The best part of college baseball is being able to sit in the stands in warm weather, eating hotdogs and feeling the electric school spirit while watching some of the greatest shows on dirt.
The worst part? If you’re not in the stadium, you probably aren’t watching at all.
The ESPN app is primarily the home for college baseball, offering the game times, locations and where to watch. What you can’t see is the team’s roster, stats, news and schedule.
While the app produces articles and videos highlighting NCAA baseball rankings, recent matchups and standout plays, there is little access to the basic information about teams.
But watching the games isn’t much easier.
Most college baseball broadcasts are locked behind ESPN+ or the conference’s network. An alternative would be trying to find a live stream on YouTube, as some teams have dedicated streamers.
So in a sense, you can watch college baseball. If you’re willing to pay $12.99 a month or settle for a delayed YouTube live stream.
Why the hassle?
With ESPN being the main source of information about college baseball, the sport often gets lost in the excitement of the NCAA’s March Madness Tournament, with the NBA and NHL postseason following.
Getting lost in the excitement, in the entertainment world, means getting lost in the coverage.
College baseball games, especially during the regular season, are often behind paywalls instead of national coverage because of their viewership. Not only are half of sports fans watching a different game, but half of the country doesn’t feel the need to watch the games.
With college baseball having a strong presence in the South, streaming on ESPN+ and SECN+ is catering to a local crowd instead of competing with national television slots that networks assume won’t deliver the same numbers.
But the interest is there.
The College World Series in Omaha sees more contenders from the ACC and the SEC, with the exception of the few out-west teams, including Oregon State, UCLA and Arizona, who have recently been repeat members in the postseason.
But simply playing in June doesn’t guarantee a victorious bracket for that program. After all, there is only one winner each season.
Any LSU fan hates to realize that. Especially after this week. But that’s the reality, and it’s a reality for all other baseball programs that are hopeful for a season to stretch to the CWS finals.
I’m not here to crush your dreams, but to show how exciting it is to get there. And getting there matters.
The CWS in Omaha draws massive crowds, regularly surpassing 370,000 attendees. These fans travel from all over the country to support their team, hoping to see them raise a trophy at the end of the week.
That dedication doesn’t show up in June. It starts in February.
These dedicated fans would gladly watch their teams all season long if games were easier to find. The stands in Omaha aren’t just filled with alumni and students; they’re filled with college baseball fans who simply want to watch good baseball the same way they can watch other sports.
Colleges have seen multiple dominant players in their baseball uniforms in recent years, ones that quickly turn to MLB stars, making history and leaving a legend on campus.
The talent is there. The fans are there. The coverage just needs to catch up.
College baseball is developing into a sport that brings exciting games packed with talented players and compelling environments all season long. That excitement deserves to be shared with the nation for the entire season.
