OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference has a record five teams in the College World Series, and the last six national champions hail from the conference. But it’s not just the same old, same old this year, not with Troy (38-30) and West Virginia (45-15) squaring off in Friday’s opener as first-time participants on college baseball’s biggest stage. North Carolina (50-12-1) plays Mississippi (41-21) in the other Bracket 1 game at Charles Schwab Field.Play begins in the all-SEC Bracket 2 on Saturday with Oklahoma (38-22) meeting Alabama (42-19) and Georgia (51-12) facing Texas (45-13).SEC dominance in baseball dates to the 1990s, long before the professionalization of college sports with name, image and likeness opportunities and revenue sharing. A popular belief was that the start of NIL in 2021 would make access to the CWS, always difficult for teams outside the power conferences, even more so for them.
After Cal State Fullerton reached Omaha in 2017, there wasn’t another mid-major in the field of eight until Oral Roberts in 2023. Last year, Murray State and Coastal Carolina made it, and Coastal got to the finals.
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