Dan Skirka excited for Murray State’s CWS debut: “I wanted to earn my first trip”

Murray State is America’s team in the College World Series. On Saturday, the Racers will make their CWS debut, just the fourth No. 4 regional seed to ever advance to Omaha. Although head coach Dan Skirka has been around baseball his entire life, this will be his first trip to Charles Schwab Field; as he told KSR, that’s intentional.

“To be honest with you, I wanted to earn my first trip,” Skirka said on Thursday’s show. “I have never been out here. Some buddies have come out here, and now that my son’s nine, [they say] ‘Oh, you’ve got to take your kid out there. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime [experience].’ Man, I just wanted to earn that first one.”

It was well worth it when the Racers arrived in Omaha on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s game vs. No. 15 UCLA.

“When we pulled up yesterday to see the stadium, and to see our banner hanging on the stadium, I mean…I mean, just unbelievable. Unbelievable.”

Taking it all in for the first time 🤩#GoRacers🏇 pic.twitter.com/Mz43cBT4Bl

— Murray State Baseball (@RacersBaseball) June 11, 2025

“Unbelievable” has been the go-to word to describe Murray State’s run so far. Coming in, the Racers hadn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 1979; they not only broke that streak, they made history by upsetting No. 10 Ole Miss and Georgia Tech to win the Oxford Regional and advance to the program’s first Super Regional. In Durham, they took down Duke in a best-of-three series with a wild ending. Murray State appeared to win the game after an interference call at second base, prompting the Racers to dog pile in celebration, but it was overturned after an official review, giving Duke another chance. Ultimately, they regrouped to close out the game, but Skirka said the swing of emotions made the moment even sweeter.

“I did not think [interference] was going to get called, and then sure enough, he did call it. I was like, ‘That’s the right call.’ And then, you know, we went crazy. There are people everywhere. We’re hugging, celebrating. There are hats and gloves and sunglasses flying around, and then the umpire finally got our attention, and so they were challenging, and I had to tell my guys, ‘Get off the field!’ And the looks on their faces were just like, you got to be kidding me, just to have to do that.

“It’s amazing. It makes the story that much better, but it was wild. I mean, our hearts, during that review — it was crazy. And then for our guys to go out and do that after that, go back out and get that last out was just — it’s amazing. I’m so proud of it.”

Now, Murray State is in Omaha, by far the biggest underdog in the eight-team field. The national spotlight is shining brighter than ever before on the Racers. Skirka was late to today’s interview because he was wrapping up another, a new reality for this year’s CWS Cinderella. After taking down Ole Miss in front of 12,000 fans in Oxford and upsetting Duke in Durham, he believes his team is ready for the moment, but also wants them to soak it all in.

✔️ Special delivery to O〽️aha!#GoRacers🏇 | @nikediamond pic.twitter.com/OJM68Yq6HG

— Murray State Baseball (@RacersBaseball) June 12, 2025

🔥 @EvoShield bringing the HEAT!#GoRacers🏇 pic.twitter.com/DqRig40BLq

— Murray State Baseball (@RacersBaseball) June 12, 2025

“Man, you can’t wipe this off their faces,” he said of his players. “Nike and EvoShield came and spoiled them this morning with their Omaha gear, and just to earn all that stuff — you know, it wasn’t just handed to us in August when they showed up on campus. Like, they’ve earned all this gear and all these videos and all the attention and interviews and podcasts and getting on these graphics with some of these other programs. They’ve earned it. And I think they realize that.

“It’s a great group of guys. If you’re looking for somebody to root for, they really, really are a great group. So it just means the world to them; I mean, it really does. And it’s awesome.”

The national attention on Murray State this week has been really cool to see, as pictures of their humble facilities go viral; however, Skirka dispelled one myth. Contrary to what you might see on social media, he does not mow the grass at Johnny Reagan Field.

“I do not. Don’t know where that started, but I do not. I’d like to, some days, to get away from everything else. I would love to, but no, they don’t let me do that.”

I think Skirka has earned a victory lap on the mower for this year’s run. The next chapter begins Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN vs. No. 15 UCLA. Shoes up!

You can hear the interview at the end of Hour 2 of today’s podcast.