John’s (@johnny_omaha_)
Eight for Omaha
No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Oregon State, No. 4 Virginia Tech, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 6 Miami, No. 7 Oklahoma State, Virginia
Now that I type it out, I sure went with a lot of chalk. The bracket is a little lopsided in terms of which Regionals are toughest. Tennessee, Stanford, and Virginia Tech have some of the toughest two and/or three seeds but are also three of the four top seeds. I do like Virginia to expose ECU's lack of offense and then push past Texas.
Omaha Sleeper Pick
Give me Gonzaga. The Zags have one of the best pitching staffs in the country, led by likely first rounder Gabriel Hughes. Their first round matchup against Columbia won't be a cakewalk, but there are certainly tougher three seeds in the draw. If Gonzaga can muster a little offense, they will be very dangerous in a Regional and would likely be favored in a Super Regional.
Championship Series Pick
I'm taking Tennessee. Yes it's been since Miami in 1999 that a No. 1 overall seed won the national championship, but if anyone can break that curse, it's Tennessee. It's really difficult to poke any holes in the Volunteers. Their offense is deep and powerful, and their pitching staff is loaded with sub 4.00 ERA arms. Perhaps their ability to stop the run game is their biggest blemish. If Stanford can survive their challenging Regional (with Texas State and UC Santa Barbara), then I like the Cardinal's chances of making it to Omaha and the championship series. Vols in two.
Kyle’s (@kylemckelv)
Eight for Omaha
No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Oregon State, No. 4 Virginia Tech, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 11 Southern Miss, Virginia
I really don't think Omaha will have this much chalk, but it's so hard to pick against the top 8 seeds on their home fields. I agree with what John said about Virginia, but I also have Southern Miss and their deep pitching staff taking them to Omaha over a powerful LSU team and Miami in the Supers.
Omaha Sleeper Pick
UConn is a fun team that could make a run to Omaha. Starters Austin Peterson and Pat Gallagher set up the Huskies to possibly take down host Maryland in that regional. Their first round matchup with Wake Forest might be their biggest impediment because that offense is electric, but putting the Demon Deacons in the loser's bracket could help propel the Huskies to the CWS.
Championship Series Pick
I'm not sure how many more superlatives need to be said about this Tennessee team. They're the most likely team to win the whole thing. I picked them to beat Stanford in the final for the first 1 seed vs 2 seed final since that 1999 Tournament that Miami won as the #1 overall seed.
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