College World Series Picks, Predictions & Best Bets for Friday, May 30

• The college baseball NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, May 30, with regionals
• Just eight teams will reach the College World Series, starting on June 13
• See below for my college baseball best bets for the regional games on May 30, plus my College World Series prediction and other future picks

The Road to Omaha is set as the college baseball NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, May 30. 64 teams will play in the regionals. The 16 regional winners will play in the super regionals, and then those eight winners will head to the College World Series in Omaha.

College baseball games will be played all throughout the day this weekend, highlighted by some intriguing 2 vs 3 matchups, such as Kentucky vs West Virginia, Duke vs Oklahoma State, TCU vs USC, and more.

Keep reading for my college baseball best bets for the regional games played on May 30, plus some College World Series futures.

College Baseball Picks

College Baseball Pick #1: Wake Forest (-160)/TCU (-200) ML Parlay (+143)

I really like Wake Forest and TCU to both win their opening matchup, but the Demon Deacons are -160 and the Horned Frogs are -200. Those are both too much juice for me to lay in a single wager, so I am combining the two in a parlay, which makes this bet +143 odds.

The Demon Deacons have an ace in Logan Lunceford, who should be the starting pitcher in this one. Late in the season, Wake Forest showed off their power, so I trust them to beat a Cincinnati team that I do not believe in.

TCU lost a heartbreaker to Arizona in the Big 12 championship game, but there is still a lot to like about this Horned Frogs team. They have won seven of their last ten games and have tremendous pitching depth behind ace Tommy LaPour, who spots a 2.89 ERA. Their lineup is led by Big 12 freshman of the year, Sawyer Strosnider, who is hitting .354 with ten home runs. I trust the depth and experience of TCU to beat USC in their first regional game on Friday vs USC.

College Baseball Pick #2: West Virginia ML vs Kentucky (-105)

Kentucky is a difficult team to figure out. They have solid pitching but not a lot of depth. Their lineup is also nothing to write home about. They went 13-17 in the SEC, and while that is the top conference in college baseball, that is not an impressive feat.

West Virginia looked good all year before struggling a bit down the stretch. I expect the 41-win Mountaineers to get back on track against an underwhelming Kentucky team on Friday.

College Baseball Pick #3: ETSU ML vs Louisville (-102)

East Tennessee State quietly put together an unbelievable college baseball season. They went 41-15 and are 36^th in RPI. Their offense has been the most impressive, which means they are never truly out of a game. The Buccaneers are averaging just under 10 runs a game this season.

Louisville lost five straight series to end the season and went .500 in ACC play. They are a good team, but not a great team. I trust ETSU’s lineup to get up early, and Louisville is just 13-35 when trailing this year.

College Baseball Pick #4: Nebraska +1.5 vs Oklahoma (-105)

Nebraska came into the season with a lot of hype after winning the 2024 Big Ten Tournament. Their season, for the most part, was a letdown, but they have now rattled off six straight wins en route to a 2025 Big Ten championship. The Cornhuskers beat regional hosts Oregon and UCLA to win that tournament. They are now playing the way people projected before the season.

Oklahoma’s biggest flaw is its lack of pitching depth. They have potentially the best pitcher in the country in Kyson Witherspoon, but they do not have much after him. The Sooners might opt to start Witherspoon on Saturday in a potential game vs 1-seed North Carolina, making Nebraska a live dog. I like for them to keep this game within a run.

College Baseball Pick #5: Duke/Oklahoma State Over 13.5 (-115)

Duke and Oklahoma are playing in a great ballpark for runs to be scored. Athens presents a great opportunity for home runs, and both of these teams are good offensively.

Duke is 11^th in the country in OPS, and the Cowboys have four players in their lineup that hit double-digit home runs. Oklahoma State’s lineup did struggle to start the year, but they have slowly been getting better. I expect fireworks in Game 2 of the Athens regional.

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College World Series Picks

At this point in the postseason, bettors can place wagers on college baseball teams to win the College World Series, to win their regional, and to reach the CWS.

College World Series Prediction

When it comes to picking a CWS champion, it is never a bad idea to look at the SEC. 13 teams from the SEC reached the NCAA Tournament this year, which is a record. The SEC has won the last five College World Series and six of the last seven. With all that being said, I am going to look in a different direction instead.

I predict that North Carolina will win the 2025 CWS. The Tar Heels are fresh off an ACC Tournament championship and have the fourth-best College World Series odds.

The ACC Tournament proved just how complete of a team North Carolina is. They have a pitching depth, which is important in college baseball. The veteran pitching trio of Jake Knapp, Jason DeCaro, and Aidan Haugh gives the Tar Heels some flexibility with how they manage their upcoming schedule. North Carolina has the fourth-best team ERA in the country at 3.42, which is nothing to discount come this time of the year.

Their bats also have a lot of power in the middle of the lineup, so they can score runs with the best of them, which was shown in the ACC Tournament championship game when they beat Clemson 14-4. They are sixth in RPI and fifth in the country. The Tar Heels went to Omaha last year and do not have a difficult path to reach the College World Series yet again in 2025.

Omaha is a pitchers’ ballpark, so North Carolina’s arms should be a major advantage once they get there. I am taking the Tar Heels to win the CWS in 2025.

CWS Pick: North Carolina (+950)

Best Bets to Reach the College World Series

LSU seems to have gotten the easiest regional. Dallas Baptist is a great college baseball program, but they do not match up well against the Tigers. The other two teams in the regional are a weak 3-seed in Rhode Island and Little Rock, who was the 8-seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

The Tigers should cruise in this regional and will likely play a streaky Clemson team in the super regionals. LSU has the second-best odds to win the CWS, so getting -115 odds for them just to be in the final eight is a good bet.

Pick to Reach CWS: LSU (-115)

The #1 overall seed has been surging. They have won eight in a row and won the SEC Tournament. Their regional features Louisville, ETSU, and Wright State. At home, the Commodores should not have an issue with any of these teams. ETSU is the team I can see potentially making this regional interesting, but Vandy’s experience, depth, and strength of schedule should be too much for the Buccaneers in Nashville.

Since they earned the 1-seed, they face the winner of the #16 regional in the supers. I like the Commodores to advance at home over Southern Miss, Alabama, or Miami. Getting plus-money on the #1 team in baseball to reach Omaha is a great value.

Pick to Reach CWS: Vanderbilt (+120)

College Baseball Picks to Win Their Regional:

My favorite bet for a team to win their regional is none other than Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles enter regionals as one of the hottest teams in college baseball. They were on an 18-game winning streak before losing a close one to #13 Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Championship.

Hattiesburg has an electric home-field advantage, and I am not confident in any of the other teams in this region. Which Alabama team will show up? The Crimson Tide did beat Southern Miss earlier this season in a midweek game, but I feel good about the Golden Eagles at home this time around. Alabama lost five of their last seven SEC series and will also use their ace in their first game of the regional. They lack the pitching depth, so Southern Miss has a great opportunity to advance.

Miami, on the other hand, started the season strong but lost six of its last seven games. They lack pitching depth and an explosive lineup. The Hurricanes are 41^st in RPI, so I do not see them being a threat in this regional. I love getting plus money on Southern Miss at home in Hattiesburg.

College Baseball Regional Pick: Southern Miss (+110)