Jun 18, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; LSU Tigers players celebrate with first baseman Jared Jones (22) (no shirt) after the win against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

SEC's Baseball National Title Hopes Rest on the LSU Tigers

Originally posted on Vanderbilt Commodores on SI
By Joe Gaither | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 2:38 PM ET

The College Baseball World Series Championship Series gets underway on Friday night in Omaha as the LSU Tigers square off against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. The Tigers represent the Southeastern Conference's hopes of extending the league's baseball dominance as the conference looks to celebrate its sixth consecutive baseball national championship.

The Southeastern Conference has seen six different programs win seven of the last 10 baseball national championships dating back to 2014. Both LSU and Coastal Carolina look to join the Vanderbilt Commodores as the only programs with two national championships in that time frame.

The Tigers knocked out the Arkansas Razorbacks in dramatic fashion on Thursday night, coming back from a 5-3 deficit in the bottom of the ninth to advance to the weekend's championship series.

The Chanticleers carry a 26-game winning streak into the weekend series as they haven't dropped a game since losing 4-2 to the College of Charleston on April 22.

Coastal Carolina is looking to validate its program on a national level by winning its second national title in nine seasons. First year head coach Kevin Schnall is a 1999 alum and spent the majority of his career as an assistant, and acknowledged the monumental task ahead of them as they look to stop the Tigers from winning their second championship in three seasons.

"Coastal baseball, you have to have a certain type of energy level to play at Coastal Carolina," Schall said. "If you like baseball, Coastal's not the program for you. Two pillars of Coastal Carolina are the words "relentless" and "selfless." And "relentless" is basically doing everything to the best of your ability every single day. And "selfless" is having an others-centered mindset versus a self-centered mindset. And that is non-negotiable in our program.

"Regarding LSU, it's pretty simple. They've got power on both sides of the ball. They have over 100 home runs. They've got over 700 strikeouts. That combination is very dangerous."