UCLA Baseball and Mississippi State gave the college baseball world a treat on March 1. It was an extra-inning game between two teams living up to the preseason hype, something fans could easily see again in Omaha.
It’s why the College Baseball Series exists.
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It’s why over three weekends fans flock to Arlington (and Surprise, Ariz. and Cleburne, Texas) to watch some of the best programs from the best baseball conferences go head-to-head.
And it’s not going to stop. The College Baseball Series, which was born out of the College Baseball Showdown a few years ago, is now a mainstay of the NCAA Division I baseball season. Simply put: It’s an awesome thing the sport gives fans starting, usually, around Valentine’s Day.
This year was the best one yet. With six teams playing in all three weekends in Arlington, the CBS has never had this much talent and never had this many ranked teams.
Like literally. Up until now Weekend 2 and Weekend 3 only saw two games a day. This year we had six teams at Globe Life Field every weekend. They came from the SEC, Big 12, ACC and Big Ten. In Surprise, they even included Oregon State, an independent that happens to be one of the best programs in the country.
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It’s fun to think about which teams will be in next year’s field. Which games will we get?
Here are the 27 matchups we’d love to fantasy-book for 2027.
College Baseball Showdown: Weekend 1 of College Baseball Series
This has traditionally been a matchup of three SEC teams and three Big 12 teams since the start, and we don’t intend to break that tradition. That includes some of the teams we love to see at the Shriners Children’s College Baseball Showdown.
Here’s our field:
Big 12SEC
Houston Baseball is a program with some history and would be a newcomer to this tournament. The Cougars went to the Puerto Rico Challenge and the Frisco Classic this year, but seeing them play at Globe Life Field in the most premium non-conference tournament in the sport would be a boon for them.
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Oklahoma State and TCU are charter members of the Showdown and two of the most consistent Big 12 programs.
On the SEC side, Arkansas is a staple of this event, Vanderbilt is good nearly every year and Texas baseball is one of the greatest programs in the sport’s history.
A prime-time, 7 p.m. Saturday night matchup between the Longhorns and Houston would be juicy.
Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Weekend 2
The best thing about the 2026 College Baseball Series was the larger fields in Weekend 2 and Weekend 3. Instead of four teams, we had six, like the Showdown the weekend before.
It included Big 12, SEC, Big Ten and ACC teams. Next year, with the return of the Pac-12, we’d love to see those schools come too.
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Here’s our field:
SECACCBig TenPac-12
LSU Baseball came to Globe Life in 2025 for a midweek game against Dallas Baptist, but here they come for a full weekend throwdown as the SEC representative.
And we’ll give the Tigers an epic slate:
LSU vs. Virginia on Friday
That would be quite something. Sure, we could fantasy-book LSU against Florida State or Oregon State as well, but we’d love to see a program like Oregon, which has been to the Series before, get a shot at the Tigers.
Oregon State-UCLA would be the matchup we’d love to see close down the weekend.
Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Weekend 3
This is where the event gets over the top.
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Weekend 3 in 2026 was arguably the best weekend of matchups the College Baseball Series has ever seen, and No. 1 UCLA and No. 3 Mississippi State put on a game for the ages.
So how do we top Weekend 3 of 2026?
Here’s our field:
SECBig TenACCPac-12
Dallas Baptist joins the Pac-12 in baseball next season and will be among the most watched programs in the country as it enters what could become a true power conference in baseball.
DBU has played great teams in the past and held its own.
We also get Florida — a team we at FloCollege have been craving for in this event for years — to come to Arlington along with CBS veterans Texas A&M and Tennessee.
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Perhaps the only program with a better case than Texas for the greatest college baseball program ever is USC.
Then there’s Wake Forest, one of the best programs in the ACC and an MLB prospect factory.
Florida vs. Wake Forest on Friday?
USC vs. Tennessee on Saturday?
DBU vs. Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon?
That’s the dream.
What About Surprise, Arizona and Cleburne?
Good question.
The College Baseball Series had two other locations this season plus midweek baseball games at Globe Life Field.
In Surprise, Arizona, at the Texas Rangers/Kansas City Royals spring training facility, four teams (Arizona, Oregon State, Michigan and Stanford) played games from Thursday to Monday.
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The reason we have Oregon State in the second weekend and not the first is because the Beavers have opened the season in Surprise for a while now. They used to host the Sanderson Ford Classic.
Oregon State, Arizona, Stanford and Michigan are our picks again because that slate of games was incredible this season.
In Cleburne, Creighton, Abilene Christian, Tarleton State and Texas State played games. We like that slate, but perhaps we pump it up next year and bring the surging program UTSA (University of Texas San Antonio) into the mix along with a second Big East team, UConn.
When Will The College Baseball 2027 Teams Be Announced?
Stay tuned, baseball fans.
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The slate will be announced before the 2027 season. Fans can sign up for the College Baseball Series newsletter to get the news as soon as it breaks.
Relive the 2026 College Baseball Series
Subscribe to watch all the replays of the 2026 matchups:
Shriners Children’s College Showdown
All Times Eastern
Feb. 13, 2026
Feb. 14, 2026
Feb. 15, 2026
Amegy Bank College Baseball Series – Weekend 2
Feb. 20, 2026
Feb. 21, 2026
Feb. 22, 2026
Amegy Bank College Baseball Series – Weekend 3
Feb. 27, 2026
Feb. 28, 2026
March 1, 2026
Top 100 MLB Draft Prospects UPDATED ON MARCH 9
Here’s the composite rankings for the 2026 MLB Draft prospects.
Rank
Name
Position
Age
School
Commitment
1
Roch Cholowsky
SS
20
UCLA
—
2
Grady Emerson
SS
17
Fort Worth Christian
Texas
3
Justin Lebron
SS
21
Alabama
—
4
Jackson Flora
RHP
20
UC Santa Barbara
—
5
Drew Burress
OF
21
Georgia Tech
—
6
Cameron Flukey
RHP
20
Coastal Carolina
—
7
Derek Curiel
OF
20
LSU
—
8
Tyler Spangler
SS
18
De La Salle
Stanford
9
Jacob Lombard
SS
18
Gulliver Prep
Miami
10
Liam Peterson
RHP
20
Florida
—
11
Eric Becker
SS
20
Virginia
—
12
Sawyer Strosnider
OF
20
TCU
—
13
AJ Gracia
OF
21
Virginia
—
14
Chris Hacopian
SS
21
Texas A&M
—
15
Tyler Bell
SS
20
Kentucky
—
16
Vahn Lackey
C
20
Georgia Tech
—
17
Chris Rembert
2B
20
Auburn
—
18
Blake Bowen
OF
17
JSerra
Oregon State
19
Caden Sorrell
OF
20
Texas A&M
—
20
Eric Booth
OF
17
Oak Gove
Vanderbilt
21
Rocco Maniscalco
SS
16
Oxford
Mississippi State
22
Tegan Kuhns
RHP
20
Tennessee
—
23
Zion Rose
OF
20
Louisville
—
24
Gavin Grahovac
3B
20
Texas A&M
—
25
Kaden Waechter
RHP
18
Jesuit
Florida State
26
Gio Rojas
LHP
18
Stoneman Douglas
Miami
27
Carson Bolemon
LHP
18
Southside Christian
Wake Forest
28
Chase Brunson
OF
20
TCU
—
29
Ace Reese
3B
20
Mississippi State
—
30
Logan Schmidt
LHP
17
Ganesha
LSU
31
Coleman Borthwick
RHP
17
South Walton
Auburn
32
Jensen Hirschkorn
RHP
17
Kingsburg
LSU
33
Ryder Helfrick
C
20
Arkansas
—
34
Gabe Gaeckle
RHP
21
Arkansas
—
35
Trevor Condon
OF
17
Etowah
Tennessee
36
Will Brick
C
17
Christian Brothers
Mississippi State
37
Joseph Contreras
RHP
17
Blessed Trinity
Vanderbilt
38
Kevin Roberts Jr.
OF
17
Jackson Prep
Florida
39
Brady Harris
OF
17
Trinity Christian
Florida
40
James Clark
SS
18
St. John Bosco
Princeton
41
Joey Volchko
RHP
20
Georgia
—
42
Maddox Molony
SS
21
Oregon
—
43
Cole Koeninger
SS/RHP
18
Keller
Tennessee
44
Cade Townsend
RHP
20
Mississippi
—
45
Jared Grindlinger
LHP
18
Huntington Beach (Calif.)
Uncommitted
46
Cole Carlon
LHP
20
Arizona State
—
47
Ryan Lynch
RHP
20
North Carolina
—
48
Denton Lord
RHP
18
South Walton
—
49
Caden Bogenpohl
OF
20
Missouri State
—
50
Tommy LaPour
RHP
20
TCU
—
51
Keon Johnson
SS
17
First Presbyterian
—
52
Aiden Ruiz
SS
18
The Stony Brook
Vanderbilt
53
Jarren Advincula
2B
20
Georgia Tech
—
54
Connor Comeau
SS/3B
17
Anderson
Texas A&M
55
Ethan Kleinschmit
LHP
20
Oregon State
—
56
Aiden Robbins
OF
21
Texas
—
57
Archer Horn
SS
17
St. Ignatius
Stanford
58
Savion Sims
RHP
18
Prestonwood Christian
Oklahoma
59
Carson Tinney
C
20
Texas
—
60
Landon Thome
2B/3B
18
Nazareth Academy
Florida State
61
Matt Ponatoski
SS
17
Moeller
Kentucky
62
Logan Hughes
OF
20
Texas Tech
—
63
Beau Peterson
3B
18
Mill Valley
Texas
64
Ethan Norby
LHP
20
East Carolina
—
65
Jason DeCaro
RHP
19
North Carolina
—
66
Brady Ballinger
1B
20
Kansas
—
67
Lucas Moore
OF
20
Louisville
—
68
Trey Rangel
RHP
18
The Colony
Texas
69
Sean Duncan
LHP
17
Terry Fox (Canada)
Vanderbilt
70
Blake Bryant
RHP
18
Citizen Christian
Clemson
71
Cameron Johnson
LHP
21
Oklahoma
—
72
Jake Brown
OF
20
LSU
—
73
Henry Ford
OF
21
Tennessee
—
74
Shane Sdao
LHP
22
Texas A&M
—
75
Eli Herst
RHP
17
Seattle Academy
Vanderbilt
76
Ethan Bass
SS
18
Glenbrook North
Wake Forest
77
Owen Kramkowski
RHP
20
Arizona
—
78
Will Yow
SS
18
St. Anne’s-Belfield
Virginia
79
Trey Beard
LHP
21
Florida Atlantic
—
80
Cooper Sides
RHP
18
Orange Lutheran
LSU
81
Mason Edwards
LHP
21
Southern California
—
82
Gavin Gallaher
3B
21
North Carolina
—
83
Malachi Washington
OF
17
Parkview
LSU
84
Daniel Cuvet
3B
20
Miami
—
85
Hunter Dietz
LHP
20
Arkansas
—
86
Kade Lewis
1B
20
Wake Forest
—
87
Gary Morse
RHP
18
Orange Lutheran
Tennessee
88
Noah Wilson
OF
18
McCallie
Vanderbilt
89
Dominic Santarelli
1B
18
St. Joseph
—
90
Aidan Knaak
RHP
21
Clemson
—
91
James Jorgensen
SS/RHP
18
Jesuit College Prep School
Texas
92
Bo Lowrance
3B
Christ Church Episcopal HS
Virginia
93
Blake Morningstar
RHP
20
Wake Forest
—
94
Jorvorskie Lane Jr.
OF
17
Grapevine
Arkansas
95
Kaiden McCarthy
RHP
18
Vermont Academy, Chester
Tennessee
96
Ben Blair
RHP
21
Liberty
—
97
Wilson Andersen
RHP
17
Jesuit
Mississippi State
98
Jason Amalbert
SS
19
DePaul Catholic HS
Oklahoma
99
Ryan Marohn
LHP
21
NC State
—
100
Ricky Ojeda
LHP
20
UC Irvine
—
When Does The 2026 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Start?
The first/regional round of the 2026 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship will be May 29-31, with times and locations TBD.
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The NCAA Super Regional action will be held June 5-7, again, with times and locations TBD.
The last eight teams standing will head to the 2026 Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, from June 12-22 to battle through a combination of double-elimination and best-of-three competition until a champion emerges.
How To Watch More Of The 2026 College Baseball Season On FloCollege
College baseball in 2026 will be streamed on FloCollege and the FloSports app for select Division I preseason tournaments and for much of the Division II and Division III seasons.
Recent NCAA Division I Baseball National ChampionsWhen Is The 2026 MLB Draft?
The MLB Draft begins the Sunday of MLB All-Star Week, which is being held in Philadelphia from July 11-14.
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