Men's College World Series: Ole Miss leads Rocco's Jello Shot Challenge early in Omaha

The 2026 Men's College World Series is officially here. But it won't be the only heated competition in Omaha.

The Rocco's Jello Shot Challenge is returning for its seventh year of pitting the wallets and livers of the MCWS fan bases against one another, with tens of thousands of Jello shots set to be sold in the coming week and a half. The tradition goes back to 2019 and has escalated in recent years, with top SEC programs regularly leading the pack.

This year's field consists of West Virginia, Troy, Ole Miss, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma, a field that figures to be competitive thanks to its litany of power programs.

Rocco's Jello Shot Challenge leader on Day 1

A day before the games begin on Friday, Ole Miss already holds a sizable lead, with 1,437 shots sold. That's nearly 1,000 more than second-place West Virginia, at 490. Bringing up the rear: Oklahoma at five.

Obviously, there is still plenty of competition to go.

The Jello shots are sold at $5 a pop, with $1.50 of that going to food banks associated with the eight participating institutions, in addition to a local organization. The contest has gone from a fun, little event at Rocco's Pizza and Cantina to a national social media obsession, with updates posted via dry-erase board multiple times a day.

The event has a correlation with the baseball being played as well. The past five winners of the Jello Shot Challenge also won the Men's College World Series, including LSU last year with a two-game win over Coastal Carolina and 52,390 Jello shots sold.

That correlation can be explained by A) the final teams having more time to add to their scores and B) every recent champion being an SEC team, as that conference in particular has taken both competitions quite seriously. The record for total Jello shots sold is held by 2023 LSU, with 68,888.

Past Rocco's Jello Shot Challenge winners

2025: LSU, 52,390*
2024: Tennessee, 38,799*
2023: LSU, 68,888*
2022: Ole Miss: 18,777*
2021: Mississippi State, 2,965*
2020: N/A (COVIID-19)
2019: Arkansas, 864

* denotes a team that won the Men's College World Series