Oklahoma Sooners Men's College World Series Preview: What You Need to Know

The road to the Men's College World Series has been beyond thrilling for Sooner fans. From Dayton Tockey's mother getting air time on national television, to seeing countless Sooner home runs, it's been anything but disappointing. Not only that, but Oklahoma advanced by defeating three conference champions: The Citadel (Southern Conference), Georgia Tech (ACC), and Kansas (Big 12). 

Now comes the toughest test of the whole season, the eight team field in Omaha. While the Sooners arguably have the tougher half of the bracket, they are very familiar with the powerhouses in their path. Five of the eight teams (including Oklahoma) are from the SEC. The other three squads on Oklahoma's side of the bracket are SEC foes. 

Oklahoma will first have to go through No. 7 seed Alabama this Saturday. The Crimson Tide won the regular season series against Oklahoma earlier this season. Bryce Fowler and Brady Neal were the key contributors in Alabama's win in the rubber match against the Sooners. 

With how solid the pitching staff has looked the past few games for Oklahoma, the Sooners have a huge chance to redeem themselves against the Alabama batting lineup. 

In the two super regional games against Kansas, the Sooner pitching staff as a whole only gave up three runs on eight hits and recorded 17 strikeouts.

If the Sooners can also get the bats going early like they have been, it will give the defense more breathing room and less pressure. This especially goes for batters like Tockey, Harris, and Lachance. If those three can stay consistent along with the pitching staff, this could be the Sooners' first national championship since 1994.

The winner of Oklahoma-Alabama will face the winner of Texas-Georgia. The Sooners need to win the first two matchups in order to advance to the semifinals. If not, they will have to battle through the losers bracket and ultimately defeat the 2-0 team twice in the semifinals to advance to the finals. The finals will be a best-of-three series between the last two teams standing.  

Meet The Teams: 

Troy Trojans 

Location: Troy, Alabama

Record: 38-30 (17-13 Sun Belt)

Head Coach: Skylar Meade (fifth season)

MCWS appearances: First appearance 

How they got to Omaha: Won the Gainesville Regional (Hosted by No. 8 Florida); Won the Troy Super Regional over Little Rock 

No. 16 West Virginia Mountaineers

Location: Morgantown, West Virginia

Record: 45-15 (21-9 Big 12)

Head Coach: Steve Sabins (second season)

MCWS appearances: First appearance 

How they got to Omaha: Won the Morgantown Regional (Hosted by West Virginia); Won the Morgantown Super Regional over Cal Poly 

Ole Miss Rebels

Location: Oxford, Mississippi

Record: 41-21 (15-15 SEC) 

Head Coach: Mike Bianco (26th season)

MCWS appearances: Seventh appearance (2022 National Champions)

How they got to Omaha: Won the Lincoln Regional (Hosted by No. 13 Nebraska); Won the Auburn Super Regional over No. 4 Auburn

No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels

Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Record: 50-12-1 (22-8 ACC)

Head Coach: Scott Forbes (sixth season)

MCWS appearances: 13th appearance 

How they got to Omaha: Won the Chapel Hill Regional (Hosted by North Carolina); Won the Chapel Hill Super Regional over USC

Oklahoma Sooners

Location: Norman, Oklahoma 

Record: 38-22 (14-16 SEC)

Head Coach: Skip Johnson (ninth season)

MCWS appearances: 12th appearance (National Champions in 1951 and 1994)

How they got to Omaha: Won the Atlanta Regional (Hosted by No. 2 Georgia Tech); Won the Lawrence Super Regional over No. 15 Kansas 

No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide

Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama 

Record: 42-19 (18-12 SEC) 

Head Coach: Rob Vaughn (third season)

MCWS appearances: Sixth appearance

How they got to Omaha: Won the Tuscaloosa Regional (Hosted by Alabama); Won the Tuscaloosa Super Regional over St. John's 

No. 6 Texas Longhorns

Location: Austin, Texas 

Record: 45-13 (19-10 SEC)

Head Coach: Jim Schlossnagle (second season)

MCWS appearances: 39th appearance (National Champions in 1949, 1950, 1975, 1983, 2002, and 2005)

How they got to Omaha: Won the Austin Regional (hosted by Texas); Won the Austin Super Regional over No. 11 Oregon

No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs

Location: Athens, Georgia 

Record: 51-12 (23-7 SEC)

Head Coach: Wes Johnson (third season)

MCWS appearances: Seven appearances (1990 National Champions)

How they got to Omaha: Won the Athens Regional (Hosted by Georgia); Won the Athens Super Regional over No. 14 Mississippi State

THE SCHEDULE (ALL GAMES ARE ON ESPN): DOUBLE ELIMINATION

Top half of the bracket: Troy, No. 16 West Virginia, Ole Miss, No. 5 North Carolina

Bottom half of the bracket: Oklahoma, No. 7 Alabama, No. 6 Texas, No. 3 Georgia  

You can also view the bracket here.

Game 1: Friday, June 12: Troy vs No. 16 West Virginia, 1:00 p.m. CT 

Game 2: Friday, June 12: Ole Miss vs No. 5 North Carolina, 6:00 p.m. CT

Game 3: Saturday, June 13: Oklahoma vs No. 7 Alabama, 2:00 p.m. CT

Game 4: Saturday, June 13: No. 6 Texas vs No. 3 Georgia, 7:00 p.m. CT

Game 5: Sunday, June 14: Loser Game 1 vs Loser Game 2, 1:00 p.m. CT

Game 6: Sunday, June 14: Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2, 6:00 p.m. CT

Game 7: Monday, June 15: Loser Game 3 vs Loser Game 4, 1:00 p.m. CT

Game 8: Monday, June 15: Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 4, 6:00 p.m. CT

Game 9: Tuesday, June 16: Winner Game 5 vs Loser Game 6, 1:00 p.m. CT

Game 10: Tuesday, June 16: Winner Game 7 vs Loser Game 8, 7:00 p.m. CT

Game 11: Wednesday, June 17: Winner Game 6 vs Winner Game 9, 1:00 p.m. CT (if necessary game on June 18)

Game 12: Wednesday, June 17: Winner Game 8 vs Winner Game 10, 6:00 p.m. CT (if necessary game on June 18)

Championship series (Best of 3 games):

Game 1: Saturday, June 20, 7:00 p.m. CT

Game 2: Sunday, June 21, 1:30 p.m. CT

Game 3: Monday, June 22, 6:00 p.m. CT