This article is part of our College Baseball Picks series.
College Baseball Futures: College World Series Bets to Consider this Week
This first weekend of College Baseball was a smashing success despite a few bad beats that kept it from really being a monster slate. The final tally from Friday-Monday was 13-7 (65%): +7.26u. We'll take that any day of the week.
Something new that I will be doing this season is Future Wednesday, which means every Wednesday I'm going to be posting a future play I like for the rest of the season. This could range from a College World Series pick to a conference winner to Golden Spikes play etc. The first play is one I've identified after discovering a ridiculous misprice in the market.
There's a whole college baseball season ahead of us and plenty of opportunities to jump in the futures markets. Get started by cashing in on the sportsbook promos available at the best online sportsbooks such as the BetRivers bonus code.
UNC to win the College World Series +2500 (BetRivers)
If you did a double take on that number, you're not alone because I did the exact same thing when I saw early this week. BetRivers has hung some interesting numbers on teams to win it all for the last six weeks or so. FanDuel also has them at 24/1 and had UNC at 28/1 on Sunday, but caught a little steam. When other books have them in the 15/1 range, you know you're getting some great value.
In my preseason College World Series picks article, I highlighted three of my four "Tier 1" teams in Texas A&M, UVA, and LSU with my thought process being "I would be shocked if one of them is not in the CWS Finals in 2025."
As good bettors do though, especially in a sport this volatile, you build up the portfolio. My goal each year for the College World Series winner is to have a ticket on at least two or three teams that make Omaha. And the Tarheels were a team I've discussed in my preseason episode on my Breaking Bet podcast.
UNC coming in was at the very top of my "Tier 2" list along with Georgia, Texas, and Clemson. You'll recall I gave them out (along with UVA) as my regular season ACC Winner in the +600 range (both two-unit plays) because I believe they have what it takes to be one of the top programs in the sport again. Since I refuse to give you guys 10 teams to bet on preseason, I like to assess as the season progresses. But with a number this out of whack, we need to strike before every book recognizes the talent level of North Carolina.
In the opening weekend, the Heels dominated. While a lot of the top teams had layup matchups, UNC was one of the few that actually faced a tough opponent in Texas Tech, and they passed their first test with flying colors. First off, the pitching stymied a capable Red Raider offense, allowing only six runs all weekend. The rotation and bullpen were strong points I highlighted in my conference outlook article. Led by stud sophomore Jason DeCaro, a top-five arm in next summer's draft, the pitching is six-eight arms deep.
Despite losing All-World CF and the guy who I believed was the best all-around player in College last year, Vance Honeycutt (and their entire outfield), head coach Scott Forbes went out into the transfer portal and retooled big time by adding Tyson Bass (D3 NC Wesleyan), Kane Kepley (Liberty), and Rom Kellis (Florence Darlington Tech JUCO). Those three combined to go 13-45 (.289) with 12 runs, five doubles, 11 RBI's, nine walks, and six steals.
There are plenty of other contributors to this lineup like C Luke Stevenson, a first-round prospect for 2025, 3B Gavin Gallaher, SS Alex Madera, and DH Sam Angelo etc. At first glance, the offense may have appeared as a downgrade from last year, but I wouldn't be so sure. There's a ton of firepower in this lineup and as a lot of these new guys continue to play together, we should see them gel nicely.
A lot of teams have one or the other when it comes to pitching and hitting, but UNC seems to be one of maybe 10-15 teams that have both at a legitimate championship level. With teams like Texas A&M, LSU, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia grabbing a lot of the eye balls and hype - for good reason - UNC is flying a little under the radar. And that simply should not be the case.
With a very friendly start to their ACC schedule against Stanford, @ Louisville, @ Boston College, vs. Miami, and vs. Duke, they could reasonably be sitting at 10 or 11 wins by the time their fifth series ends. By that point, the hype train should be full steam ahead. So the time to buy them is now.
When it comes to Omaha, pitching ranks above all else, and right now there's only a small handful of teams we can put in that conversation of best and deepest amount of arms, and UNC is in it.
Do yourself a favor and take a piece now before it's too late.
Future Play: UNC to win the CWS +2500 (BetRivers)
To get the rest of my unlimited College Baseball Slate, join here.
