OMAHA, Neb. – Florida, the No 1 national seed that rallied from a game down in the best-of-three Super Regionals, is the favorite to win the national championship according to a CollegeBaseballInsider.com survey of Division I head coaches.
The Gators garnered 23 votes of the 35 head coaches who took part in the survey. Coaches were asked to select the teams they think will emerge from each bracket of the College World Series, beginning today at TD Ameritrade Park, and the eventual national champion. Twenty-eight of the 35 coaches picked Florida to reach the championship series.
In all, 30 of the coaches picked a team from Florida’s side of the bracket to win the title, with TCU getting six votes and Coastal Carolina one. Three coaches chose Oklahoma State and another pair picked Miami to win it all. Arizona, UCSB and Texas Tech did not receive any votes to win the title.
The Cowboys earned 17 votes to reach the final, while the Hurricanes picked up seven.
National champion picks were as follows:
Jon Mueller (Albany) – Florida
Mike Gambino (Boston College) – Florida
Mark Van Ameyde (Eastern Michigan) – TCU
John McCormack (FAU) – Florida
Scott Stricklin (Georgia) – Florida
Greg DiCenzo (Holy Cross) – TCU
Bobby Pierce (IPFW) – Florida
Omar Johnson (Jackson State) – Miami
Sean Leary (Lehigh) – Florida
Ken Harring (UMass-Lowell) – Florida
Justin Hill (McNeese State) – TCU
Erik Bakich (Michigan) – Florida
Jake Boss (Michigan State) – Florida
Jim McGuire (Middle Tennessee) – Florida
Scott Doffek (Milwaukee) – Oklahoma State
Mike McGuire (Morehead State) – Florida
Paul Kostacopoulos (Navy) – Florida
Mark Scalf (UNC Wilmington) – Oklahoma State
Carl Iwasaki (Northern Colorado) – TCU
George Horton (Oregon) – TCU
Pat Casey (Oregon State) – Florida
Tracy Woodson (Richmond) – Florida
Fritz Hamburg (Saint Joseph’s) – Florida
Dave Hendrickson (Saint Louis) – Florida
Carlton Hardy (Savannah State) – Florida
Tony Rossi (Siena) – Florida
Dave Schrage (South Dakota State) – Oklahoma State
Pete Dunn (Stetson) – Coastal Carolina
Scott Malone (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) – TCU
Dave Marshall (UTSA) – Florida
Mark Smartt (Troy) – Florida
Brian Schmack (Valparaiso) – Miami
Tim Corbin (Vanderbilt) – Florida
Tom Walter (Wake Forest) – Florida
Bobby Moranda (Western Carolina) – Florida