OMAHA, Neb. — Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall likes to say his baseball team’s mantra is to stay hungry and humble.

Jacob Morrison is his poster boy.

The 6-foot-8, 245-pound sophomore is uber competitive, not to mention unbeaten. That’s the hungry part. He also is extremely grateful to be pitching again, let alone at the College World Series. That’s the humble part.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery following his freshman year and missing the entire 2024 season, the right-hander from Flushing, Michigan, has been nothing short of sensational since February and never better than he was Sunday in the Chanticleers’ 6-2 win over Oregon State.

The win earned Coastal Carolina, winners of 25 straight, two days off and a spot in the Bracket 1 final Wednesday against Louisville or Oregon State. Win that game, and the Chanticleers are in the best-of-three finals starting Saturday.

“I envisioned dominance,” Morrison said. “I worked really hard in the offseason. I had the best staff around me to equip me to come back from injury and be this good. It’s very fulfilling to be able to play at this high of a level. I do not take it for granted, the ability to even throw the baseball every day. I’m extremely blessed by that.”

Morrison (12-0) is tied for third in the nation in wins, fourth with a 2.08 ERA and 104 innings pitched and tied for fifth with 17 starts. The Chanticleers are 17-1 when Morrison pitches and 16-1 when he starts.

He also leads the nation with 10 starts of at least six innings while allowing one or fewer runs. The only player with more such outings in the past five years is Paul Skenes, who did it for LSU during its 2023 national championship run.

Morrison had a promising freshman season, going 6-1 with a 6.55 ERA and striking out 68 in 57 2/3 innings. He started a regional elimination game against Duke and couldn’t make it out of the second inning in what was his shortest outing of the season.

Surgery was next, followed by grueling rehabilitation. Once he was cleared to throw, he was determined to come back better.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports