A legitimate Cinderella story, a conference-less powerhouse and the nation's hottest team threaten to end the SEC's reign atop the sport

Hello, baseball fans. Welcome to The Athletic's live coverage of the College World Series. We have eight intriguing teams to follow this week as they chase a national title.

No. 15 national seed UCLA, unseeded Murray State, No. 3 seed Arkansas and No. 6 LSU practiced in that order Thursday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field in the second block of teams at the College World Series.

The 15th-seeded Bruins open with upset-minded Murray State in returning to Omaha for the first time since winning their only national baseball title in 2013.

Barstool Sports founder and CEO Dave Portnoy is known for taking big swings with his money, especially with it comes to major sporting events. And the NCAA College World Series is no exception. The wealthy entrepreneur and social media celebrity revealed he’s placed a $25,

LSU has the second-best odds after hammering West Virginia to reach Omaha. The Tigers have a great pedigree in the College World Series with seven national championships. Oregon State, Arizona, Coastal Carolina and UCLA have all reached college baseball's pinnacle since 2012.

The Racers are now 44-15 on their way to their first ever College World Series appearance. Here’s what you should know about Murray State as the Racers look to continue their Cinderella run.

The Murray State University baseball coach was named as National Coach of the Year at the Men’s College World Series.

Junior pitcher Cody Delvecchio has been academically cleared to join the Bruins in Omaha for their College World Series Run.

Coach Dan Skirka, a former Grand Valley State star from Union City, has the Murray State baseball team in the College World Series for the first time.