Eight teams will converge on TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha this weekend, hoping to hoist some hardware at the end of the 2022 College World Series.
Kansas sportsbooks are not available yet, but should be in time for the NFL regular season this fall.
Once the state does launch, it could become an oasis for gamblers from Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas where sports betting is still illegal.
You would have to imagine fans from Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma in this year’s CWS field would be working their cell phones overtime on the drive to Omaha if betting were currently live in Kansas.
But that will have to wait until next year. Here’s what you need to know about this year’s College World Series.
Men’s College World Series Schedule
Friday
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M, 1 p.m., ESPN
Notre Dame vs. Texas, 6 p.m., ESPN
Saturday
Arkansas vs. Stanford, 1 p.m., ESPN
Ole Miss vs. Auburn, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Multiple Big 12 Teams Featured in 2022 Event
The Red River rivalry will be alive and well in Omaha this weekend, as No. 9 seed Texas and unseeded Oklahoma crash the 2022 CWS.
The Longhorns reached Omaha thanks to upsetting No. 8 seed East Carolina on the road last weekend after handling business in Austin during the regional round.
The Sooners knocked off No. 4 Virginia Tech in three games on the road in the Super Regional over the weekend after beating No. 13 Florida twice in the Gainesville regional.
OU and UT both swept three-game Big 12 series from Kansas this year. The Jayhawks went 4-20 in the league. Kansas State went 2-1 against Texas and 1-2 against Oklahoma among the Wildcats eight conference victories.
Texas is tied with LSU for the second-most NCAA titles, with six. Oklahoma and Stanford have two titles apiece.
Auburn (6 CWS appearances, last in 2019, no titles), Ole Miss (6 CWS appearances, last in 2014, no titles), Notre Dame (3 CWS appearances, last in 2002, no titles) and Arkansas (11 CWS appearances, last in 2021, two runners-up, no titles) will be trying to win their first national title this week.
Men’s College World Series Odds
Who to Wager on in the CWS?
The oddsmakers at BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook Kansas see the Longhorns as the team to beat in the 2022 CWS with odds of +400 and +350, respectively.
Texas is tied atop the odds board with Stanford at BetMGM Kansas, which knocked off UConn to advance to the program’s second-consecutive CWS.
The Sooners find themselves in disparate positions on the two operators’ odds boards, with BetMGM slotting Oklahoma last at +800, while Caesars Sportsbook has them sixth out of eight teams even though they’re also at +800.
Latest News Regarding Kansas Sports Betting
Kansas betting apps could launch in time for the 2022 NFL regular season, which kicks off Sept. 8.
Todd Allen, who serves as the government relations director of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, told BetKansas.com there are high hopes betting will be in place during football season.
"We're still hoping that there'll be able to be sports wagering that happens this upcoming football season,” Allen told BetKansas.com.
Days after sports betting was signed into law in May, Boot Hill Casino in Kansas announced it had reached partnerships with DraftKings and Bally Bet.
For now, college baseball fans will have to cast their eyes toward the 2023 season for the chance to wager on the College World Series — though at least Kansans have more hope on that front than their neighbors to the south.
