For the first time since winning the national title in 2013, No. 15 seed UCLA baseball (47-16, 22-8 Big Ten) is back in Omaha, Nebraska, for the Men’s College World Series, where it’ll be joined by No. 3 seed Arkansas, No. 6 seed LSU, Coastal Carolina, Oregon State, Louisville, Arizona and Murray State. Ahead of the Bruins’ first game against the Racers (44-15, 17-8 Missouri Valley) Saturday, Daily Bruins Sports’ baseball beat predicts where UCLA will finish the 2025 campaign and which team will raise a national title at Charles Schwab Field when it’s all said and done.

Gabriela Garcia
Assistant Sports editor
UCLA prediction: Second round exit
National champion: Arkansas

After cruising through both their regional and super regional, the Bruins may be in for a rude awakening in Omaha.

In their first matchup of the MCWS, the Bruins will face the Racers, who could be the easiest opponent in the tournament. If UCLA walks away with a win, it will face either Arkansas or LSU.

With the double elimination format, I see the Bruins falling to the Razorbacks (48-13, 20-10 SEC) before meeting the Tigers (48-15, 19-11 SEC). Although the Tigers are seeded higher, the Bruins have shown that – when the bats are hot and the bullpen can lock it down – they’re good enough to beat anyone.

UCLA has shown grit time and time again this season. And the Bruins could defeat the Razorbacks when they face them a second time.

However, the Razorbacks are traveling a mere 420-or-so miles compared to the Bruins 1,500-plus. And if anything is known about SEC baseball, their fans travel. With Charles Schwab Field holding 24,000 fans – compared to Jackie Robinson Stadium’s capacity of 1,838 – the noise could prove to be too loud for the young Bruin squad.

Kai Dizon
Daily Bruin senior staff
UCLA prediction: MCWS champions
National champion: UCLA

It hasn’t been flawless, but this season has just been too good for the Bruins to go quietly.

The storylines are just too perfect.

UCLA finished 2024 at 19-33. Right now, they’re 47-16.

The team finished tied for last place in the Pac-12 a year ago. So, this year it tied for first place in the Big Ten.

The Bruins were kicked out of Jackie Robinson Stadium in the fall – and may never play another season at the ballpark – so they hosted regionals and super regionals, sweeping both.

So what if a couple of SEC teams stand in their way? The Razorbacks and Tigers couldn’t make the SEC tournament championship game – how are they going to win in Omaha? Plus, neither of them have sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky – who remains a Golden Spikes Award finalist in my heart – so I could care less.

The Bruins may not have the dominant starting pitching some of the other teams do. But in 2013, UCLA became the first team since 1966 to win a MCWS without hitting a home run. Maybe this year they win the title without getting even one quality start.

The program’s first national title earned coach John Savage a 13-year extension. And with Savage amid a contract year, maybe a second title is what’s going to get Athletic Director Martin Jarmond to open up the checkbook.

Noah Massey
Daily Bruin staff
UCLA prediction: Second round exit
National champion: Arkansas

The Bruins have been dominant thus far in the NCAA tournament, going 5-0 while outscoring their opponents 50-16 and winning each game by at least three runs.

However, every game has been in the familiar confines of Jackie Robinson Stadium, where UCLA went 31-7 this season.

From now on, they’ll need to win on the road.

UCLA will first take on Murray State – which has put together a tremendous Cinderella run – to kick off the tournament but will then have to face either Arkansas or LSU regardless.

In the Razorbacks’ and Tigers’ past MCWS appearances, both SEC fan bases have shown up in force, creating atmospheres the Bruins have only seen once this season – the Big Ten tournament championship game.

And in that title game, the Bruins fell to the No. 8 seed 5-0 – just UCLA’s second shutout of the season.

UCLA has also managed to play just one ranked team this tournament – then-No. 23 UC Irvine.

LSU and Arkansas were ranked third and sixth, respectively, and are loaded with future MLB draftees – the Razorbacks have five players ranked in MLB’s top 200 draft prospects while the Tigers have six.

While Murray State is a beatable opponent, LSU and Arkansas could prove to be too much for UCLA.

Mika McCaffrey
Daily Bruin reporter
UCLA Prediction: MCWS
National Champion: UCLA

Despite getting to host the regional and super regional rounds, the Bruins have overcome a slew of challenging opponents on their way to the MCWS – and a red-hot UCLA will come out on top.

While Murray State has been a resilient team this postseason – narrowly edging out Ole Miss in a 12-11 victory to advance to the super regional where it defeated Duke 5-4 in game three for its first-ever trip to Omaha – UCLA has proven its ability to beat even the most persistent teams.

For instance, UCLA swept UTSA in the super regional after UTSA had defeated No. 2 seed Texas to escape the Austin regional.

And after beating up on Murray State, UCLA will face either LSU or Arkansas. While these two powerhouses may pose a challenge, the Bruins’ offensive will carry them to another victory.

In UCLA’s postseason run, sophomore third baseman Roman Martin and redshirt sophomore center fielder Payton Brennan’s consistency proved the Bruins’ lineup goes well beyond sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky’s contributions.

And, once they advance to the championship, the Bruins can take care of any team from Bracket 1 in a best-of-three series.

The favorite from Bracket 1 – Oregon State – is a familiar adversary for UCLA, having shared time in the Pac-12. While the Bruins may have lost to them earlier this season, that was just a single midweek match up. And in Arizona State and UC Irvine, UCLA has already defeated teams it lost to in the regular season in the playoffs.

In about as true of a worst-to-first season as you can get in college sports, the Bruins’ 2025 trip to the MCWS will culminate in the program’s second national championship.