SEC Coaches Dish On Men’s College World Series Finals Matchup Between Florida, LSU

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OMAHA—The College World Series championship series is set. Beginning Saturday evening at Charles Schwab Field, Florida will take on LSU in a best-of-three series with the national championship on the line.

Florida swept through its bracket in Omaha, winning one-run games against Virginia (6-5), Oral Roberts (5-4) and TCU (3-2). The Gators are the fourth team in CWS history to win each of their first three games by one run and the first since Texas in 2002. Coach Kevin O’Sullivan is aiming to lead them to their second national title in six seasons after winning it for the first time in 2017.

LSU took the longer route to the finals, as it had to fight through the loser’s bracket after losing Monday night to Wake Forest. The Tigers bounced back to beat Tennessee, 5-0, and then take down the Demon Deacons on consecutive nights, first winning, 5-2, on Wednesday and then outlasting them 2-0 in an 11-inning classic Thursday. Coach Jay Johnson is looking to lead LSU to its first national championship since 2009 and its seventh all time, which would be the second most in the sport, trailing only Southern California.

The result is that for the third time in six seasons, two teams from the SEC will face off for the national championship. The previous instances were in 2021, when Mississippi State beat Vanderbilt in three games, and 2017 when Florida swept LSU. The conference also produced the two finalists in 2011 (South Carolina over Florida) and 1997 (LSU over Alabama).

The Tigers and Gators didn’t play each other this year, but as conference opponents they’re still plenty familiar with each other. To get a better feel for the matchup, Baseball America surveyed SEC head coaches and asked them to pick which team would win the national championship.

By a 7-2 margin, SEC coaches favor Florida over LSU this weekend.

Like many, the coaches noted that Florida’s pitching is in a better situation going into the championship series. By sweeping through the bracket, the Gators have been able to maintain their regular rotation of righthander Brandon Sproat, righthander Hurston Waldrep and lefthander Jac Caglianone. Sproat will actually have had one extra day of rest when he takes the mound Saturday for Game 1 and Waldrep will be on regular rest for Game 2. Caglianone would be pitching on four days rest in Game 3 if it comes to that.

Furthermore, Florida has played just once in the last five days and has had two days off to rest its bullpen. The Gators have used just three relievers—closer Brandon Neely, lefthander Cade Fisher and righthander Ryan Slater—in Omaha. They haven’t had to really get into their bullpen since regionals, as they used just four pitchers in super regionals.

“I would probably say Florida with the rested pitching staff,” one coach said.

LSU, meanwhile, played on four straight days before Friday’s off day. It’s already thrown All-American righthander Paul Skenes twice, including throwing 120 pitches Thursday against Wake. The Tigers have used nine of the 12 pitchers they brought to Omaha and will maintain that all-hands on deck mentality in the finals.

LSU is expected to turn to righthander Ty Floyd, its No. 2 starter, in Saturday’s opener. After that, it’s less clear. Lefthander Nate Ackenhausen threw a season-high 93 pitches and six scoreless innings Tuesday against Tennessee and could be in line to start Sunday on four days of rest. Lefthanders Javen Coleman and Griffin Herring could also possibly be options for that start or Monday’s if-necessary Game 3.

The extra rest is clearly significant for Florida’s pitching staff. However, recent history in Omaha says that it’s not that simple.

“It’s normal to think that the extra rest would be a slight edge to the Gators,” one coach said. “Recent outcomes, including last year, disagree.”

In each of the last five instances in the CWS when only one bracket played its “if-necessary game,” as was the case this year, the team that played the extra game went on to defeat the more rested team in the championship series. That streak goes back a decade, and the tournament format changed after 2021 to shorten the event by a day. However, Mississippi last year beat Oklahoma in this situation. Ole Miss used ace Dylan DeLucia to beat Arkansas in the if-necessary bracket final game, while Oklahoma had its rotation lined up for the finals. It didn’t matter, as the Rebels swept through the finals.

O’Sullivan said he’s happy that his bullpen comes into the series rested, but he wants to make sure the Gators are able to maintain their mentality through the off days.

“It puts me a little bit on edge, honestly,” he said. “Because what you don’t want your players to do is, off days, lose their edge. There have been plenty of teams who played on that Thursday game and went on to win this last series.

“So, it’s really our responsibility is to keep our players off edge. That’s going to be a huge message. The days off are fine, but you have to be able to turn the switch back on. Because LSU is coming off an incredible win last night, emotional win, that will help them be at the highest level are as far as feeling good about themselves going into Saturday’s game. And we sat back and watched.”

The pitching matchups and tournament schedule would seem to favor Florida. But it won’t be that simple. These are two high-powered offenses that aren’t lacking for star power. LSU is averaging 8.9 runs per game and is led by center fielder Dylan Crews, an All-American and the two-time SEC player of the year. Third baseman Tommy White hit the walkoff home run Thursday to send LSU to the championship series and first baseman Tre’ Morgan has been arguably LSU’s best position player in Omaha. But the lineup runs deep, with DH Cade Beloso, second baseman Gavin Dugas and right fielder Brayden Jobert all capable of changing the game with one swing.

Florida is averaging 7.9 runs per game and features the dynamic 1-2 punch of outfielder Wyatt Langford, who projects as a top-three draft pick next month, and Caglianone, Florida’s two-way superstar who is a Golden Spikes Award finalist. Shortstop Josh Rivera and catcher BT Riopelle have been excellent throughout the NCAA Tournament and the Gators have shown the ability to get contributions from throughout the roster, as it was reserve outfielder Michael Robertson who made the game-saving catch to beat TCU and advance to the finals.

So, which team has the better roster?

“At the time we played Florida, I thought they were the best team we played,” one coach said.

“Florida has been my pick since before it started,” another coach said.

“As we marched toward the end of the regular season, I felt that Florida was the most complete roster in the SEC,” one coach said. “How LSU has performed on the mound in Omaha has closed the gap for me.”

But it’s not about having more talent in a vacuum, it’s about how it plays over the course of three days this weekend.

“In baseball it’s very unique,” Johnson said. “It’s different than basketball and football. I think talent wins out in basketball and football more often. In baseball, it’s not always the team with the best players, it’s the team that plays the best that day.

“And as hard as it may seem to get anybody’s head around, it’s about tomorrow. Tomorrow’s the only thing that matters tomorrow.”

No matter who deserves to be the favorite going into the championship series, the weekend promises compelling baseball. Florida and LSU have star-studded rosters and at least a half-dozen players in the series will go on to be first-round draft picks. They are two of the sport’s biggest brands and best programs. After what has been a thrilling CWS, the tournament appears to be on its way to a fitting conclusion.