How To Watch the NCAA College Baseball Championship

The road to the NCAA Men’s College World Series Championship includes regionals, super regionals, and the 2023 Men’s College World Series. The entire schedule of events are as follows:

• Selection show: Monday, May 29 — airs at noon ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+
• Regionals: Friday-Monday, June 2-5 – airs on ESPN+
• Super regionals: Friday-Sunday, June 9-11 or Saturday-Monday, June 10-12
• First day of MCWS games: Start Friday, June 16
• MCWS finals: Saturday-Monday, June 24-26
• Final championship game: Monday, June 26

All games, from the regionals to the final championship game, will air on various ESPN-owned channels like ESPN+, ESPN, ESPN2, LongHorn Network, ESPNU, ACC Network, SEC Network, etc. While I cover various streaming services you can use to watch in this article, I find the following services work best:

• Sling TV – If you subscribe to Sling TV’s Orange Plan ($40 per month) and get the Sports Extra add-on ($11 per month) you will have access to every channel you need except ESPN+. You can then get a standalone subscription to ESPN+ for $9.99 per month. Sling gives you $10 off your first month, so it is cheaper than my next suggestion, but you may find the next option more convenient.

• Hulu Live TV – Since Hulu Live TV includes ESPN+, you have every channel you need except for LongHorn Network, so Longhorn fans will want to use Sling. Hulu Live TV starts at $69.99 per month; you can sign up for Hulu Live TV here.

There are other options as well. Please read on for more information on how to watch the NCAA Men’s Baseball Championship.

Watch NCAA Baseball Championship Selection Special

The NCAA Baseball Tournament field is being announced on a Selection Special airing Monday, May 29 at noon ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+. You can watch live using any of the services below:

• ESPN+ – You can get a standalone subscription to ESPN+ for $9.99 per month.
• DIRECTV STREAM – Carries ESPN2 and offers a risk-free 5-Day Free Trial. Costs $64.99 per month for your first 3 months and $74.99 each month after.
• Hulu Live TV: Carries ESPN2 and and ESPN+ with unlimited DVR storage for $69.99/month. (Sign up)
• Sling TV: Carries ESPN2 and costs $40 per month and get your first month $10 off
• fuboTV – Carries ESPN2 and costs $74.99 per month and offers a 1-week free trial
• YouTube TV –  Carries ESPN2 and costs $72.99 per month and offers a free trial. They are currently giving $10 a month off your first three months.
• Vidgo: Carries ESPN2 and costs $69.99 per month. (Sign up)

How To Watch The College Baseball World Series

The road to the NCAA College Baseball World Series starts this week. All games leading up to the College World Series and the World Series Finals are broadcast on an ESPN-owned channel (ESPN+ ESPN, ESPN2, LongHorn Network, ESPNU, ACC Network, SEC Network, etc.). However, you don’t need cable to watch.

Sling TV’s Orange Package with the “Sports Extra” add-on will provide all the channels you need to watch the NCAA Baseball World Series except for ESPN+. However, you can subscribe to a month of ESPN+ for just $9.99 for your first month.

Sling TV’s Orange package typically costs $40 per month, with the “Sports Extra add-on” costing an additional $11 per month. However, Sling TV currently has a promotion where you get $10 off the first month. With the Sports Extra add-on package costing $11 per month, you can watch every game of the College World Series on Sling for $51 ($10 of the $51 for Sling and $9.99 for ESPN+).

Since ESPN+ can only be watched through the ESPN app, I find it much easier to link your Sling TV account email and password to unlock the ESPN app. This will let you watch every game of the NCAA College Baseball World Series through the ESPN app. I’ve included instructions below.

Watch NCAA College World Series with the ESPN App

Once you subscribe to Sling TV and ESPN+, you can use your Sling TV account to unlock all the College World Series games. Below are the steps to unlock your ESPN channels on Roku. Other streaming devices have a very similar process.

Linking Sling TV To your ESPN App

1. Subscribe to Sling TV using this Sling TV Promotion.
2. Go to the channel store on your device.
3. Please search for the ESPN app, and add it to your device.
4. Open the app, and click the setting gear from the top right of the menu.
5. Then select “Account Information” and then “TV Provider.”
6. Your device will provide an activation code and the URL https://espn.com/active.
7. Using a web browser on your laptop or mobile device, go to https://espn.com/active and enter the supplied code.
8. You will then be asked for the TV provider you signed up for that has ESPN. You will then log into the service using the credentials from the TV streaming service you are subscribed to. ( For example, I used my Hulu credentials)
9. Once you successfully log in, The ESPN App screen will refresh and list your TV provider.
10. The ESPN app is now set up. In the ESPN app, on the “Featured” tab, scroll down to “Leagues” and select “NCAA Baseball.” There you will see all the College World Series games you can watch regardless of the network they’re on.

Of course, you can also use the Sling TV app to watch the ESPN channels through their live TV guide. I find it more convenient to use the ESPN app as it consolidates all the ESPN channels under one interface.

Add ESPN+ to Your ESPN App

ESPN+ is an ESPN premium add-on streaming service offering exclusive sports coverage, events, and original sports programming, including the NCAA College World Series. To add ESPN+ to your ESPN app, follow these instructions:

1. Subscribe to ESPN+
2. Download and Open the ESPN app on your mobile or TV device
3. Click the Settings Gear in the upper right corner
4. Select “Account Information” then “Log Into ESPN Account.” You should receive an activation code.
5. Visit https://espn.com/activate on your phone or laptop and type in the code.
6. Log in with your ESPN+ credentials.
7. You should then get confirmation that your ESPN+ account is linked and see the “ESPN+” tab in the ESPN app.

Other Ways To Watch The NCAA Baseball World Series

We recommend subscribing to ESPN+ and Sling TV because ESPN+ carries most of the regional games, while Sling TV carries all the ESPN-owned channels you need to watch. Sling TV has the edge as it’s the only service that carries Longhorn Network (LHN.) Without LHN, you may miss games involving the Texas Longhorns. If you don’t mind missing LHN, then the following options may work for you.

Hulu Live TV

Hulu Live TV starts at $69.99 a month and includes all the channels you need except LHN. It even includes ESPN+ in with the monthly price.

A subscription to Hulu Live TV includes the following features:

• over 60 channels, including ESPN branded channels ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network, SEC Network, and even ESPN+
• 50 hours of cloud DVR storage (upgradeable)
• stream to two streams simultaneously, with an upgrade option for unlimited streams.
• The Hulu on-demand streaming library
• Hulu is available on Android, iOS, Xbox One, 4th Gen Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV and stick.

Hulu is supported on most streaming devices. See our review of Hulu for more information on the service. Sign up here.

fuboTV

FuboTV offers over 90 channels, including ESPN and ESPN2, in their Pro Plan for $74.99. You can add ESPNU, ACC Network, and SEC Network through their “FuboTV Extra” plan for an additional $7.99 per month. The FuboTV app is available on major platforms, including Apple TV, AndroidTV, Roku, and Amazon FireTV. You can sign up for fuboTV with this 1-week free trial or check out our review of FuboTV for more details. Going this route will require you to get a separate subscription to ESPN+.

Vidgo

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network, SEC Network, and even Longhorn Network are all a part of its Core package, along with over 60 other channels. However, this option does lack ESPN+. New customers can sign up for the Core Plan for $69.99 per month. They do offer promotions for new customers. We have the full details on features and device support in our guide to Vidgo’s live streaming service.

DIRECTV STREAM

This service provides ESPN and ESPN2 as part of their most “Entertainment” for $74.99 per month. ESPNU, ACC Network, and SEC Network require their Choice plan for $99.99 per month. So this option lacks ESPN+ and LHN. You can try either plan with this 5-day free trial. You can check out everything this service offers by reading our DIRECTV STREAM review.

YouTube TV

The YouTube TV channel lineup includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network, and SEC Network for $72.99 a month. So this option lacks ESPN+. YouTube TV supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. The YouTube TV app has also returned to Roku devices after settling a dispute between the two companies. Check our review of YouTube TV for more information.

Check out my review of YouTube TV for all the details and channels available on the service. You can also check your Zip Code on YouTube TVs Website to see the available channels in your area.

How The College World Series Works

The regionals will see 64 teams split into 16 double-elimination brackets. Next, the 16 winners of the regionals move on to the super regionals, where they are divided into eight pairings, each pairing playing a best-of-three series. Then, the eight winners of the super regionals head to the College World Series, where the teams are split into two double-elimination brackets, each consisting of 4 teams. Finally, the winner of each of those brackets plays a best of 3 series to crown the NCAA College World Series Champion.