2022 College World Series Finals: Best bets, top prospects, how to watch

We have reached the finals of the 2022 College World Series. After almost 70 games each, the Oklahoma Sooners will take on the Ole Miss Rebels in a best of three series starting on Saturday,

As a refresher, the format of the 2022 College World Series is two separate four-team brackets which are both played at the same location, Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. Both brackets compete in a double-elimination tournament until the winner of each bracket meets in the Finals.

Which is where we are at as of Saturday morning.

How to Watch:

Saturday, June 25th, 7 p.m. on ESPN – Ole Miss vs Oklahoma, Game 1
Sunday, June 26th, 3 p.m. on ESPN – Oklahoma vs Ole Miss, Game 2
Monday, June 27th, 7 p.m. on ESPN – Ole Miss vs Oklahoma, Game 3 (if necessary)

How to Bet:

For each game, you can bet as you would any normal baseball game: straight up, against the spread, or the over/run on the run total. If you’re not familiar with betting on baseball, you should read our beginner’s guide to baseball betting, which will explain all the bets.

Since this is a tournament, you’re also able to cast bets on who will win each bracket and who will ultimately win the entire tournament.

If you’re new to betting and want to get involved in casting the 2022 College World Series bets we give you below, Caesar’s has a great risk-free first bet promo for any new users or you can check out the local sign-up offers here.

Predictions and Players to Watch

Ole Miss (43-23) vs Oklahoma (45-22)

We need to start with Oklahoma since they did not lose any of their three games so far in the 2022 College World Series. They also never played a game that was closer than four runs. That’s quite the turnaround for a team that was, at one point, 18-12 halfway through the season.

Part of what has fueled the 12-2 run Oklahoma has gone on this postseason is the depth and talent of their lineup. They have scored 24 runs in Omaha and 35 runs over their last four games.

Peyton Graham has been a stud for Oklahoma all season long, but senior Tanner Tredaway is also incredibly tough to get out (hitting .379 on the year) and Jimmy Crooks has come alive in Omaha, going 4-13 with two home runs and six RBI over the three games.

Shutting down this offense will be a tough task for an Ole Miss team that will likely be without its best pitcher. Dylan DeLucia got Ole Miss to this spot, pitching a complete game shutout against Arkansas on Thursday, allowing four hits and striking out seven.

However, the senior also threw 113 pitches, which will make it highly unlikely he can pitch on Saturday or Sunday with so little rest. Ole Miss could potentially bring him back out of the bullpen on Monday, but they will need to get there first, which will require the rest of the pitching staff to step up.

Ole Miss does have their own offensive studs in Justin Bench and Tim Elko, but this offense as a whole doesn’t pack the punch that the Sooners do. They will also have to get past Oklahoma’s best starter.

After Cade Horton struck out 11 batters in six innings against Notre Dame last Sunday, it’s likely that Horton will pitch on Sunday after Jake Bennett starts on Saturday to open the 2022 College World Series.

Horton is a fascinating story. He came to Oklahoma as a two-way player but suffered an arm injury and had to undergo Tommy John surgery during his freshman year. When he returned this year, as a draft-eligible freshman, he struggled mightily to start the year. He had a 98 mph fastball and not much else. Then, about five weeks ago, one of his teammates taught him a slider grip, and Horton immediately took his game to another level. It’s the kind of dramatic turnaround that is exciting to witness and earns a player millions of dollars.

Enjoy all 🅴🅻🅴🆅🅴🅽 of Cade Horton's (@cadehorton14) strikeouts v Notre Dame in one minute.

I call it, "T̶h̶e̶y̶ Gone in 60 Seconds."@OU_Baseball #Sooners pic.twitter.com/F5RwM4eCmB

— Taylor Maples (@t_maples) June 21, 2022

At the end of the day, it’s hard to rule out an Ole Miss team that has continually defied expectations, but we also can’t discount that Oklahoma has run wild over most everybody in the 2022 College World Series and will come into this series with everything set up perfectly for them in terms of their rotation and the health of their team.

Prospects to Watch:

Peyton Graham – SS, Oklahoma: Hit .336 this year with 20 HR, 70 RBI, and 32 SBs. Made a change to his swing in the middle of the season, which led to success but may have too much swing and miss to be an MLB starter.
Jake Bennett – LHP, Oklahoma: 6’6″ and 235 pounds. He has a fastball in the low 90s, but he can run it up to the mid-90s when he needs to. Bennett has a big frame with a workable slider and change-up that could intrigue major league teams.
Cade Horton – RHP, Oklahoma: See above
Hayden Dunhurts – C, Ole Miss: This should be an interesting matchup because Oklahoma loves to run and Dunhurts has one of the best arms behind in the plate in the draft. He’s actually just a tremendous defensive catcher all around.
Tim Elko – 1B, Ole Miss: Hit .302 with a team-leading 22 home runs, 71 RBI, and 57 runs scored. Has primarily played 1B and is an average defender but has legitimate pop.
Dylan DeLucia – RHP, Ole Miss: 8-2 with a 3.68 ERA during the regular season. Had 105 strikeouts in 95.1 innings pitched. In 16 2/3 College World Series innings, he has allowed one run, eight hits, and zero walks and struck out 17.

Best Bet: Oklahoma ML (-120) in game 1 and Oklahoma Sooners to win CWS (-115) I think there’s a chance that this could go to three games and be an interesting series; however, I think the Sooners are just in a great spot with Bennett on the mound on Saturday and Ole Miss having to dig into their less reliable starters. This Oklahoma offense is just really hard to stop right now, and while Ole Miss does have the pitching to make me think they can steal a game – maybe two – my gut is telling me that this is Oklahoma’s to lose.