OMAHA, Neb. (AP) 鈥� A look at the eight teams competing in the , which starts Friday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. (Capsules in order of CWS opening games. Coaches鈥� records through super regionals):
Troy (38-30)
Coach: Skylar Meade (186-119 in 5 years at Troy and overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Gainesville regional: lost to Miami 10-5, beat Rider 15-7, beat Miami 9-6, beat Florida 16-11, beat Florida 10-2. Won Troy super regional: beat Little Rock 12-2, beat Little Rock 7-2.
2026 record vs. CWS teams: 2-2 (1-1 vs. Georgia, 1-1 vs. Alabama).
Last CWS appearance: First.
All-time record in CWS: 0-0.
Meet the Trojans: C Jimmy Janicki (.341, 19 HRs, 85 RBIs), 1B Blake Cavill (.279, 13, 50), 2B Sean Darnell (.249, 4, 45), SS Aaron Piasecki (.346, 10, 48), 3B Josh Pyne (.291, 10, 37), LF Drew Nelson (.307, 6, 49), CF Steve Meier (.321, 9, 44), RF Houston Markham (.324, 3, 12), DH Jabe Boroff (.264, 11, 32). Starting pitchers: LHP Benjamin Stubbs (6-3, 4.93 ERA), RHP Tommy Egan (6-5, 5.38), LHP Hayden Smith (4-0, 2.94). Relievers: RHP Noah Thigpen (0-5, 6.29), LHP Zach Crotchfelt (7-2, 3.50), RHP Matt Dill (4-2, 5.50), RHP Dylan Alonso (4-3, 4.63), RHP Cooper Ellingworth (2-4, 6.15)
MLB alumni: Danny Cox, Clint Robinson, Mike Rivera, Brandon Lockridge, Chase Whitley, Mike Perez.
Short hops: Troy is the third Sun Belt Conference team to reach the CWS, joining 2000 Louisiana and 2025 Coastal Carolina. … First 30-loss team to reach the CWS. One of last four at-large teams selected for NCAA Tournament. … Pyne’s 81 career doubles are among in Division I among active players. … Boroff, who entered the tournament batting .185, is batting a team-best .462 and has hit six of his 11 homers in the postseason. … Six-game win streak is Trojans’ longest of the season.
Quotable: 鈥淚t鈥檚 what you put everything into, everything you do you do for this. You don鈥檛 sleep, you don鈥檛 stop thinking about it. We have a lot of work to do and we will get to it, but I think that last out (in super regionals) was the first time my mind has taken a breath in years.鈥� 鈥� Meade.
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West Virginia (45-15)
Coach: Steve Sabins (89-31 in 2 years at West Virginia and overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Morgantown regional: beat Binghamton 10-1, lost to Kentucky 11-9, beat Wake Forest 10-5, beat Kentucky 11-9, beat Kentucky 6-5. Won Morgantown super regional: beat Cal Poly 12-2, beat Cal Poly 17-1.
2026 record vs. CWS teams: 0-0.
Last CWS appearance: First.
All-time record in CWS: 0-0.
Meet the Mountaineers: C Gavin Kelly (.384, 17 HRs, 57 RBIs) or Matthew Graveline (.293, 6, 36), 1B Armani Guzman (.312, 1, 41), 2B Brodie Kresser (.298, 2, 33), SS Matt Ineich (.296, 4, 35), 3B Tyrus Hall (.278, 7, 34), LF Matthew Graveline or Brock Wills (.280, 2, 23), CF Paul Schoenfeld (.342, 4, 50), RF Wills or Guzman, DH Sean Smith (.320, 9, 53). Starting pitchers: LHP Maxx Yehl (9-2, 2.10 ERA), RHP Chansen Cole (10-1, 2.85), RHP Dawson Montesa (5-5, 5.78). Relievers: RHP Ian Korn (5-1, 3.07), RHP Reese Bassinger (4-3, 3.23), RHP Carson Estridge (4-0, 3.27), RHP David Hagen (4-1, 3.48), LHP Joshua Surigao (0-0, 3.60), LHP Ben McDougal (1-0, 3.65).
MLB alumni: JJ Wetherholt, Victor Scott, Michael Grove, Alek Manoah, Ryan McBroom, John Means, David Carpenter, Joe Hudson.
Short hops: Mountaineers鈥� 45 wins are a program record. … Outscored Cal Poly 29-3 in two super regional games and averaging 10.7 runs per game in NCAA Tournament. … Staff ERA of 3.79 is best among CWS teams. … They鈥檝e drawn 47 walks over seven regional and super regional games, most in the tournament. … Guzman, who was batting .290 entering the tournament, is batting a team-best .438 through regionals and super regionals. … Kelly is team’s season leader in batting average (.384) and home runs (17). … Cole (106) and Yehl (105) have combined for 211 strikeouts.
Quotable: 鈥淢ountaineers are going to Omaha. Hundred and thirty-five years in the making, so pretty special to be part of something that鈥檚 never been done in history before.鈥� 鈥� Sabins.
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Mississippi (41-21)
Coach: Mike Bianco (990-585-1 in 26 years at Mississippi, 1,090-656-1 in 29 seasons overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Lincoln regional: beat Arizona State 7-6, 14 innings, beat Nebraska 6-3, beat Arizona State 5-4, 10 innings. Won Auburn super regional: beat Auburn 6-4, beat Auburn 5-3.
2026 record vs. CWS teams: 3-6 (1-2 vs. Texas, 1-2 vs. Georgia, 1-2 vs. Alabama).
Last CWS appearance: 2022 (won national title in 2022).
All-time record in CWS: 10-11 in 6 appearances.
Meet the Rebels: C Austin Fawley (.233, 13 HRs, 39 RBIs), 1B Will Furniss (.311, 8, 56), 2B Dom Decker (.272, 10, 33), SS Owen Paino (.246, 5, 24), 3B Judd Utermark (.312, 22, 53), LF Brayden Randle (.253, 3, 21), CF Hayden Federico (.294, 4, 28), RF Tristan Bissetta (.277, 23, 61), DH Collin Reuter (.259, 7, 38). Starting pitchers: LHP Hunter Elliott (5-3, 5.15 ERA), RHP Taylor Rabe (5-3, 3.71), RHP Cade Townsend (5-3, 3.94). Relievers: RHP Hudson Calhoun (5-3, 3.69), RHP JP Robertson (5-1, 4.04), RHP Landon Waters (0-1, 3.13), LHP Wil Libbert (2-2, 6.32), RHP Owen Kelly (3-2, 4.25), LHP Walker Hooks (3-1, 2.43, 9 saves).
MLB alumni: Don Kessinger, Jeff Fassero, Lance Lynn, Mike Mayers, Drew Pomeranz, David Dellucci, Bobby Kielty, Matt Tolbert, Chris Coghlan, Jeff Calhoun, Ryan Rolison, James McArthur, Tim Elko.
Short hops: First CWS appearance since 2022 team won national championship. … Bianco’s third CWS appearance with Rebels, tying Tom Swayze for school record. … Randle, batting .225 entering regionals, is 8 of 16 with five RBIs in five tournament games. … Bissetta’s 23 homers are third in SEC. … Rabe is third nationally with an 8.91-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and he has struck out 17 over his last 13 innings. … Rebels finished ninth in the SEC standings at 15-15.
Quotable: 鈥淭heir road to this point hasn鈥檛 always been easy. But man, the way they鈥檝e hung in there, stuck by one another early on. Just great teammates, then developed into great leaders and the faces of the program.” 鈥� Bianco.
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North Carolina (50-12-1)
Coach: Scott Forbes (250-116-1 in 6 years at North Carolina and overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Chapel Hill regional: beat VCU 8-0, beat East Carolina 7-5, beat East Carolina 9-3. Won Chapel Hill super regional: lost to USC 9-5, beat USC 4-0, beat USC 4-3.
2026 record vs. CWS teams: 0-0.
Last CWS appearance: 2024.
All-time record in CWS: 19-25 in 12 appearances.
Meet the Tar Heels: C Colin Hynek (.271, 9 HRs, 55 RBIs), 1B Erik Paulsen (.296, 11, 54), 2B Gavin Gallaher (.285, 12,54), SS Jake Schaffner (.358, 6, 46), 3B Cooper Nicholson (.262, 16, 48), LF Rom Kellis V (.306, 4, 19), CF Owen Hull (.390, 7, 81), RF Carter French (.232, 0, 13), DH Macon Winslow (.293, 10, 57). Starting pitchers: RHP Ryan Lynch (5-4, 4.22 ERA), RHP Jason DeCaro (11-2, 2.28), RHP Caden Glauber (10-0, 2.20), LHP Folger Boaz (3-3, 7.03). Relievers: LHP Jackson Rose (4-0, 2.35), RHP Walker McDuffie (8-3, 3.44, 6 saves), RHP Matthew Matthijs (3-0, 5.34), RHP Cameron Padgett (0-0, 6.56).
MLB alumni: Michael Busch, Cooper Criswell, Tim Federowicz, Zac Gallen, Matt Harvey, Chris Iannetta, Andrew Miller, Colin Moran, Mike Morin, Ryder Ryan, Kyle Seager, Jacob Stallings, Trent Thornton, Adam Warren.
Short hops: Hull matched the national season high for doubles in a game with his fourth against USC, giving the Tar Heels a 4-3 walk-off win to wrap up the super regional. Hull has 24 doubles for the season. … Super regional-clinching win over USC was Forbes’ 250th victory at North Carolina. … Ninth CWS appearance since 2006, tied for most. … .982 team fielding percentage is best in the CWS field and 56 double plays are most.
Quotable: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not done yet. We got a lot more baseball left to play.鈥� 鈥� French.
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Oklahoma (38-22)
Coach: Skip Johnson (305-197 in 9 years at Oklahoma and overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Atlanta regional: beat The Citadel 8-3, lost to Georgia Tech 9-3, beat The Citadel 15-5, beat Georgia Tech 15-8, beat Georgia Tech 8-7, 10 innings. Won Lawrence super regional: beat Kansas 8-1, beat Kansas 13-2.
2026 record vs. CWS teams: 1-5 (0-3 vs. Texas, 1-2 vs. Alabama).
Last CWS appearance: 2022.
All-time record in CWS: 18-18 in 11 appearances (won national titles in 1951, 1994).
Meet the Sooners: C Deiten Lachance (.332, 15 HRs, 62 RBIs), 1B Dayton Tockey (.259, 8, 22), 2B Kyle Branch (.225, 3, 21), SS Jaxon Willits (.290, 6, 48), 3B Camden Johnson (.309, 9, 47), LF Brendan Brock (.293, 12, 52), CF Jason Walk (.269, 4, 22), RF Dasan Harris (.362, 4, 23), DH Trey Gambill (.293, 10, 35). Starting pitchers: LHP Cord Rager (5-3, 5.20 ERA), RHP Xander Mercurius (0-2, 5.82), LHP Cameron Johnson (6-1, 4.36). Relievers: RHP Nick Wesloski (1-1, 4.03), LHP Nate Smithburg (2-0, 3.06), RHP Jason Bodin (5-1, 5.45), RHP Jackson Cleveland (3-2, 5.68), RHP Reid Hensley (1-0, 5.20), RHP Michael Catalano (3-4, 7.02), RHP Mason Bixby (2-0, 6.75), LHP Gavyn Jones (1-0, 5.18).
MLB alumni: Mickey Hatcher, Greg Norton, Greg Dobbs, Jason Bartlett, Joe Simpson, Bobby Witt, Danny Jackson, Mark Redman, Bob Shirley, Sheldon Neuse, Jack Mayfield, Steve Okert, Jon Gray, Chase Anderson, Burch Smith.
Short hops: Sooners have hit 18 homers and scored 70 runs over seven NCAA Tournament games. … Tockey has homered six times in nine games since May 16, including five in the tournament. He has driven in 11 runs over the last nine games after not recording an RBI over his previous 19 games. … All 15 of Lachance鈥檚 homers have come in the last 28 games. … OU is 17-0 when scoring at least 10 runs. … .350 team batting average in NCAA Tournament is best in CWS field.
Quotable: 鈥淲here does it go from here? I don鈥檛 know. But I can tell you this: We鈥檒l go up there and fight and claw. We went through a lot of adversity all year long, and (our players) fought through it and never wavered, and kept battling and kept battling and kept battling.鈥� 鈥� Johnson.
Alabama (42-19)
Coach: Rob Vaughn (116-61 in 3 years at Alabama, 299-178 in 9 seasons overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Tuscaloosa regional: beat Alabama State 21-3, beat South Carolina Upstate 7-5, beat Oklahoma State 9-7, 11 innings. Won Tuscaloosa super regional: beat St. John鈥檚 8-0, beat St. John鈥檚 7-2.
2026 record vs. CWS teams: 6-5 (1-1 vs. Troy, 2-1 vs. Oklahoma, 1-2 vs. Texas, 2-1 vs. Mississippi).
Last CWS appearance: 1999.
All-time record in CWS: 11-10 in 5 appearances.
Meet the Crimson Tide: C Brady Neal (.330, 10 HRs, 50 RBIs), 1B Luke Vaughn (.217, 9, 30), 2B Brennan Holt (.240, 2, 23), SS Justin Lebron (.282, 16, 48), 3B Jason Torres (.236, 8, 47), LF Eric Hines (.296, 9, 24), CF Bryce Fowler (.320, 6, 40), RF Peyton Steele (.221, 2, 24), DH John Lemm (.253, 9, 33). Starting pitchers: RHP Tyler Fay (11-4, 4.37 ERA), LHP Zane Adams (7-4, 4.04), RHP Myles Upchurch (8-3, 3.57). Relievers: LHP Ashton Crowther (2-2, 3.12), LHP Matthew Heiberger (3-2, 3.05), LHP Evan Steckmesser (1-0, 5.40), RHP Hagan Banks (2-0, 2.82, 6 saves), RHP JT Blackwood (1-1, 3.86), RHP Sam Mitchell (1-1, 6.21).
MLB alumni: Joe Sewell, Dave Magadan, Alex Avila, Butch Hobson, Dustan Mohr, Dave Robertson, Al Worthington, Tommy Hunter, Frank Lary, Greg Hibbard, Wade LeBlanc, Lance Cormier.
Short hops: Lebron has 41 steals in 42 attempts and is one behind school record holder G.W. Keller, who had 42 steals in 1999. … The Tide swept four SEC regular-season series, most since 2002. … on March 20 against Florida. Fay鈥檚 hometown is Doniphan, Nebraska, 150 miles from Charles Schwab Field. … Team鈥檚 2.30 ERA in NCAA Tournament is best in CWS field. … Tide averaged 10.4 runs per game in regionals and super regionals after averaging 6.43 up to that point.
Quotable: 鈥淲hat a day, what a year, what a season, man. Twenty-seven years in the making, I couldn鈥檛 think of a better group to be able to kick that door down.鈥� 鈥� Vaughn.
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Texas (45-13)
Coach: Jim Schlossnagle (89-27 in 2 years at Texas, 1,035-482 in 25 seasons overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Austin regional: beat Holy Cross 19-1, beat Tarleton State 16-2, beat UC Santa Barbara 6-4. Won Austin super regional: beat Oregon 11-3, beat Oregon 6-5.
2026 record vs. CWS teams: 7-2 (2-1 vs. Mississippi, 3-0 vs. Oklahoma, 2-1 vs. Alabama).
Last CWS appearance: 2022.
All-time record in CWS: 88-65 in 38 appearances (won national titles in 1949, 1950, 1975, 1983, 2002, 2005).
Meet the Longhorns: C Carson Tinney (.333, 22 HRs, 58 RBIs), 1B Ashton Larson (.280, 1, 16), 2B Temo Becerra (.318, 6, 42), SS Adrian Rodriguez (.306, 4, 40), 3B Casey Borba (.269, 18, 57), LF Anthony Pack Jr. (.359, 11, 52), CF Dariyan Pendergrass (.222, 0, 6), RF Aiden Robbins (.342, 24, 64), DH Ethan Mendoza (.269, 10, 47). Starting pitchers: LHP Dylan Volantis (10-1, 2.03 ERA), RHP Ruger Riojas (5-2, 4.04), LHP Luke Harrison (6-3, 4.29). Relievers: LHP Ethan Walker (1-1, 2.65), RHP Brody Walls (2-0, 5.76), RHP Thomas Burns (2-0, 5.64), RHP Sam Cozart (6-0, 1.65, 9 saves), RHP Brett Crossland (1-2, 3.57), RHP Max Grubbs (2-0, 5.52), RHP Cody Howard (1-1, 9.22).
MLB alumni: Burt Hooton, Keith Moreland, Ron Gardenhire, Spike Owen, Roger Clemens, Calvin Schiraldi, Greg Swindell, Shane Reynolds, Brooks Kieschnick, Huston Street, J.P. Howell, Brandon Belt, Corey Knebel, David Hamilton, Kody Clemens, Bryce Elder.
Short hops: Schlossnagle is one of only four coaches to guide three different schools 鈥� TCU, Texas A&M and Texas 鈥� to CWS. His clubs have played in Omaha eight times in the last 16 years, including a nation鈥檚 best seven trips since 2014. … This is Texas鈥� 39th CWS appearance, most of any team. … Volantis is the D1 active career leader with a 2.00 ERA. … Texas鈥� 658 strikeouts are its most in a season. Riojas (113) and Volantis (126) are the first Texas duo with 100 strikeouts in a season since 2011.
Quotable: 鈥淭he standard is the national title, and we鈥檒l do our best to win that. I have to walk by that sign that says 鈥�38 trips to Omaha鈥� and 38 has been sitting there for a while. So I鈥檓 glad we鈥檒l be able to change it to to 39.鈥� 鈥� Schlossnagle.
Georgia (51-12)
Coach: Wes Johnson (137-46 in 3 years at Georgia and overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Athens regional: beat LIU 18-2, beat Liberty 6-2, beat Liberty 6-1. Won Athens super regional: beat Mississippi State 13-12, beat Mississippi State 11-9, 10 innings.
2026 record vs. CWS teams: 3-2 (1-1 vs. Troy, 2-1 vs. Mississippi).
Last CWS appearance: 2008.
All-time record in CWS: 10-11 in 6 appearances (won national title in 1990).
Meet the Bulldogs: C Daniel Jackson (.396, 31 HRs, 86 RBIs), 1B Brennan Hudson (.296, 21, 50), 2B Ryan Wynn (.342, 9, 37), SS Kolby Branch (.297, 19, 58), 3B Tre Phelps (.364, 19, 58), LF Kenny Ishikawa (.333, 2, 18), CF Rylan Lujo (.374, 13, 45), RF Ryan Black (.298, 9, 32), DH Michael O鈥橲haughnessy (.294, 20, 55). Starting pitchers: Joey Volchko (10-2, 4.07 ERA), RHP Dylan Vigue (4-1, 4.73), RHP Caden Aoki (9-1, 4.04). Relievers: RHP Zach Brown (2-0, 3.53), RHP Matt Scott (7-0, 3.88), RHP Justin Byrd (5-2, 3.95), RHP Paul Farley (8-1, 4.53), LHP Caleb Jameson (2-0, 6.11), RHP Grant Edwards (1-1, 5.79).
MLB alumni: Gordon Beckham, Glenn Davis, Jeff Keppinger, Jeff Treadway, Cris Carpenter, Jim Nash, Derek Lilliquist, Mitchell Boggs, Spud Chandler, Jonathan Cannon, Kyle Farmer, Emerson Hancock, Cole Wilcox.
Short hops: Bulldogs have won 19 of their last 20. … Hit 25 homers over five NCAA Tournament games and season total of 174 leads nation. … Jackson, the SEC player of the year, has the most home runs among CWS players (31) and ranks third nationally. He is first SEC player to hit at least 25 homers and steal at least 25 bases in a season. … Team鈥檚 season .324 batting average and 9.4 runs per game are highest among CWS teams.
Quotable: 鈥淭he chemistry on our team, it鈥檚 hard to talk about. It鈥檚 just incredible. I think a big factor of that is, as silly as it sounds to say, winning. When you鈥檙e winning together, it鈥檚 fun and it鈥檚 true. The locker room is a much happier place after a win.鈥� 鈥� Jackson.
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