College World Series notebook: Arizona first to arrive in Omaha ahead of Friday opener

First to play, first to show up.

Arizona was the first of eight 2025 College World Series qualifiers to arrive in Omaha, touching down on Tuesday afternoon after spending an extra night in Chapel Hill, NC, following its Super Regional series win at North Carolina.

The Wildcats (44-19) open play Friday against Coastal Carolina (53-11) in a rematch of the 2016 CWS championship series. Coastal has the longest active win streak in the country, at 23 games, and also has the most wins of anyone in the NCAA field.

Arizona is part of a very diverse octet in Omaha, none of which were in the 2024 CWS. That’s the first time since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1999, and created the regional/Super Regional format, that there hasn’t been a repeat customer in the field.

This is the UA’s 19^th time in the CWS, which is tied for 8th-most in Division I history. LSU, with 20, is the only one in the current field who has been there more, and the Tigers—coached by former Wildcats skipper Jay Johnson—also have the edge in national titles, 7-4.

Arizona worked out late Tuesday afternoon at Tal Anderson Field, the home field of Nebaska-Omaha, and will again Wednesday morning before getting an official practice slot Thursday inside Charles Schwab Field Omaha.

The Wildcats will take their team photo outside the CWS stadium at 6:45 a.m. PT (8:45 a.m. local time) Thursday before practicing from 8-9 a.m. PT. All practices on Thursday are open to the public, as is the Fan Fest outside of the stadium.

The Fan Fest will be held every day during bracket play, with live entertainment most afternoons.

Jello shot challenge

The College World Series can last up to 11 days, and with a day off between Arizona’s first and second game—and, if applicable, between the second and third—there’s a lot of down time for fans.

May we suggest tapping into your college days for a good cause?

Rocco’s Pizza & Cantina, a local eatery and watering hole right around the corner from Schwab Field, annually holds a Jello Shot Challenge for fans of the eight schools playing in the College World Series. For $5 a pop you can get a jello shot—an alcohol-infused treat—and dedicate it to whichever team you choose.

The proceeds go to a variety of Omaha-area food banks, with last year’s challenge raising more than $145,000.

SEC schools tend to dominate this competition, as last year fans of national champion Tennessee consumed 38,799 jello shots and runner up Texas A&M threw back 32,762. This event has grown exponentially each year, with the 2021 winner (when Arizona last played there) Mississippi State not breaking five figures.

As for the UA performance, well …

If you’re going, and your liver can take it, make your school proud.

USA Team invites

Arizona has at least two games left in the season, and as many as eight depending on how long its College World Series run lasts. But when it’s all over, most Wildcats won’t be done playing baseball.

Several UA players are headed to various summer leagues, with some of the younger players who didn’t get used this season already en route. And a pair of the starting pitchers will be trying out to represent their country.

Right-handers Smith Bailey and Owen Kramkowski have been invited to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team training camp, set for later this month in North Carolina. A total of 56 non draft-eligible college players received invitations.

Bailey, a true freshman who started for Arizona in the Big 12 title game, Eugene Regional final and Chapel Hill Super Regional final, is 3-3 with a 4.01. His 83 innings pitched are the most by a UA true freshman since 2010.

Kramkowski, a sophomore, leads Arizona in wins (nine), innings (87) and strikeouts (83).

The College National Team will play intrasquad exhibitions throughout North Carolaina from June 29-July 3 before the 2025 Collegiate National Team is named and plays July 4 against the Appalachian League Select Team before heading to Japan for the Collegiate All-Star Series July 8-13.

Transfer pickup

The NCAA transfer portal opened last week, with five members of Arizona’s 2025 team entering. But it wasn’t until Monday that the Wildcats reached into the portal to enhance their 2026 squad, and it looks like a good one.

The UA has gotten a commitment from ex-Western Kentucky pitcher Patrick Morris, a left-handed reliever. He has one season of eligibility remaining, taking advantage of the NCAA ruling that wipes out a year of junior college ball from counting toward eligibility limits.

Morris went 2-0 with a save in 17 appearances this season for the Hilltoppers, who went 46-14 and won the Conference USA Tournament before going 0-2 at the Oxford Regional. In 32.1 innings Morris had a 1.11 ERA, striking out 33 with 13 walks and held batters to a .177 average.

Originally from Chandler, Morris played two seasons at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.