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A view of "The Road To Omaha" statue outside Charles Schwab Field at the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship on June 24, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska. Peter Aiken/Getty Images
March Madness normally has a Cinderella, but the College World Series will also have one this year as the Murray State baseball team put on the glass slipper and will make the program’s first appearance.
The annual tournament in Omaha, Nebraska, will feature plenty of former champions such as Arkansas, Coastal Carolina, Louisville, LSU, Oregon State, and UCLA. With Coastal Carolina being a mid major, the Murray State Racers know well that Cinderella taking the throne in Omaha is realistic.
“It’s a veteran bunch,” Racers head coach Dan Skirka told reporters on June 12. “And to be honest with you … that’s something I learned in my head coach journey … is to prepare these guys to be leaders, right?”
Murray State (44–15)—located in Murray, Kentucky—upset Duke 5–4 in the Durham, North Carolina, Super Regional on Monday to advance. It thwarted the Blue Devils’ hopes of returning to the CWS for the first time since 1961.
The Racers will open against UCLA (47–16) on Saturday. Murray State isn’t a stranger to the Power 5 conferences, having chalked up wins over Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss twice, and Duke twice this season.
Racers sophomore Dom Decker is a strong hitter at .361 with 48 RBI and 21 extra-base hits. Ace pitcher Nic Shutte (8–4) has 94 strikeouts in 91 innings pitched.
They’re both just part of the bigger picture for a team that’s found a way to win. Jonathan Hogart was the big hero at the plate against Duke with two home runs, and pitcher Graham Kellham stepped up with four strikeouts over 2 ⅔ innings for the victory.
“And to be honest with you, our process hasn’t changed [throughout the season],” Skirka said.
UCLA dominated its Super Regional with a 5–2 and 7–0 sweep of UT-San Antonio on June 7-8. The Bruins have yet to lose in the postseason.
Fresh off a first season in the Big Ten, the Bruins will be the lone team for the conference in the CWS. Ironically, the dormant Pac-12 has three former teams in the field with the Bruins, OSU Beavers, and Arizona. Only the SEC sent multiple teams with Arkansas and LSU.
Friday’s first game will have a deja vu moment as Arizona faces Coastal Carolina in a rematch of the 2016 championship series, when the Chanticleers beat the Wildcats. Coastal Carolina has a 23-game winning streak led by switch-hitting catcher Caden Bodine. Arizona can’t be ignored with outfielder Brendan Summerhill, who is a top-20 MLB Draft prospect.
While the Chanticleers are back for the first time since their title run, that’s also the case for OSU, LSU, and UCLA. The Beavers last won it all in 2018, the Tigers won it in 2023, and the Bruins ended a 12-year tourney drought with a return for the first time since a 2013 title.
OSU’s 6-foot-5 shortstop Avia Arquette will truly stand out. The top MLB prospect has a .345 average and 18 home runs this season.
LSU also has a top prospect in pitcher Kade Anderson, who has a 3.58 ERA and 163 strikeouts this season. The Tigers have a loaded roster with pitcher Anthony Eyanson, second baseman Daniel Dickinson, pitcher Chase Shores, and first baseman Jared Jones—all of whom are top 100 MLB Draft prospects.
Arkansas has the SEC Player of the Year in shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, who has a .348 average, 20 home runs, and 64 RBIs this season. Aloy is considered a top-25 MLB Draft prospect.
Louisville has one of the best pitchers to watch in the eight-team field: Patrick Forbes, who had 149 strikeouts and is considered a top-40 MLB prospect.
OSU will have to get past Forbes and Louisville on Friday to stay on the winners’ side of the bracket. Arkansas and LSU will go at it in an all-SEC matchup on Saturday, and the winner will get the UCLA-Murray State winner.
The CWS runs from June 21 through June 23 with the three-game championship series.
Matthew Davis is an experienced, award-winning journalist who has covered major professional and college sports for years. His writing has appeared on Heavy, the Star Tribune, and The Catholic Spirit. He has a degree in mass communication from North Dakota State University.
