Opinion: Coastal Carolina Stokes Flame Ahead of CWS Final-- And Rightly So

Coastal Carolina has had quite the run over the past two months.

On April 22, the Chanticleers lost 4-2 at the hands of the College of Charleston. In the 61 days that followed, as of the publishing of this article, Coastal Carolina has not lost a single contest. Coastal’s 26-game winning streak is just eight games shy of the all-time Division I record of 34– and while Coastal cannot break that record this season, there is a chance to open up the 2026 campaign with a ring ceremony and a shot at history.

During this 26-game winning streak, Coastal Carolina has defeated four regional hosts: #11 Clemson (twice), #16 Southern Miss, #4 Auburn (twice), and #8 Oregon State. The Chants have outscored opponents 216-80, averaging a whopping 5.2 run differential over the last 26 games. The Chants have scored 7+ runs in 17 of those games, which they call “Sounding the Horn.”

Coastal is a perfect 8-0 in the NCAA Tournament thus far. The closest the Chants have come to losing: a 1-run win over East Carolina– a game in which Coastal shut out a talented Pirates lineup and was able to score the game’s only run in the bottom of the eighth.

So when a reporter asked what Coastal “admired” or “liked” about LSU during Friday’s pre-finals press conference, it is understandable as to why there might have been some frustration.

“What do you think about the Tigers?…”

Coastal Carolina players answer what they admire about LSU before the championship series. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Kinj1ezJVL

— Hurrdat Sports (@HurrdatSports) June 20, 2025

“Not a whole lot,” said Coastal ace Jacob Morrison, giving a shrug and dismissing the question.

During the LSU portion of the press conference, there was no question regarding what LSU “admired” about Coastal. Yet, LSU head coach Jay Johnson was quick to give the Chanticleers the respect he felt they deserved.

“If you’re at this point in the NCAA Tournament, you’ve been battle tested,” said Johnson. “I feel like we’re very prepared… One of my attitudes about [the entire season] is that ‘Everything is Training for Something.’ I feel like we’re well-trained and well-prepared for, in my opinion, probably the best team we’ve played all year in Coastal.”

Social media has swirled around this byte by Morrison, some labeling him as “arrogant” or “disrespectful.” Some believe that Morrison, and Coastal Carolina as a whole, should be paying their respects to an LSU program that has racked up seven CWS Titles.

Is Coastal supposed to worship the ground that LSU walks on? Should they be honored to play on the same field?

This is not a matter of whether or not Coastal respects LSU– the Coastal Carolina coaching staff has been meticulously scouting the Tigers since the Chants punched their ticket to the CWS Final. Everyone on the staff understands the greatness that is LSU Baseball. Everyone on the staff understands that this is no run-of-the-mill opponent.

But Coastal is no pushover, either.

This is not the Cinderella story of 2016, Chanticleer head coach Kevin Schnall made that abundantly clear. This Coastal Carolina team ranks 8th in RPI, and according to D1Baseball they rank 2nd. They boast the 13th strongest out-of-conference schedule in the country, are a conference regular-season and tournament champion, and have been playing the best baseball in the country for the past two months.

Coastal has arguably the best pitching staff in the nation, behind starters Morrison, Cameron Flukey, and Riley Eikoff. They have two of the best relievers in the country in Ryan Lynch and Dominick Carbone. All of them get to pitch to Buster Posey Award-finalist Caden Bodine, who just about every college baseball analyst has said is already “big-league ready.”

Coastal Carolina had a top-8 national seed resume. They dropped to 13th, hosting a Florida Gators team whose fanbase seemed convinced would run away with an “easy regional.” Florida never got to face the Chants, losing twice to an ECU squad who, in turn, lost twice to Coastal (in one game by 11 runs).

When Coastal traveled to Auburn, Chris Phillips of SEC Unfiltered had harsh remarks for the Chanticleers– remarks that would not be approved for print. The gist: Auburn would make quick work of that little team in Conway.

Well, he was about as wrong as he could have been. Coastal took that series in two games, then went 3-0 against Arizona, Oregon State, and Louisville in Omaha.

And now, even in the College World Series Final, Coastal Carolina seems to be written off by the national media again. The proof: That one question that has everyone up in arms.

It was not the fact that Coastal was asked this particular question, more so the manner in which it was asked. Coastal was not asked what they need to be prepared for, they were essentially asked if they were “happy to be there.” This is a Coastal Carolina team that ranks 10th all-time in winning percentage– the only reason they are not held in the same regard as the blue bloods of the sport is because the program has only been in existence for 50 years.

If Coastal Carolina wins this year’s College World Series, they will be one of just 16 programs in the nation to have claimed multiple baseball national championships– and they will have done it in less than a decade. A decade steeped in unprecedented change in college athletics, where money is now a bigger factor than its ever been. In the day and age of NIL and the transfer portal, Coastal consistently finds ways to keep a vast majority of their players and put a tremendous baseball team on the field.

Both on and off the field, Coastal Carolina has answered the call– Every. Single. Time.

At the end of the day, these two teams are not here to come in second. LSU is looking for its eighth title, its second in three years. Coastal Carolina is seeking its second overall, and to continue its tremendous streak of stellar play. Both teams have outstanding resumes. Both teams have taken care of business to get to this stage.

Let’s stop pretending that one of these teams does not belong here.