Ranking the 2021 College World Series Teams
#1 Vanderbilt
The defending College World Series champion was the first team to advance to the College World Series this year, and is easily one of the deepest teams in the country. They’re headlined by 2 of the best arms available in this year’s MLB Draft- Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, both of whom have a chance to go in the top 10. They both also have experience throwing no hitters against good competition. On offense they have one of the most exciting players in the country in true freshman Enrique Bradfield Jr., who is the leader in division 1 in stolen bases with 46 stolen bases in 60 games this year. Vandy has have one of the best shortstops in the country in Carter Young, who’s a talented switch hitter with a chance to stick at shortstop. He also has a good chance of going in the first round next year. This team has too much talent to give everyone their just due as are all the teams on this list but Vanderbilt is deep from top to bottom with a chance for multiple early round picks like Dominic Keegan and Isaiah Thomas, just to name two. There’s a definite reason why this team has been considered the best team over the past 2 seasons and that has a lot to do with Tim Corbin and his coaching staff.
#2 Tennessee
This team has been one of the best all season. They have a super deep lineup and their pitching is solid so they have all the talent necessary to be one of the last teams standing when all is said and done. Will they be able to shine under the bright lights of TD Ameritrade Park? We shall see. I like their chances as Tony Vitello is one of the top college baseball coaches in the country. Their ace is junior right handed pitcher Chad Dallas who is among the wins leaders in the entire country with 11. He struck out 12 of LSU’s batters over 6 innings and allowed one earned run in helping Tennessee win Game 1 of the Super Regionals. They have the best defensive shortstop in the SEC in Liam Spence who was also a first team All SEC player at the top of their lineup. But they also have big bats like All-SEC first team third baseman Jake Rucker who went 5 for 9 with 4 extra base hits including a multi home run game in game 2 which helped Tennessee make it to Omaha.
#3 Texas
This is the second college world series appearance for Texas under 2-time Big XII Coach of the Year David Pierce, and it has a chance to be the best. They earned the #2 seed in the College World Series tournament and haven’t disappointed thanks to a deep pitching rotation which includes Ty Madden, the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, who has a chance to go in the first half of the first round in this year’s MLB Draft. Madden helped Texas to win Game 1 of the Super Regional with 6.2 shutout innings while striking out 9 batters and Tristan Steven’s collected his 11th win in Game 2 as Texas advanced to the College World Series. They have 7 hitters that earned all Big XII honors giving them a very deep lineup.
#4 Arizona
This will be Arizona’s second trip under head coach Jay Johnson, who was named this year’s Pac-12 coach of the year. Their starting pitching is led by sophomore right handed pitcher Chase Silseth who was an all Pac-12 conference pitcher. Their strength is in their lineup that features 6 players that got all Pac-12 honors with their most exciting hitter being their leadoff hitter and center fielder Donta Williams, who went 8 for 14 with 4 extra base hits in the best of 3 Super Regional. Jacob Berry and Daniel Susac are 2 of the top freshman players in the country and Branden Boissiere also went off in the super regional going 10 for 15 in the series with 3 doubles and a 5 RBI game in the deciding game of the super regional with Ole Miss. Ryan Holgate is their top draft prospect.
#5 Mississippi State
Mississippi State has been one of the best programs in the country as they are one of only 2 teams to make it back to Omaha that were there in 2019. Head Chris Lemonis is among the best coaches in the country and they have the SEC Player of the Year in Tanner Allen, a left handed hitting outfielder that led the SEC in batting average at .387 and went 2 for 4 with a double and a homerun in the deciding game of the Super Regional against Notre Dame. Their centerfielder Rowdey Jordan, a 2nd Team All-SEC player, led the teams in runs scored and extra base hits at the Super Regional. Kamren James, their third baseman is one of the best third baseman in the country and he led them in hits going 5 for 12 at the Super Regionals. Logan Tanner is probably the top defensive catcher in Omaha at the moment and he shows toughness behind the plate and is a very good hitter- he homered twice at the Super Regionals. They also have really good pitching, with their top draft prospect being sophomore right hander Will Bednar. Their #2 starter junior left hander Christian MacLeod is another player with a chance to go in the early rounds this year plus they have an All-SEC 1st Team pitcher in their bullpen and one that can throw multiple innings at a time in sophomore right hander Landon Sims.
#6 NC State
It’s not always pretty with NC State but this team is super competitive thanks to head coach Elliott Avent and his staff, and they showed they’re capable of beating even the #1 team in the country to advance to the College World Series. This might be the hungriest and most confident team now that they’ve realized what they’re capable of.
Their most exciting arm is Evan Justice, their closer who is a left handed pitcher with a fastball that can touch the upper 90s. Starter Reid Johnston was a third team all ACC pitcher and freshman Sam Highfill earned the win in Game 2 of the Super Regionals with a solid 6 ⅓ innings over Arkansas. They are very strong up the middle with 3 players that could go early in this year’s draft in catcher Luca Tresh, shortstop Jose Torres, and center fielder Tyler McDonough but they also feature 2 other ACC all first team selections in left fielder Jonny Butler and designated hitter Terrell Tatum, also don’t sleep on Devonte Brown.
#7 Stanford
Stanford has one of the best college starting pitchers in the country in Brendan Beck who was both the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and a 2nd Team All-American. He led the Pac-12 in strikeouts and also had the most strikeouts in a season for a Stanford pitcher since Mark Appel. In Game 1 of the Super Regional in Lubbock he struck out 13 batters and earned the win. Alex Williams pitched a complete game shutout with 10 K’s as the pitching for Stanford earned them a trip to Omaha in 2 games on the road winning by a large margin twice over Texas Tech. Their best Hitter is Brock Jones, an impressive left-handed hitting sophomore that was an All-Pac 12 1st team outfielder. In Game 2 of the Super Regional he homered 3 times and drove in 6 runs.
#8 Virginia
Brian O’Connor is a college baseball legend that’s now made it to 5 College World Series, including one for 3 decades in a row (09′, 11′, 21′). This team was originally considered to be one of the top teams in the country in the pre-season polls, but they had an up and down season, though they now find themselves in Omaha. They have one of the best left handed college pitchers in the country and one that should go in the early rounds of the draft this year in Andrew Abbott, who was an All-ACC 1st Team selection and Virginia’s ace after moving from the bullpen to being a Friday starter this season. Senior right hander Griff McGarry stole the show in Game 2 with the Cavaliers facing elimination he threw 7 shutout innings allowing only 2 hits and striking out 10 batters. They also got a brilliant performance in relief in Game 3 from sophomore right hander Matt Wyatt who tossed 5.2 shutout innings to earn the deciding win in Game 3 of the Super Regional. Their offense is led by All-ACC third baseman Zack Gelof, an early round talent with a good feel for hitting from the right side. Kyle Teel was one of the best freshmen in the country this year and is an impressive hitter from the left side. They also have some talented hitters like Nick Kent and Alex Tappen farther down in their lineup which helps provide them with more depth than most lineups but at this point the question is will it all add up to enough?
