Oklahoma baseball is ready for its time in the limelight.The Sooners aren’t exactly new to the College World Series. When they play Alabama in both teams’ openers on Saturday (3 p.m. on ESPN), OU will make its 12th appearance in the CWS. That’s six more than the Crimson Tide. Only 11 schools have played in Omaha more than the Sooners.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe thing is, only three appearances have come this century. All three have come in the era of Oklahoma’s softball dominance. Baseball has, mostly, been lower on the pecking order. But with the softball team having fallen short of Oklahoma City and the Women’s College World Series for the first time in a decade, all eyeballs are on Skip Johnson’s club.Not that they weren’t in 2022 when OU made the national championship final. That run, though, felt more probable than this one. In 2026, the Sooners had to fight through losing their last five Southeastern Conference series, beat the national No. 2-seed Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and finally get past old Big 12 rival, and No. 15-seed, Kansas.Oklahoma doesn’t enter the tournament as a favorite. But they haven’t been for most of the last couple months, either, and they made it this far. The Sooners’ goal is to get on-base, go first-to-third or steal second, and use the middle of the lineup to knock guys in. That’ll be key in Omaha, where Charles Schwab Field plays against the long ball.Let’s look at what to expect when CWS kicks off.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOklahoma’s potential games are bolded, not including the finales.Friday, June 12Game 1: 2 p.m. | No. 16 West Virginia vs. Troy | ESPNGame 2: 7 p.m. | No. 5 North Carolina vs. Ole Miss | ESPNSaturday, June 13 Game 3: 3 p.m. | No. 7 Alabama vs. Oklahoma | ESPNGame 4: 8 p.m. | No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Texas | ESPNSunday, June 14Game 5: 2 p.m. | Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 | ESPNGame 6: 7 p.m. | Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2| ESPNMonday, June 15Game 7: 2 p.m.| Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 | ESPNGame 8: 7 p.m. | Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | ESPNTuesday, June 16Game 9: 2 p.m. | Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6 | ESPNGame 10: 8 p.m. | Winner of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8 |ESPNWednesday, June 17Game 11: 2 p.m. | Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 9 | ESPNGame 12: 7 p.m. | Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 | ESPN Thursday, June 18 (if necessary)Bracket 1 | TBD Thursday, June 18 on ESPN (if necessary)Bracket 2 | TBD Thursday, June 18 on ESPN (if necessary)Men’s College World Series championship series: Saturday, June 20 – Sunday/Monday, 21/22Game 1: 8 p.m. Saturday, June 20 on ESPNGame 2: 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 21 on ABCGame 3: 7 p.m. Monday, June 22 on ESPN (if necessary)Alabama won two of three in Norman: 10-7, 2-4, 3-2Texas won all three in Austin: 14-0, 4-3, 5-4Georgia and Oklahoma did not play in 2026Starting pitcher – freshman Cord Rager: 5-3, 1.08 WHIP, 5.20 ERA, 81 K, 19 BB in 64 IPPitcher – Camer