College World Series 2021: Predictions for NCAA Baseball Bracket

And then there were eight.

The College World Series is back, and the last eight teams standing in college baseball are vying for this year's crown in Omaha, Nebraska.

Last year's tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so Vanderbilt still holds the title of champions from its 2019 triumph. Can the Commodores protect their throne, or will the coronation of a new champ be in order?

We'll get to that prediction and more ahead of Saturday's CWS opener.

When looking at the bracket, Virginia stands out in the proverbial "one of these things is not like the others" fashion.

The other seven teams in this field all ranked 16th or better in the most recent rankings by D1Baseball.com. Each suffered 18 losses or fewer. Virginia didn't crack those rankings and went 35-25 this season. On April 1, it was 11-14 overall and 4-12 in ACC play.

But the Cavaliers can't be taken lightly. Not when they are emitting serious team-of-destiny vibes.

Virginia faced elimination six times in eight NCAA tournament games and survived each one. The most recent triumph, keyed by a seventh-inning grand slam from freshman Kyle Teel, was the club's 13th in its past 17 games.

Lefty Andrew Abbott has difference-making stuff (3.04 ERA with 152 strikeouts against 30 walks in 100.2 innings), and the offense is making a habit of delivering timely hits. The Cavaliers can keep the good times rolling long enough to score at least one victory in Omaha.

With top-ranked Arkansas ousted from the super regionals, No. 2 Texas is the highest-ranked team in this tournament.

It's a well-deserved ranking too.

The Longhorns went 50-16 this season, and they are built to win games in all kinds of different ways. They arguably have the best starting pitcher trio with Ty Madden, Pete Hansen and Tristan Stevens. Madden paced the three with 119 strikeouts. Hansen had the lowest ERA at 1.84. Tristan Stevens issued the fewest free passes (19) despite pitching the most innings (103).

But the bullpen also contributed to the club's best-in-the-nation 2.89 (and third-best 1.13 WHIP). The lineup can score runs too, as three players each hit at least .300 with double-digit home runs (Ivan Melendez, Cam Williams and Zach Zubia).

This team is really good, in other words. But so is its opening opponent, Mississippi State, which opened its season with an 8-3 win over Texas. Virginia and Tennessee are tricky too, and Texas could tussle one of them in a win-or-go home game. Our crystal ball says the Longhorns will, in fact, be going home after just a two-game stay in Omaha.

The last time Vandy made the trip to Omaha, then-freshman starting pitcher Kumar Rocker was named the College World Series' Most Outstanding Player. He went 2-0 with 17 strikeouts and only two earned runs in his 12.1 innings pitched.

Rocker has since become the top-ranked 2021 MLB draft prospect by D1Baseball. Want to know who's ranked one spot behind him? His rotation mate, Jack Leiter, son of former MLB hurler Al Leiter.

That one-two punch has the champs appearing almost invincible. Rocker went 13-3 with a 2.46 ERA, 155 strikeouts against 36 walks and a .157 batting average against. Those are ridiculous numbers—and Leiter arguably bested them with a 10-3 record, 2.16 ERA, 156 strikeouts with 41 walks and a .127 opponents' batting average.

Rocker and Leiter alone make Vandy one of the favorites, but what seals the deal for this prediction is the fact that this club can score runs too. In fact, the Commodores were the country's only team to rank among the top eight in both ERA (3.37, sixth) and slugging percentage (.503, eighth).