College World Series 2024: Predictions, Top Prospects to Watch in Finals
College World Series 2024: Predictions, Top Prospects to Watch in Finals0 of 3
Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The SEC is guaranteed to win its fifth straight College World Series title.
The best conference in college baseball sent two teams to the best-of-three championship series in Omaha that begins on Saturday night.
The Tennessee Volunteers are the favorite to win the tittle. They entered the NCAA baseball tournament as the No. 1 seed and have looked every bit of the top team over the last few weeks.
The Texas A&M Aggies were one of the best teams in the SEC all season and landed the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament.
Each finalist went 3-0 in their respective brackets to reach the championship series in the minimum amount of games.
The championship series does not have the future No. 1 pick, like it did last season with Paul Skenes, but a handful of players on the two rosters will be chosen over the first two rounds of the 2024 MLB draft.
Tennessee Top Prospects1 of 3
Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Christian Moore
Christian Moore is widely regarded as Tennessee’s best pro prospect.
The leadoff hitter will likely be a first-round pick in the 2024 MLB draft, but where he lands is a mystery.
Moore has eight hits in Omaha, including a five-hit performance in the opening game against Florida State that the Vols won 12-11.
Moore provides power and speed from the top of the Vols order and he should be the catalyst of multiple rallies throughout the championship series.
Billy Amick
Billy Amick is considered a fringe first-round pick by McDaniel, who projected the Tennessee slugger at No. 32.
Amick is one of a few Tennessee sluggers who could land in the spots right after the first round, or be taken late on in the opening round.
Amick turned in a pair of two-hit games, both of which came against Florida State, during Tennessee’s run through its bracket in Omaha.
The power hitter may not get as many headlines as Moore from the leadoff spot and slugger Blake Burke in the No. 2 spot, but he is one of the most complete hitters you will see in the championship series.
Texas A&M Top Prospects2 of 3
Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Braden Montgomery
Texas A&M’s best pro prospect will not be competing in the championship series.
Braden Montgomery suffered a season-ending injury during the Aggies’ super regional victory over the Oregon Ducks.
The outfielder is a projected top-10 pick in most mock drafts. Reuter projected he would go to the Pittsburgh Pirates at No. 9, while McDaniel had him even higher to the Kansas City Royals at No. 6.
Montgomery would have been a difference-maker for the Aggies in the series, but instead, he will be watching from the dugout.
Ryan Prager
Ryan Prager is A&M’s next best prospect.
The left-handed pitcher will get the ball for Game 1 on Saturday.
Prager is currently projected to be a second-round pick by McDaniel, who has him at No. 45 in his latest mock draft.
Prager possesses an 8-1 record with a 3.57 ERA and 114 strikeouts.
He faced Tennessee earlier this season, but he only lasted 2.1 innings in the middle of the SEC tournament. He held the Vols to one earned run on three hits.
Prager will be counted on to go much longer in Game 1, and the more innings he lasts, the better it is for the Aggies to take the opener.
Prediction3 of 3
Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Tennessee 2, Texas A&M 0
Tennessee has been the best team in college baseball all season.
The Vols continued to prove that once they got to Omaha. They put 19 combined runs on Florida State in two games and tagged North Carolina for six runs in their other game in Omaha.
Tennessee’s bats have not slowed down and that will be a problem for the A&M pitching staff.
The Aggies gave up seven runs in their lone meeting with the Vols at the SEC tournament. Prager did well to hold the Vols in 2.1 innings, but the relief arms could not keep Tennessee at bay.
Texas A&M is at a lineup disadvantage without Montgomery and it has not produced a high volume of runs in Omaha, like Tennessee. A&M scored 14 runs over three games.
The Aggies’ pitching staff was fantastic against Kentucky and Florida in Omaha, but containing the Vols for multiple goals is a far tougher task.
