Is the College World Series single-elimination? Putting the CWS format under the microscope

The 2023 College World Series begins on Friday with eight teams battling it out in Omaha, Nebraska, for the chance to become the national champion. It can be confusing as the formats of each round differ.

The initial round this weekend is a four-team, double-elimination bracket. So, in order to be eliminated, a team would need to lose two games.

The College World Series finals pit the winners of the two double-elimination brackets in a best-of-three series. In order to become NCAA champion, the team needs to win twice in the finals.

What teams are fighting to win the 2023 College World Series?

There are eight teams remaining in the NCAA college baseball playoffs. To get this far, they needed to win a four-team, double-elimination regional round and a best-of-three super-regional matchup.

The programs that have made it to Omaha, Nebraska, are the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Florida Gators, Virginia Cavaliers, LSU Tigers, Stanford Cardinal, Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, TCU Horned Frogs and Tennessee Volunteers.

These teams are split into two four-team brackets. Florida, Virginia, Oral Roberts and TCU are in one bracket. LSU, Stanford, Tennessee and Wake Forest are in the other.

What team has the best chance of being crowned the 2023 College World Series champion?

Each team has a compelling case for winning the College World Series, but only one will hoist the trophy at the end of the tournament.

Wake Forest entered the postseason as the top seed and should not be taken likely. It makes sense that the Demon Deacons enter Omaha as the favorites heading into the bracket portion.

LSU, ranked No. 1 for most of the season, ranks second in the consensus odds as they have a lot of dominant players with Paul Skenes on the mound and Dylan Crews at the plate.

Wake Forest and LSU are going to be tough to match up against, but both of these teams are in the same bracket, and only one can make it from that bracket.

Looking at the other bracket, the Florida Gators are the favorite on that side. They have an incredible power hitter in Jac Caglianone to make the team go.

However, the odds can say a lot of things, but it only matters which team plays well. Just because the oddsmakers list the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles with the worst chance does not mean they are going to automatically lose as upsets are bound to happen this time of year.