (-145 for Friday’s opener) are all about pitching, with a staff that finished second in the conference with a 3.96 ERA last season led by lefty Devin Futrell, who struck out 64 batters and walked just 13. The Horned Frogs fell short of the Super Regionals last season but are among the most experienced contenders in the nation, with All-American third baseman Brayden Taylor among the returning players. They also had a strong transfer season headlined by All-Big 12 outfielder Austin Davis, who transferred from West Virginia.
Texas vs. No. 8 Arkansas (at Globe Life Field)
The NCAA is hoping to draw a little attention with its College Baseball Showdown series this weekend at the home of the Texas Rangers. This is another intriguing matchup as the Longhorns (+100 for Friday’s opener) try to make it three straight trips to the CWS despite massive roster turnover. They have 10 freshmen and nine transfers. Arkansas’ power is a challenge for any opponent, with the Razorbacks having led the nation with 109 home runs in 2022. They’ll be plugging some holes, including at third base, where Cayden Wallace was the No. 49 overall pick in the MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals.
Cal State Fullerton at No. 3 Stanford
The Titans aren’t the juggernaut they once were, having finished 20-35 last season, and they’re in deep vs. the Cardinal (-340 for Friday’s game). This series easily could end in a Stanford sweep. The Cardinal are strong even after losing star outfielder Brock Jones to the Tampa Bay Rays, among six players drafted from the roster. They’re led by pitchers Braden Montgomery, who also plays right field and bats in the middle of the order, and Quinn Mathews, who will move into the rotation after pitching in relief last season.
