OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A capsule look at the eight teams competing in the College World Series, which starts Saturday at TD Ameritrade Park. (Capsules in order of CWS opening games. Coaches’ records through super regionals):
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TCU (47-16)
Coach: Jim Schlossnagle (612-270, 14 years at TCU; 689-317, 16 years overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Fort Worth regional: beat Central Connecticut 9-6, beat Virginia 5-1, beat Dallas Baptist 15-3. Won Fort Worth super regional: beat Missouri State 3-2, beat Missouri State 8-1.
2017 record vs. CWS teams: 2-0.
Last CWS appearance: 2016.
All-time record in CWS: 8-8 in 4 appearances.
Meet the Horned Frogs: C Evan Skoug (.277, 20 HR, 67 RBIs), 1B Connor Wanhanen (.273, 0, 14), 2B Cam Warner (.292, 5, 49), 3B Elliott Barzilli (.243, 6, 30), SS Ryan Merrill (.243, 5, 40), LF Josh Watson (.239, 1, 36), CF Nolan Brown (.293, 3, 35), RF Austen Wade (.342, 5, 37), DH Zach Humphreys (.282, 2, 17). Starting pitchers: RHP Jared Janczak (9-0, 1.97 ERA), RHP Brian Howard (11-3, 3.95), RHP Mitchell Traver (4-1, 3.79), LHP Nick Lodolo (5-1, 4.28). Relievers: RHP Sean Wymer (5-4, 2.37), RHP Cal Coughlin (1-0, 1.80), RHP Jake Eissler (4-0, 5.02), RHP Charles King (0-3, 5.86), RHP Durbin Feltman (2-2, 3.90, 17 saves).
MLB Alumni: Jake Arrieta, Matt Carpenter, Bryan Holaday, Sam Demel, Brandon Finnegan, Andrew Cashner, Lance Broadway.
Short hops: Howard has won five straight postseason starts, including one at the 2016 CWS. … Howard is the first TCU pitcher to win 10 games in back-to-back seasons. … Skoug has hit four homers in five tournament games and has 20 for the season, and his 12 postseason RBIs are most among CWS players. … Frogs, with 102, are the only CWS team with more than 100 stolen bases.
Quotable: “He’ll go down as one of the greatest big-game pitchers in the history of this program.” — Schlossnagle, on Howard.
OREGON STATE (54-4)
Coach: Pat Casey (843-444-5, 23 years at Oregon State; 1,014-553-6, 30 years overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Corvallis regional: beat Holy Cross 8-2, beat Yale 11-0, beat Yale 8-1. Won Corvallis super regional: beat Vanderbilt 8-4, beat Vanderbilt 9-2.
2017 record vs. CWS teams: 0-0.
Last CWS appearance: 2013.
All-time record in CWS: 13-8 in 5 appearances; national champion 2006, 2007.
Meet the Beavers: C Adley Rutschman (.247, 2 HR, 32 RBIs), 1B KJ Harrison (.330, 8, 39), 2B Nick Madrigal (.383, 4, 36), 3B Michael Gretler (.300, 4, 32), SS Cadyn Grenier (.280, 5, 34), LF Christian Donahue (.258, 0, 18), CF Steven Kwan (.345, 1, 17), RF Jack Anderson (.288, 1, 29), DH Trevor Larnach (.304, 3, 42). Starting pitchers: RHP Jake Thompson (14-0, 1.52 ERA), RHP Bryce Fehmel (5-2, 3.80), LHP Luke Heimlich (11-1, 0.76), RHP Drew Rasmussen (3-0, 0.83). Relievers: RHP Sam Tweedt (3-0, 2.57), LHP Jake Mulholland (6-1, 1.31, 6 saves), LHP Brandon Eisert (5-0, 2.18, 4 saves), LHP Max Engelbrekt (3-0, 0.48, 5 saves), RHP Grant Gambrell (1-0, 2.93).
MLB Alumni: Michael Conforto, Jacoby Ellsbury, Darwin Barney, Daniel Robertson, Josh Osich, Sam Gaviglio, Matt Boyd.
Short Hops: The status of Heimlich, the national ERA leader, is uncertain. He asked to be excused from pitching in the super regional after a newspaper detailed the molestation case against him when he was 15. … Beavers are on a 21-game win streak. Their last loss was April 29, to Southern California. … If Oregon State wins the national title, it will be the first champion with fewer than nine losses since Texas (49-5) in 1975. … Rasmussen was the No. 31 overall draft pick by Tampa Bay.
Quotable: “It’s about the players. Obviously, you don’t have to have all the best players, but you’ve got to have the right players. We have the right players.” — Casey.
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CAL STATE FULLERTON (39-22)
Coach: Rick Vanderhook (237-125, 5 years at Fullerton and overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Stanford regional: beat BYU 13-2, beat Stanford 4-1, beat Stanford 4-2. Won Long Beach super regional: lost 3-0 to Long Beach State, beat Long Beach State 12-0, beat Long Beach State 2-1.
2017 record vs. CWS teams: 0-0.
Last CWS appearance: 2015.
All-time record in CWS: 34-29 in 17 appearances; national champion 1979, 1984, 1995, 2004.
Meet the Titans: C Chris Hudgins (.242, 5 HR, 31 RBIs), 1B Dillon Persinger (.296, 3, 30), 2B Sahid Valenzuela (.324, 1, 24), 3B Taylor Bryant (.266, 3, 35), SS Timmy Richards (.301, 4, 26), LF Chris Prescott (.230, 0, 7), CF Scott Hurst (.332, 12, 39), RF Hunter Cullen (.271, 6, 30), DH Hank LoForte (.253, 0, 19). Starting pitchers: RHP Connor Seabold (11-5, 3.01), LHP John Gavin (8-2, 2.67), RHP Colton Eastman (2-0, 1.09). Relievers: RHP Jack Pabich (1-2, 5.52), RHP Blake Workman (6-2, 2.70), RHP Gavin Velasquez (4-3, 4.50), RHP Joe Wills (4-2, 9.19), LHP Erik Cha (1-1, 4.85), RHP Brett Conine (0-1, 1.49, 15 saves).
MLB Alumni: Tim Wallach, Mike Harkey, Phil Nevin, Mark Kotsay, Jeremy Giambi, Kurt Suzuki.
Short Hops: Eastman has allowed no earned runs in 13 2/3 postseason innings. … Titans have gone 26 straight innings without allowing an earned run, and their 1.19 postseason ERA is lowest in the nation. … Persinger has stolen four of his 18 bases in the tournament. … Titans have never had a losing season in 43 years at the Division I level. … Hurst hit four homers against Cal State-Northridge on May 20.
Quotable: “You can have the Big West, but I’ll take Omaha.” — pitcher Colton Eastman, on Titans beating Long Beach State in super regional after losing five of six to Dirtbags in regular season.
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FLORIDA STATE (45-21)
Coach: Mike Martin (1943-692-4, 38 years at Florida State and overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Tallahassee regional: lost 3-1 to Tennessee Tech, beat UCF 6-1, beat Tennessee Tech 5-3, beat Auburn 8-7 in 10 innings, beat Auburn 6-0. Won Tallahassee super regional: beat Sam Houston State 7-6, beat Sam Houston state 19-0.
2017 record vs. CWS teams: 3-3.
Last CWS appearance: 2012.
All-time record in CWS: 28-42 in 21 appearances.
Meet the Seminoles: C Cal Raleigh (.226, 8 HR, 37 RBIs), 1B Drew Mendoza (.263, 8, 31), 2B Matt Henderson (.265, 0, 21), 3B Dylan Busby (.315, 14, 62), SS Taylor Walls (.276, 8, 47), LF Jason Lueck (.327, 9, 54), CF JC Flowers (.239, 2, 32), RF Tyler Holton (.268, 2, 9) or Steven Wells (.233, 1, 6), DH Quincy Nieporte (.305, 10, 78). Starting pitchers: LHP Drew Parrish (6-3, 4.40 ERA), LHP Tyler Holton (10-2, 2.25), RHP Cole Sands (6-3, 5.05). Relievers: RHP Will Zirzow (3-1, 2.60), LHP Clayton Kwiatkowski (1-0, 2.45), RHP Chase Haney (2-2, 4.35), RHP Jim Voyles (4-0, 4.46), RHP Andrew Karp (2-3, 4.87), LHP Alec Byrd (4-2, 4.31), RHP Drew Carlton (5-4, 1.98, 6 saves).
MLB Alumni: Buster Posey, J.D. Drew, Stephen Drew, Kevin Cash, Doug Mientkiewicz, Paul Sorrento, Deion Sanders, Richie Lewis, Luis Alicea, Terry Kennedy, Johnny Grubb, Dick Howser.
Short hops: FSU has made the most CWS appearances of any team that has not won a national championship. This will be the Seminoles’ 22nd appearance. … Seminoles have hit nine home runs in seven tournament games. … Their pitchers averaged 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings in regionals and super regionals. … Nieporte’s 82 RBIs are fourth nationally and first among CWS players. … Busby has been hit by six pitches in his last 10 games.
Quotable: “When our players come in, this is our goal. We are not going to be satisfied unless we get it done. It is a lofty goal, but that is Florida State baseball. To accomplish it — it’s been four years since we were last there — is exciting. These are memories they will cherish forever.” — Martin.
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LSU (48-17)
Coach: Paul Mainieri (508-199-3, 11 years at LSU; 1,372-691-7, 35 years overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Baton Rouge regional: beat Texas Southern 15-7, beat Southeastern Louisiana 11-6, beat Rice 5-0. Won Baton Rouge super regional: beat Mississippi State 4-3, beat Mississippi State 14-4.
2017 record vs. CWS teams: 2-5.
Last CWS appearance: 2015.
All-time record in CWS: 36-24 in 17 appearances; national champion 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2009.
Meet the Tigers: C Michael Papierski (.260, 8 HR, 34 RBIs), 1B Jake Slaughter (.256, 2, 23), 2B Cole Freeman (.327, 2, 41), 3B Josh Smith (.289, 4, 43), SS Kramer Robertson (.319, 8, 43), LF Antoine Duplantis (.322, 1, 57), CF Zach Watson (.313, 8, 35), RF Greg Deichmann (.320, 19, 72), DH Beau Jordan (.277, 3, 25). Starting pitchers: RHP Alex Lange (9-5, 2.92 ERA), LHP Jared Poche’ (10-3, 3.42), RHP Eric Walker (8-1, 3.46). Relievers: RHP Zach Hess (7-1, 2.85), RHP Caleb Gilbert (6-1, 2.42), RHP Todd Peterson (3-1, 3.74), LHP Nick Bush (1-1, 3.54), RHP Matthew Beck (1-0, 3.04), RHP Austin Bain (1-0, 4.81), RHP Hunter Newman (1-1, 1.07, 10 saves).
MLB Alumni: Alex Bregman, Kevin Gausman, DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Nola, Ryan Schimpf, Albert Belle, Paul Byrd, Russ Springer, Ryan Theriot, Todd Walker.
Short hops: Lange was the No. 30 overall draft pick by the Chicago Cubs, and Deichmann went No. 43 overall to Oakland. … Tigers’ 9.8 runs per game rank first in the national tournament. … Smith, at .696, has the highest tournament on-base percentage of any CWS player. He’s 6 for 13, walked eight times and been hit by two pitches. … LSU’s .718 all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage (148-58) ranks No. 1.
Quotable: “We’ve had some pretty good teams go up there, but we didn’t get to come back with much. There’s seven other really good ball clubs up there along with us. We like to think we’re just as good as anybody up there, but when you’re playing that caliber of competition, you’ve got to play your best.” — Mainieri.
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TEXAS A&M (41-21)
Coach: Rob Childress (499-259-2, 12 years at Texas A&M and overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Houston regional: beat Baylor 8-5, beat Iowa 3-2, beat Houston 4-3. Won College Station super regional: beat Davidson 7-6 in 15 innings, beat Davidson 12-6.
2017 record vs. CWS teams: 2-2.
Last CWS appearance: 2011.
All-time record in CWS: 2-10 in 5 appearances.
Meet the Aggies: C Cole Bedford (.302, 3 HR, 26 RBIs), 1B Hunter Coleman (.292, 5, 22), 2B Braden Shewmake (.335, 11, 68), 3B George Janca (.259, 6, 29), SS Austin Homan (.218, 0, 28), LF Walker Pennington (.217, 4, 33), CF Nick Choruby (.325, 3, 33), RF Blake Kopetsky (.298, 2, 19), DH Logan Foster (.283, 6, 24) or Jorge Gutierrez (.220, 4, 16). Starting pitchers: RHP Brigham Hill (8-3, 3.18 ERA), RHP Corbin Martin (7-3, 3.85), RHP Stephen Kolek (4-4, 3.59). Relievers: LHP Kaylor Chafin (7-2, 2.56), RHP Cason Sherrod (4-1, 2.89), RHP Turner Larkins (1-2, 3.380), RHP Mitchell Kilkenny (3-3, 3.56, 7 saves), LHP John Doxakis (4-3, 5.47).
MLB Alumni: Michael Wacha, Cliff Pennington, Ross Stripling, Alex Wilson, Chuck Knoblauch, Doug Rau, Davey Johnson.
Short hops: Aggies have won five straight after coming into the tournament off losses in eight of its previous 10. The Aggies were one of the last four at-large teams to get NCAA bids. … Martin was the No. 56 overall draft pick by Houston. … Choruby is 11 for 22 (.500) with four doubles in the tournament. … Aggies went into super regional against Davidson outscoring opponents 157-58 in the fifth through seventh innings. Davidson outscored them 9-2 over those innings.
Quotable: “This is what I’ve been dreaming of my whole life, to go to Omaha. Now we have the chance to go and compete for a national championship, I’m so excited.” — Choruby.
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LOUISVILLE (52-10)
Coach: Dan McDonnell (508-201, 11 years at Louisville and overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Louisville regional: beat Radford 11-6, beat Oklahoma 11-1, beat Xavier 8-7. Won Louisville super regional: beat Kentucky 5-2, beat Kentucky 6-2.
2017 record vs. CWS teams: 0-3.
Last CWS appearance: 2014.
All-time record in CWS: 1-6 in 3 appearances.
Meet the Cardinals: C Colby Fitch (.256, 11 HR, 43 RBIs), 1B Brendan McKay (.343, 17, 56) or Drew Ellis (.367, 20, 61), 2B Devin Mann (.270, 8, 43), 3B Drew Ellis (.367, 20, 61) or Tyler Fitzgerald (.211, 0, 11), SS Devin Hairston (.306, 3, 51), LF Josh Stowers (.311, 6, 33), CF Logan Taylor (.279, 0, 40), RF Colin Lyman (.287, 1, 30), DH Brendan McKay (.343, 17, 56) or Jake Snider (.278, 1, 11). Starting pitchers: RHP Kade McClure (8-3, 3.43 ERA), LHP Brendan McKay (10-3, 2.34), LHP Nick Bennett (5-0, 2.70). Relievers: RHP Sam Bordner (2-0, 0.47), LHP Adam Wolf (6-0, 2.37), RHP Jake Sparger (5-1, 3.86), LHP Adam Elliott (2-0, 1.93), RHP Lincoln Henzman (3-0, 1.77, 16 saves).
MLB Alumni: Chad Green, Sean Green, Adam Duvall, Dean Kiekhefer, Tony Zych, Cody Ege, Matt Koch.
Short hops: McKay, a three-time John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year, was the highest-drafted college player. He went No. 4 overall to Tampa Bay as a first baseman. … Ellis, batting a team-leading .367 with 20 homers, went No. 44 overall to Arizona. … Stowers is in a three-way tie for first with four doubles in the tournament. … Cardinals have stolen 97 bases after swiping 101 last season.
Quotable: “It means everything. Every team meeting, you look around and you’ve got three different pictures of fields in Omaha. You want to put your own picture up there. Going on three years I looked at that picture a lot, that picture a lot. Seeing it, you want to get there. You push your body to its limits every year pushing toward that goal.” — McKay.
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FLORIDA (47-18)
Coach: Kevin O’Sullivan (443-207, 10 seasons at Florida and overall).
Road to Omaha: Won Gainesville regional: beat Marist 10-6, beat USF 5-1, lost 6-2 to Bethune-Cookman, beat Bethune-Cookman 6-1. Won Gainesville super regional: beat Wake Forest 2-1, lost 8-6 to Wake Forest, beat Wake Forest 3-0.
2017 record vs. CWS teams: 5-1.
Last CWS appearance: 2016.
All-time record in CWS: 14-21 in 10 appearances.
Meet the Gators: C Mike Rivera (.241, 2 HR, 24 RBIs) or JJ Schwarz (.271, 12, 53), 1B JJ Schwarz (.271, 12, 53) or Christian Hicks (.286, 4, 25), 2B Deacon Liput (.225, 2, 30), 3B Jonathan India (.280, 6, 32), SS Dalton Guthrie (.272, 4, 22), LF Austin Langworthy (.234, 3, 24), CF Ryan Larson (.304, 5, 24), RF Nelson Maldonado (.304, 6, 31), DH Christian Hicks (.286, 4, 25) or Mike Rivera (.241, 2, 24). Starting pitchers: RHP Alex Faedo (7-2, 2.55 ERA), RHP Jackson Kowar (12-0, 4.00), RHP Brady Singer (7-5, 3.29). Relievers: LHP Austin Langworthy (1-1, 3.71), RHP Kirby McMullen (3-0, 5.32), RHP Frank Rubio (1-1, 4.05), RHP Tyler Dyson (3-0, 3.69), RHP Garrett Milchin (4-2, 2.33), LHP Nick Horvath (3-0, 3.77), RHP Michael Byrne (4-5, 1.83, 16 saves).
MLB Alumni: Mike Zunino, David Eckstein, Mark Ellis, Darren O’Day, David Ross, Anthony DeSclafani, Matt LaPorta, Mike Stanley, Brad Wilkerson.
Short hops: Faedo was the No. 18 overall draft pick by Detroit. … Faedo picked up his first career save in the super regional-clinching win over Wake Forest. … Gators pitchers have struck out 89 in 69 tournament innings. … Byrne has 23 strikeouts in 15 postseason innings. … Singer has walked one in 13 1/3 tournament innings.
Quotable: “I told these guys early in the year that I believe in them. I told them we have as good a chance to win a national championship as any team as we’ve had.” — O’Sullivan.