This article is part of our College Baseball Picks series.
College World Series 2024 Best Bets
The greatest game on the planet returns! That's right, College baseball is back in action on February 16th. I've been saying for a while now that this sport will grow exponentially over the next three years, especially when it comes to betting. Getting in on the futures markets preseason provides outrageous misprices with books still focusing on the NFL.
Let's take a walk on the wild side so I can show you.
Check out Caesars during the college baseball season as Caesars has a great variety of NCAA baseball markets with competitive odds. The Caesars Sportsbook promo code gets new players a first bet worth up to $1,000 when they sign up using code ROTO1000.
Teams to Make the College World Series:
Northeastern Huskies +2500 (DraftKings) - 1u
I'll get further into detail on this Northeastern team shortly, but the basic story you need to know is that this team is dangerous. This is my sleeper team in 2024, and I'm HEAVILY invested in their success. One of the few mid-major programs in the country with a blue chip prospect, Northeastern can make a run with projected top-10 pick Mike Sirota anchoring this squad. His near 20-20 season which also featured a .346 batting average should be at least replicated in a lineup returning 90 of their 106 round-trippers, as well as 94 of their 133 stolen bases.
Look out, because North Carolina Sports Betting is set to go live in March. Stay ahead of the game on the upcoming North Carolina betting promos ahead of pre-registration if you're located in the Tar Heel State.
Mississippi State Bulldogs +2300 (FanDuel) - 0.25u
The truth is I was a believer in Mississippi State recapturing their 2021 magic a season ago. Instead, they just repeated a flopping 2022 campaign. It's possible I was just a year too early on them. The 2024 season could have a sky-high ceiling and a dangerously low floor. The offense is set up nicely with Hunter Hines and projected first-round pick Dakota Jordan running point. The pair combined for 32 taters and 101 RBI last year. Although they lost a top bat in Colton Ledbetter, the Dawgs went to work in the recruiting department to fill the void. The pitching is where this team will live and die; it that tallied a disastrous team 7.01 ERA last year. There are a few new guys that have a lot of expectations, but it's all going to start with switch-pitcher (yes, you read that right) Jurrangelo Cijntje rebounding after a rough freshman season.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers +600 (FanDuel) - 1u
Coastal was one of my longshot sleepers a year ago when I smashed them at 200/1 mid-season. They were my second sleeper in the country, only to the Campbell Camels. The MO of the Chanticleers is to terrorize opposing pitchers with a ferocious combination of power and speed. I'll touch on Coastal more later as well, but the point of emphasis here is that this is one of the more feared lineups in America despite losing two of their top players from 2023. FanDuel hung a jaw-dropping misprice on 2/6 at +1900, which I hit and tweeted out, but it was slashed to 6/1 within the hour. Nevertheless, the Chants will be a tough out in 2024 as they embark on the farewell tour of longtime great coach, Gary Gilmore.
TCU Horned Frogs +300 (DraftKings) - 1u
The 2023 Frogs were a picture of perseverance. After losing four of five crucial conference series in the middle of the season, they rallied to make an impressive run to Omaha, where they were defeated by the Florida Gators on the doorsteps of the finals. The team lost star 3B Braden Taylor and INF Cole Fontenelle, but still has some firepower. After bringing in Wichita State's two-way player Payton Tolle, TCU features a strong pitching staff with at least four strong arms, and a capable lineup. The price is way longer here than it is on any other book, and I have this bunch making it to Omaha again.
Oregon State Beavers +300 (DraftKings) - 1u
The Beavers haven't had a team make it to the College World Series since they won it all back in 2018 on the shoulders of Adley Rutschman. With the Beavs set to freelance next year in life after the PAC-12, this team is looking to end with a bang. Offensively, it ranks as one of the best lineups in the country behind projected top 10 pick, Travis Bazzana. While the pitching has some talent, it's unsolved. The arms are definitely the weakness of this team, but it's composed of several veterans that should be able to navigate the ebbs and flows of the tide. Thanks to a relatively favorable conference schedule, we should see OSU grab a lot of wins and a host spot in the Regionals - and maybe the Supers. Like TCU, 3/1 was the best number on any book, and it's another team I have making it to the CWS.
UC Santa Barbara +800 (BetRivers) - 0.25u
You want to talk about pitching? The Gauchos boast one of the best front-to-back staffs in the entire nation. With junior Matt Ager as the Friday night guy, UCSB has an opportunity to possess a top weekend rotation in College Baseball. They have stud junior Ryan Gallagher returning from Tommy John after sitting out all of 2023. The hitting is solid at best, so it's likely not going to be a team that goes deep because the offense carries them. However, it's usually the teams that can pitch that make the run, so if the lineup can be competent then they have a chance. UCSB is among the most popular sleeper picks in 2024, but 8/1 isn't a bad number to sprinkle for them making an appearance at the dance.
The month of June is without a doubt the best time of the year, so make sure you get in on the action. I'll be locked in with a ton of tickets. Here are my eight teams I'm riding with to make the College World Series in 2024; Arkansas, TCU, Tennessee, Oregon State, Coastal Carolina, Northeastern, Kansas State, and LSU. It's worth noting that a few of the sleepers above are still teams with good prices that have a chance to slide their way in.
Teams to Win the College World Series
Arkansas Razorbacks +1100 (DraftKings) #3
My preseason pick of 2023 was Wake Forest- given out at the end of January '23. The Demon Deacons last season were one of the best teams I've ever seen, but still not better than the 2022 Tennessee Volunteers squad. Both finished the regular season as the #1 ranked team in College Baseball, a trend that has not seen the top-ranked team win the CWS since 1999. What Wake and Tennessee had in common was the electricity and depth of their pitching staffs. If these Razorbacks hope to win their first College World Series ever, it will be because the pitching carries them.
Luckily, they have a superstar Friday guy who can take them to Shangri-La. Hagen Smith is sure to be a top 15, maybe top 10 pick in this summer's draft. It's even possible he's the first pitcher off the board. A lefty that's been reported to run it up to 101 MPH this fall, he compliments it with a wipeout 84 MPH slide piece. Along with Smith, Texas Tech transfer Mason Molina and Brady Tygart join the rotation with an array of high-powered arms in the bullpen. It's a team that may very well have the top pitching staff in the country.
The big question won't be if their offense can score, but how good will they be? The Razorbacks featured a capable lineup a year ago that totaled 92 homers. However, they lost most of that firepower with guys like Jace Bohrofen, Jared Wegner, Brady Slavens, and Tavian Josenberger heading to the next level. The onus will fall on veterans like Kendall Diggs and Peyton Stovall (expected to miss the first 4-6 weeks of season), and transfers Wehiwa Aloy and Jack Wagner. The team also expects a few freshmen to be key contributors.
The SEC is the best conference in College Baseball, and Arkansas is usually at the forefront of it. They are one of the most well-coached units in the sport behind Dave Van Horn. I'd expect Ark to be a high seed that hosts both a Regional and Super Regional come June. It almost always comes down to matchups in the postseason, but the way this team is built, they're a tough draw for anybody.
Northeastern Huskies +20000 (DraftKings) #23
I didn't really start boning up on my favorites pick for the 2024 season until about the first weekend of January. In my research, I came across a Northeastern team that won 44 games a season ago, leading them to a Regional berth. Obviously, they ran into the buzzsaw Wake Forest (my 2023 preseason pick). Still, they left an impactful impression as a team that could do some serious damage for this year.
The main reason is blue-chip prospect OF Mike Sirota, a projected top-10 pick in July. There's not much this kid can't do, so with him anchoring this lineup that returns almost their entire team from a year ago, it's difficult imagining this squad can't reach higher limits this time. Joining Sirota will be playmakers Cam Maldonado and Tyler MacGregor who combined to smash 31 taters, 99 RBI, and average .341 at the plate. The Huskies' lineup returns 90 of their 106 round-trippers, as well as 94 of their 133 stolen bases.
On the bumpski, the big guns will be back too. The staff that compiled a 3.75 ERA (9th best in NCAA) should once again be led by the dynamic strike-throwing duo of Aiven Cabral and Wyatt Scotti. An unproven bullpen could be the teams' biggest weakness, something that is usually not kind for teams trying to make a deep run in June. With that being said, there are some key arms returning from injury and a few coming in via the transfer portal.
In what is a winnable Colonial Athletic division, the biggest threat to this Northeastern team is likely the newcomers in Campbell (formerly of the Big South). Nevertheless, I have a lot of confidence in the Huskies to reign supreme in 2024. The current number is by far the best across any book, and still worth a bet despite a quick and dramatic odds shift. With a ton of equity on this team, thanks to a wildly inaccurate 2500/1 price (a number I hit at Caesars on 1/12), I believe they can certainly challenge the top dogs in late June.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers +9000 (DraftKings) #18
While I didn't have quite as much on Coastal as I did Campbell a season ago, I still nabbed them at 200/1 in the middle of the year. Like Campbell, they left me highly disappointed by choking in the Super Regionals. Although the outrageously long odds might be a thing of the past with this team, 90/1 still seems like a strong price for me in what will be Head Coach Gary Gilmore's final season.
The bludgeoning offense loses two of their best players from 2023, Nick Lucky and Peyton Eeles (combined for 61 of the team's 91 stolen bases, and only 17 of 108 homers). However, they return two of their best players in Derek Bender and Caden Bodine, along with five other starters. With a couple transfers in Sam Antonacci and Corey Zientek joining the club, the offense should be able to continue to do damage with power and speed in 2024.
Like 2023, the question mark with this team comes on the mound. It was far from good last year with a team 6.25 ERA and 1.61 WHIP, but players like Riley Eikhoff and Darin Horn have to step up this season. Coastal brought in a lot of transfers/freshman to try and secure some real pitching in the rotation, but Horn will likely be asked to replace the best pitcher from a season ago in closer Teddy Sharkey.
As always, one of the biggest components of a team making a deep run is their postseason draw. If the offense continues to rake and the pitching improves, we'll see the Chants in June. It's a team I see making the College World Series in 2024.
Other CWS Contenders:
UC Santa Barbara +9000
Kansas State Wildcats +10000
Mississippi State Bulldogs +15000
