The Big Ten will finally win the College World Series

      I love college baseball.  I realize the level of talent is not that of the Major Leagues nor even Double A ball in the minor leagues.  But I really enjoy the fact that everybody is playing for their school on the front of the jersey.  And as a Purdue graduate, I of course really love Big Ten Baseball.  However, the Big Ten conference has not won a college world series since 1962 (Michigan).  I am an old man, and that was 5 years before I was born.

     Conference re-alignment has done more for Big Ten baseball than probably any other sport.  By adding Oregon, UCLA, and USC to the baseball conference, it has made the whole conference more competitive nationally.  The SEC is still the dominate conference in college baseball, evident by 107 players drafted last year in the MLB draft compared to 39 in the Big Ten, however those numbers gap is closing.  Teams used to be only allowed 11 and 1/2 Scholarships for baseball but now get 32.  This means programs should be able to compete by keeping young talent from transferring.  

     My pick to win the 2026 College Baseball World series is UCLA.  They return almost their entire roster from last season, and Roch Chowolsky is the best player in the country.  LSU lost its top three players in Kade Anderson, Anthony Eyanson, and Jared Jones.  They will be great again, but replacing that is difficult.  Coach Brian O'Connor arrives at Mississippi State after a hall of fame career at Virginia.  He has brought his talent with him to Starksville, and they were already loaded.  My surprise team is going to be South Carolina.  Second year coach Paul Mainieri struggled last year, but he has dominated the portal and has a bunch of 23-24 year old men.  Mainieri has won at Notre Dame and LSU, and I expect a big jump this year.  

     I should let you know that my predictions usually fail.  But this is how I see it in 2026