Men’s College World Series Finals: What you need to know about UNC-Oklahoma

Last month, 64 teams began a journey with dreams of a trip to Omaha, Nebraska.

Now, just two teams remain, each with an eye on a national championship.

Later tonight, North Carolina and Oklahoma will meet in Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series Finals, a best-of-three series to crown the NCAA baseball champion. UNC clinched its spot in the Finals early in the day on Wednesday, knocking off West Virginia to punch its ticket to the series. Then on Wednesday night Oklahoma joined the fray, defeating SEC rival Georgia to clinch its spot.

Here is everything you need to know about this series.

Men’s College World Series Finals schedule and scores

Here is the schedule for the Finals, which will be updated with the scores as games are played. Note: All times are Eastern.

Game 1: Saturday, June 20, 8:00 p.m., ESPN
Game 2: Sunday, June 21, 2:30 p.m, ABC
Game 3: Monday, June 22, 7:00 p.m., ESPN*

*If necessary

North Carolina began the NCAA baseball tournament at home, as the No. 5 overall team in the field. It was smooth sailing for the Tar Heels in the Chapel Hill regional, as they won three straight games to book a spot in the Super Regionals, where they were home against USC.

That is where the road got a bit bumpy.

North Carolina dropped Game 1 of the Super Regional, 9-5 to USC. But then with the team’s season on the line, the Tar Heels got a gem of a start from Jason DeCaro in Game 2 to force a decisive Game 3.

After falling down 3-1 on Sunday, the Tar Heels pushed a run across the plate in the bottom of the eighth, and completed a dramatic comeback in the bottom of the ninth when Owen Hull hit his fourth double of the game to center field, bringing home the winning run in walkoff fashion.

Hull and the Tar Heels remained red hot after arriving in Omaha. They knocked off Ole Miss 6-2 in their first game, behind clutch hitting from Gavin Gallaher and Colin Hynek. Then with a chance to clinch a spot in the Finals, Hull and the Tar Heels knocked off West Virginia on Wednesday by a final score of 12-7.

It was UNC’s second win against West Virginia in Omaha, and the team’s first trip to the Finals since 2007.

UNC has never won the NCAA baseball championship.

The journey to Omaha was a little different for Oklahoma.

The Sooners were not one of the top 16 teams according to the Selection Committee, and started on the road in Atlanta, as the No. 2 seed in the Atlanta regional. That put Oklahoma in the same bracket as Georgia Tech, the No. 2 team overall.

Then when Oklahoma lost the 1-0 game to Georgia Tech, it meant a trip to the loser’s bracket. But a win over The Citadel and a victory over Georgia Tech set up a winner-take-all game in Atlanta.

Which the Sooners won in dramatic fashion, on a walk-off home ron from Dayton Tockey in the tenth inning.

With the win, Oklahoma earned a trip to Kansas to take on the Big 12 Champions in the Lawrence Super Regional. But the Sooners won that series in a two-game sweep, outscoring Kansas 21-3 over the two games. Tockey again went deep in Game 2, won by Oklahoma 13-2, along with Deiten Lachance, Dasan Harris, and Trey Gambill.

Once in Omaha, the Sooners did not let up. Like UNC, Oklahoma won three consecutive games to reach the Finals, including a pair of wins over Georgia.

This is Oklahoma’s first trip to the Finals since 2022, and the Sooners are looking for a third national championship.

These are two talented rosters, with deep lineups and live arms both in the rotation and coming out of the bullpen.

But two players in particular have been scorching hot in recent games, and will be critical to their team’s chances in the Finals.

Ahead of the Men’s College World Series, we tapped Hull as the key player for the Tar Heels.

We do so again, and with good reason.

After all, it was Hull who came through with the decisive hit in the Super Regionals, as his opposite-field knock in the bottom of the ninth against USC clinched that series. And he is still swinging a hot bat as the Finals begin. His last game without a hit came back on May 16 against NC State, when he went 0-for-2 in a loss to the Wolfpack. He finished the game on Wednesday having gone 4-for-5 with two RBI, along with a pair of doubles and a triple, and Hull heads to the Finals riding a 12-game hitting streak.

As with Hull, we pointed to Dasan Harris ahead of the Men’s College World Series as a key to the Sooners’ chances.

And like Hull, Harris continued his hot streak once arriving in Omaha.

The Oklahoma outfielder went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the Sooners’ opening win over Alabama, and in the win that sent Oklahoma to the Finals, Harris went 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs as the Sooners knocked off Georgia 11-4. For the former walk-on, it was a rather special moment.

“I dreamed of this moment since I was a little kid and I wanted to come here,” said Harris, who went to Oklahoma as a walk-on back in 2024. “To be able to be put in these spots is something special.”

Harris leads the Sooners in batting average (.359) and is second among qualified players in OPS with a mark of 1.002, behind only slugger Deiten Lachance.