A history of Brewers in the NCAA Men’s College World Series

It’s the eve of the 2026 NCAA Men’s College World Series. If you’re anything like me, it can be a bit overshadowed in large part because of two different things. One: the Wisconsin Badgers don’t have a baseball team. Or two: The Milwaukee Brewers are on.

It’s easy not to know what’s going on at the MCWS or even the college baseball front, but what’s even easier is to forget some of the current and former Brewers players that have made an impact in Omaha over the years. Let’s take a drive down memory lane and look at what the stars of today were doing yesterday.

Ryan Braun – Miami Hurricanes (2003 and 2004)

Out of all the Brewers players that have appeared in Omaha, Braun is at the top of this list. He quickly made a name for himself his freshman season as he was named National Freshman of the Year and first-team Freshman All-American by Baseball America. That season with the Hurricanes, Braun finished with a .364 batting average and 17 home runs, breaking the freshman RBI record with 76. In 2003, the Hurricanes’ run was short, as they lost in the opening round to Texas, 13-2. They rebounded with a 7-5 win against Southwest Missouri State before losing to Texas again in the second round of the elimination bracket.

In 2004, Braun came back to Cape Coral and was even better, despite playing through injuries. In 45 games, Braun smashed 10 home runs with 45 RBIs and led the team with 21 stolen bases. The Hurricanes had a similar result to the year prior as they won in the opening round before losing in rounds two and three. The Brewers would have to wait another year until they drafted Braun No. 5 overall in the 2005 MLB Draft.

Pat Murphy – Arizona State Sun Devils (1998, 2005, 2007, & 2009)

Before winning back-to-back National League Manager of the Year honors, Murphy had a powerhouse rolling in Tempe, Arizona. Throughout his time with the Sun Devils, her racked up a 629-284-1 record while reaching the MCWS four different times, including three times in six years.

In 1998, Murphy led his team to three straight wins before losing in the finals of the tournament. In that final, the Devils lost 21-14 to USC, and yes, that’s a baseball score. He’d have to wait a handful more years before reaching the same stage again in 2005. They were bumped down to the elimination bracket after losing their first game of the tournament. From that point on, they rattled off three straight wins before Florida won the decisive game two of their series to eliminate the Sun Devils. The 2007 campaign was a much shorter trip to Omaha as they won their opening round before losing their next two games. In his final trip to the MCWS in 2009, the Sun Devils won their first two games of the tournament before being eliminated by Texas in the semifinals.

Brandon Woodruff – Mississippi State Bulldogs (2013)

Other than Pat Murphy, Woodruff is the only other current Brewers player to have been in the MCWS. The 2013 season was a heartbreaking one for the MSU Bulldogs, a year that resulted in them losing in the final game of the tournament. Woodruff threw just 18 2/3 innings in his sophomore campaign and finished with a 4.32 ERA but unfortunately did not appear in a game while they were on their trip to Omaha.

Taylor Jungmann – Texas Longhorns (2009 & 2011)

Jungmann, the prospect that never quite panned out after a phenomenal rookie season. The Brewers’ former first-round pick was one of the best pitchers in all of Division I baseball at Texas. In three years, he pitched in 36 games, posting a 1.79 ERA while striking out 255 batters in 261 innings. In 2009, Jungmann and the Longhorns made it all the way to the finals before being eliminated in game three by Louisiana State. In the win-or-go-home game two of the series, Jungmann went and threw a complete game, striking out nine batters while only one run crossed the plate. In 2011, it was a short run for the Longhorns as they were eliminated after just two games.

Ethan Small – Mississippi State Bulldogs (2019)

Much like Jungmann, Small was another top pitching prospect that didn’t quite work out for the Brewers. But he is the most recent Brewer to have appeared in the MCWS. In 2019, the Bulldogs won their first game before running into the buzzsaw that is Vanderbilt in the second round of the tournament before ultimately losing to Louisville in the elimination bracket. In the opening round of the tournament for the Bulldogs, Small was handed the ball and went five innings, allowing three runs and striking out eight batters.

While those are the most notable players (and manager) that have been to Omaha, below are some honorable mentions.