The Men's College World Series regional round begins today

The GIST: While the WCWS rages on, the road to the men’s College World Series (MCWS) in Omaha begins today at 12 p.m. ET. Like softball's regional round, 64 teams (30 conference champs and 34 at-large squads) enter the weekend, but only 16 will survive to compete in next week’s Super Regionals. Here we go again!

• Notably absent from the bracket? The 2022 MCWS champ Ole Miss Rebels and the Florida State Seminoles. The ’Noles are missing out for the first time in 44 (!!!) tournaments after recording their only losing season…ever. Brutal.

Regionals to watch: There’s a border-state battle brewing in No. 12 Kentucky’s regional, which features three neighborly rivals: Indiana, Ball State, and West Virginia. WVU looks especially dangerous despite their Big 12 tournament stumble, and it’s a short trip for every team’s fans, so the crowd’s sure to be rowdy.

• But the most competitive regional belongs to No. 3 Arkansas — their field includes TCU and Arizona, who’re both coming off stunning upset runs in the Big 12 and Pac-12 tournaments, respectively. Don’t touch: They’re hot!

Possible upsets: No. 4 Clemson may be channeling Lizzo after blasting their way through the ACC postseason, but they’ll have to go through the Tennessee Volunteers to survive the weekend. The Vols are a wild card — sometimes brilliant, sometimes choke-prone — but if their pitching is on point, they could easily send Clemson packing.

• South Carolina should also beware — their sterling midseason record (controversially) earned them the No. 15 seed, but their late nosedive landed them outside the season’s final Top 25…unlike unseeded regional opponent Campbell, who finished with the No. 12 rank.