The SEC and ACC sent four teams to the 2024 Men's College World Series each, the first time two conferences have sent four teams to Omaha in MCWS history. However, the final two teams standing hailed from the SEC, with Tennessee winning the conference's 16th MCWS title in the 77-year history of the event. The Volunteers' victory marks the fifth straight SEC national champion and 10th in the past 15 MCWS. Eight SEC schools have won the national championship — twice by Vanderbilt (2014 & 2019), LSU (2009 & 2023), South Carolina (2010 & 2011), and Florida (2017), Mississippi State (2021), Ole Miss (2022) and Tennessee (2024). Two others have finished as the national runners-up in that span. In fact, there have been six all-SEC showdowns in the MCWS finals in the last 15 MCWS, three in the last four years. While the SEC has dominated recent MCWS history, that's not always how it's been in Omaha. With many a national champion hailing from the West Coast, let’s look back at the 74 years of College World Series history and take a look at the conferences most represented in Omaha.
117 — SEC
The SEC has taken over Omaha the past few decades. Wrap your head around this: Since 1990, the SEC has sent three or more teams to the Men's College World Series 14 times. Current members have accounted for 17 titles with LSU’s seven leading the way. Three of the four finals have been a part two of the SEC tournament, with each matchup being between two SEC foes. They have 237 wins, the second-most by any conference. 105 — Pac-12
This probably isn’t too much of a surprise if you follow the history of college baseball closely. Four of the conference's former members of the Pac-12 — Southern California, Arizona State, Arizona, and Stanford — are in the top six in wins in MCWS history. Those four schools have combined for 23 championships alone, while Oregon State, California, and UCLA have all won at least one as well. The conference has 268 combined victories, second to none by a large margin. No other conference has more than 230 wins or 20 national titles, putting the Pac-12 in a league of its own. Sadly, its run came to an end after 2024 with the conference dissolving. 105 — ACC
Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia and NC State reached Omaha in 2024, giving the ACC four more appearances and the first time since 2006 the conference sent four teams. It's the only other conference to be represented in the MCWS by four teams. Miami and Florida State are both in the top 5 in history in appearances at the MCWS with 25 and 24, respectively — with a Miami vs. Florida State showdown in the 1999 Men's College World Series finals — while current members of the ACC have accounted for six titles. Perhaps not shockingly, the ACC’s 159 wins are also fourth-most. 87 — Big 12
Texas is the name to know here, as its 36 appearances in Omaha (the Longhorns also had another in Wichita, Kansas before the MCWS moved to Rosenblatt Stadium) are the most in College World Series history. But now that Texas and its six titles has left for the SEC, they take the Big 12's only two championships they can boast with members active at the time of victory. Oklahoma State is one of just six schools to make 20 or more appearances in the MCWS. 29 — Big Ten
It’s quite the drop to the conference that has made the fifth-most appearances in MCWS history, but Michigan's return to Omaha in 2019 makes it a tad bit closer. Out of those 29 appearances, however, the Big Ten has won just six national titles with Minnesota (three) and Michigan (two) leading the way, which is tied for the third-most all-time using actual conference membership per season. Nine Big Ten teams have combined for 58 wins all-time in Omaha. 26 — Big West
The Big West has sent five teams to the MCWS, racking up 47 wins during their time in Omaha. Legendary head coach Augie Garrido made Cal State Fullerton, winners of four national championships, the cream of the crop here, but this conference is loaded with national title winners, in a manner of speaking. UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and CSUN all won two titles apiece in NCAA Division II baseball before jumping to DI. 16 — American Athletic Conference
While the AAC is still young as a conference, four of its current programs have reached the college baseball mecca. Wichita State is the only active member to ever reach the top of the baseball world, winning its lone national championship in the 1989 MCWS finals over Texas. The Shockers won their title as members of the MVC, so the AAC is still searching for its first official MCWS national championship in college baseball. Best of the rest:
Both the Big East and American Athletic Conference have made it to Omaha 16 times. While the AAC has racked up 28 wins and the Big East 16, the last national championship amongst its current members was Rice in 2003. The Missouri Valley has sent four teams for a total of nine appearances in its MCWS history. The America East, Ivy, Conference USA, and Patriot have all made eight appearances, but are all still searching for their first national championship. Gone, but not forgotten:
Nine schools that no longer have baseball programs combined to make 12 appearances in Omaha while six schools that are no longer DI made eight. It is important to mention that some of the 73 college baseball national championship seasons belong to conferences that no longer exist. Outside of the Pac-12, the California Intercollegiate Baseball Association — the original home of college baseball powers like USC, California, and Stanford — led the way, winning six titles while it was active, with both the Big Eight — the original home to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State — and Southwest — where Texas became a College World Series regular — grabbing four apiece. The Southern California Baseball Association was a baseball-only conference where Cal State Fullerton won its 1979 and 1984 titles. Five independent schools won titles in Omaha. *Indicates undefeated teams in College World Series play.
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