This article is part of our College Baseball Picks series.
2025 College World Series Betting Preview: Picks to win the CWS in Omaha this Year
Words can't describe the excitement I have now that my sport has returned. And on Valentine's Day? Johnny V about to send himself two dozen roses and a box of chocolates to celebrate the occasion. Picking a preseason College World Series winner for my money is the single hardest champion to pick. I've come close every year to locking it down outright, but I like my odds this year to get it done.
Baseball in general is the highest-variance sport out there, but when you factor in amateurs, the level of difficulty is off the charts. For the 2025 season, I've created different tiers that rank the likelihood that a certain program may be able to win. Writing this article so close to the season, a lot of value has been zapped on the teams I've been discussing for weeks, but it's still good to familiarize yourself with the thoroughbreds.
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College World Series Odds
- Tennessee (+700)
- LSU (+800)
- Texas A&M (+850)
- Virginia (+1200)
- Arkansas (+1500)
- North Carolina (+1800)
- Florida State (+2200)
- Florida (+2200)
- Oregon State (+2500)
- Wake Forest (+2800)
*odds via DraftKings
College World Series Winner Bets
Texas A&M Aggies +900 (FD)
You're probably muttering to yourself how you've seen a lot of Texas A&M across my preseason articles. And you'd be right. I've got nothing but love for the Aggies in 2025, who have assembled what's slated to be a super team down in College Station. The best price out there on them is 9/1, down from 11/1 for most of the last month plus.
The 2022 Tennessee Volunteers were arguably the best team ever assembled on a college diamond, even though they didn't even make it to Omaha. This Aggies team is drawing shades of that Vols team in terms of the talent and expectations coming into the season. The hope is they actually deliver.
Headlining my "Tier 1" teams, the Aggies return two of the top players in the country after narrowly fleeing to the transfer portal. 3B Gavin Grahovac, a likely top-five pick in 2026, was a monster a season ago with 23 homers, 16 doubles, a .298 average, and .986 OPS. CF Jace LaViolette, the expected top pick this summer, is my version of the college Matt Olson. Lava went nuclear last season with 29 homers, a .305 average, and 1.175 OPS. There's a good chance these two once again start the lineup and set the tone for a lineup that could push into the 180-homer total as a team.
First-year HC Michael Earley managed to bring in the all-time Ivy League home run hitter in UPenn's Wyatt Henseler (54 taters), Texas Tech phenom Gavin Kash (.300 avg, 15 homers, 17 doubles in '24), and a couple other big transfers in C Bear Harrison and 1B Matt Bergevin. The offense looks to have no weaknesses, which will cause a lot of headaches for opposing pitchers.
The lineup will apply so much pressure, and so will the pitching staff. Rolling with an all-lefty weekend rotation, the Aggies get back ace Ryan Prager after he was drafted in the 3rd round by the Angels last summer. His 9-1 record, 2.95 ERA and 124 K/20 BB ratio across 97.2 IP solidified him as one of the best pitchers in the country a season ago. Having a stud that gives you a chance to win every time out is invaluable, and in fact almost no team is able to win without a guy like him commanding the staff.
Justin Lamkin is slated to take a big jump in his junior season as the Saturday guy. Another strikeout guy, Lamkin mowed down 88 hitters (22 BB's) in 65.2 IP in '24. And while his 5.21 ERA was way too high, his dazzling 2.54 SIERA implies he was unlucky and is due for a big season.
Myles Patton coming over from Long Beach State is expected to be the Sunday guy. His 3.26 ERA, 85 K/24 BB in 66.1 IP and .216 OBA point to a great candidate to step up for this Aggie rotation. With at least four strong bullpen arms, this Aggies pitching is talented and deep, a virtual must for teams that want to make that run.
The only question about this group is will they exceed those expectations? We've seen juggernauts fail on the big stage before. Honestly, they're head and shoulders above everybody else right now, and I'm all in on this team in a revenge year after losing to Tennessee in the CWS Finals.
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LSU Tigers +850 (FD)
The second team in the "Tier 1" has to be the LSU Tigers, the Bayou Bombers. The 2023 National Champions were this close in what was supposed to be a rebuild season in 2024. Just getting edged out in a wild UNC regional, LSU has improved immeasurably ahead of the 2025 season and are ready for another title run.
I do apologize that some of you will basically be reading the same stuff across several of my articles, but that's just how it goes.
Bringing in three of the top 10 freshmen in the 2027 draft class, the Tigers are set up with a great mix of young talent and stocked veterans for their loaded roster.
I am curious about how their lineup and rotation will shake out with the surplus of studs they have. It's a question I'm sure will be answered after the first few weeks of the season.
The offense is going to be disgusting. They brought in a veteran stalwart catcher from Indiana State in Luis Hernandez (23 homers, .359 avg). A stud in Daniel Dickinson from Utah Valley (18 homers, 32 stolen bases, and a .367 avg). Dalton Beck came over from Incarnate Word (.377 avg, 18 homers).
That's in addition to Jared "Bear" Jones and his 28 homers last season, who may be a first-rounder this summer. As well as Steven "Monster" Milam, who was a huge late-season catalyst (.326 average, 12 doubles). That doesn't include big-time freshman OF Derek Curiel (#1 OF in CA) who batted .388 in the Fall. This only covers a little more than half of LSU's powerful and deep offense.
The pitching is nearly brand new. They brought in Anthony Eyanson (85 K/24 BB, 3.07 ERA in 82 IP at UC San Diego) and Zac Cowan (124 K/29 BB, 3.60 ERA in 110 IP at Wofford) to help lock down part of the rotation. Punchout artist Kade Anderson returns from a solid 59 K in 38.1 IP in 2024.
And my personal favorite, Chase Shores is making his long-awaited return from Tommy John two years ago. Shores is the guy I really love. I think if he fixes some of the command issues he had, he could be the first arm off the board this summer. I'm not going to say his rise will be exactly like what Paul Skenes was when he came over from Air Force, but I believe there could be a similar type of trajectory from virtual unknown to superstar. That doesn't even mention freshman phenom William Schmidt, who's a real threat to be top-five in 2027.
LSU's pitching is easily eight arms deep this year, which was one of the big catalysts that helped them win it all in 2023. There's so much talent and depth on both sides of the ball that once the Tigers figure out their formula, they will be one of the best teams in the country.
Like the Aggies, LSU has drawn a lot of love from early bird bettors. There was 12/1 on them less than a month ago, but everybody has them below 10/1. As a popular program, there's going to be tons of action on them all year, but don't let that deter you. This group is for real.
Virginia Cavaliers +1200 (DK)
UVA rounds out my "Tier 1" of teams I'm betting this season. Tennessee is the fourth team in that tier, but I'm holding off on betting for a repeat champion.
As is the case with Texas A&M, the lineup will threaten as the nation's best with virtually no weaknesses 1-9. UVA may not have a hitter that bats below .300, making it a brutal task for opposing pitchers.
You'll read more about my Golden Spikes candidate, Henry Ford, in the article that highlights that award. He went nuts as a freshman (.336 avg, 17 homers). As a draft-eligible sophomore, he'll hear his name called very early in July. C Jacob Ference is one of the top catchers in the country (.350 avg, 17 homers). Henry Godbout and Harrison Didawick are also monster contributors at the top of the lineup. The big pickup from the portal was Juco's Chris Arroyo who had 19 taters, a .403 average, and a 3.53 ERA a season ago. With the offense UVA has, they'll be ranking top 10 in virtually every meaningful category like they did last season.
The pitching was always the issue of this team that handicapped them from making it even further. This year HC Brian O'Connor believes he has his best pitching in a long time. Junior LHP Evan Blanco starred in the Omaha run last season (3.62 ERA, 99 K/27 BB in 99.1 IP), so he'll command the Friday night role.
Blanco is slated to miss the first weekend of action, but the team expects he'll be good to go for Week 2. Jack O'Connor returns after missing most of 2024 with injury. Arroyo figures to slot in as a Sunday guy. The bullpen is also pretty deep, especially since the Cavs brought in two freshman southpaws in Tomas Valincius and William Kirk, both were the #1 LHP in their respective states.
UVA has always been a team I never really bought because of the lack of pitching, but this is a different team. Because of the balance on both sides of the ball, I believe UVA has as good of a chance as anybody. There were some crazy numbers on them a few weeks ago in the 25/1-24/1 range, but those got bet down aggressively. Now 12/1 is the best you can find, so I would grab it before it gets cut even more.
