UNO Mathematician Correctly Predicts CWS Winner

On June 13, one night before this year's Men's College World Series began, University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) associate professor of mathematics, Andrew Swift, D.Sc., picked Tennessee to win it all. On June 24, that prediction came to fruition. With a 6-5 win over the Texas A&M Aggies in game three, the Tennessee Volunteers won the title.

Originally published on June 13, 2024

They call it the "greatest show on dirt."

UNO's Andrew Swift, D.Sc., calls it an opportunity to show all the things that mathematics can do.

For more than a decade, Swift, an associate professor of mathematics and sports fan, has eagerly awaited the names of the final eight teams who will complete the field of Omaha's College World Series (CWS) so he can hopefully shine a light on which of those teams could come away a national champion.

Using a formula developed by himself and a former graduate student, Swift runs roughly 100,000 scenarios based on win-loss records, head-to-head matchups, national rankings, and other factors through a computer to come up with the best guess for which teams have the best chance to win it all.

It may seem as simple as picking the highest-ranked teams, but that's not always the case.

While there is no way to predict the future, Swift has had success with his formula, correctly guessing the winners of 2019's College World Series. Other times, underdogs like 2021's Mississippi State or 2017's University of Florida pull off an upset.

Predicted 2024 CWS Winner

Here is who Swift thinks has the best shot this year.

• Tennessee 26%

• Texas A&M 21%

• Kentucky 19%

• North Carolina 11%

• Florida St. 9%

• Virginia 6%

• NC State 5%

• Florida 3%

UNO's Ties to the College World Series

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