South Carolina baseball: betting odds to win the College World Series
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina baseball odds to win in Omaha.
South Carolina baseball begins its postseason on Friday with a matchup versus the Virginia Cavaliers. The Gamecocks enter the field as the No. 2 seed in the Columbia regional, which also consists of UVA, Old Dominion, and Jacksonville. South Carolina has the luxury of playing at home despite not earning the region’s top seed, which may give a home field advantage to the good guys come tournament time.
South Carolina’s path to Omaha certainly won’t be easy, as they’ll battle it out with one of the ACC’s top pitching staffs in Virginia, as well as an Old Dominion team that leads the nation in home runs. But there is some reason to believe that the Gamecocks could have an easier path to the super regional round than most.
A recent NCAA Tournament preview listed the Columbia regional as the third-easiest in the field of 64 teams. And D1 Baseball gave almost an even split between the region’s top three seeds of advancing. The No.1 seed Old Dominion was given a slight 40% advantage due to an opening round matchup with Jacksonville, who won just 16 games in 2021. UVA and South Carolina both received a 30% chance of surviving the regional, essentially meaning it’s a toss-up.
Sportsbooks around the country are beginning to release their CWS champion odds, with the most recent projections pegging South Carolina’s chances at +5000 or 50/1. What this means is that a $100 bet on the Gamecocks would yield $5,000 should they take home the title in Omaha. These are actually the third-worst odds of teams in the Columbia regional, with Vegas tabbing Old Dominion (+3300) and Virginia (+4000) as smarter picks to advance.
Two other SEC teams top the list in Arkansas (+600) and Vanderbilt (+900), both of whom land on the opposite side of the bracket, meaning the Gamecocks wouldn’t face the favorites until a possible meeting in the CWS championship series.
If the Gamecocks can get out of the regionals, it would mean a likely matchup with TCU in the supers. With South Carolina’s dominant pitching staff, anything is possible, and a run to Omaha could certainly be in the cards. Are you confident enough to place a bet on the Gamecocks?