The grand finale

How they got here: To reach their first championship series since 1951, the Vols posted the best season record the sport has seen in five years. They won the regular-season and tournament titles in the most competitive conference, the SEC, and currently lead the nation in homers.

• Other than one uncharacteristic Super Regional hiccup, Tennessee has been perfect this tournament thanks to their killer combo of a Top-10 pitching staff and a high-scoring offense.

Players to watch: Pitcher Zander Sechrist was the hero of Wednesday’s 7–2 semifinal win over No. 8 Florida State, allowing just five hits in just over six innings of work. That said, reaching the finals required the Vols’ entire bullpen, including big-league performances from the likes of Drew Beam and mustache model Kirby Connell this week.

• And it’s not just on the mound — the Vols really shine in the batter’s box, where second baseman Christian Moore, one of the MCWS’ biggest stars, has been so hot, even he can’t believe how good he is.

Key to victory: Surprisingly, these last-standing SEC squads have only met once this year, when Tennessee snagged a 7–4 Tennessee victory thanks to their offensive prowess. If the Vols have a good pitching staff, Texas A&M has a great one, so maintaining their power at the plate will be crucial for Tennessee if they want to hoist the hardware for the first time ever.

How they got here: The Aggies haven’t lost a single NCAA tournament game on their way to their first-ever championship series. Like Tennessee, they’ve been a Top-10 team all season, largely thanks to their ace-filled roster: A&M’s pitching staff ranks third in team ERA and has allowed only three runs in as many MCWS games.

Players to watch: Headlining that formidable bullpen is the country’s best reliever, senior Evan Aschenbeck, whose 1.54 ERA leads the league by a wide margin. But on Wednesday, southpaw Justin Lamkin carried the load with an impressive nine strikeouts over five innings in the Aggies’ 6–0 semifinal shutout of Florida.

Keys to victory: Even with so much talent on the mound, the Vols’ bats will be extremely tough to silence, so A&M needs to keep up on the scoring front. They’ve recorded only one homer since arriving at the MCWS and have instead relied on aggressive base-running to score. Every Aggie will need to be on his A-game to match Tennessee’s scoring machine.

• Additionally, A&M’s top player, right fielder Braden Montgomery, suffered a season-ending injury in the Super Regionals. Jace LaViolette stepped in, but the injury bug struck again on Monday. If he’s healthy, LaViolette could be a difference-maker for this squad.

The GIST: Baseball teams aren’t the only ones going for glory this weekend — tons of current and former NCAA track & field stars are also chasing spots on Team USA. Don’t blink: The U.S. Olympic Team Trials begin today and run through next Sunday on NBC.

• Current and recently graduated college athletes are at a disadvantage because they’re worn out from the NCAA outdoor ’ship, which ended on June 8th, when most pros they’ll compete against have focused only on this meet. Nonetheless, three runners could get it done.

💨 McKenzie Long, Ole Miss: Likely the NCAAer with the best shot at booking a ticket to Paris, Long won three women’s titles (the 100m and 200m sprints, plus the 4x100m relay) at the outdoor natty two weeks ago, — a mere four months after losing her mother. She could qualify in either individual event, but her 200m is especially impressive with multiple sub-22-second career showings.

🏃 Caleb Dean, Texas Tech: Dean’s stellar collegiate season earned him two titles in the indoor 60m hurdles and the outdoor 400m hurdles. In the latter, his stunning 47.23-second time was this close to breaking the NCAA record. If he can do it again, Dean could rep the red, white and blue next month.

🏆 Parker Valby, Florida: Arguably the most dominant name in collegiate track & field, Valby is the reigning champ in women’s cross country, the indoor 5k and 3k, and the outdoor 5k and 10k. Plus, she owns the NCAA record in three (!!!) of those races. The pro field is stacked in distance events, so she’ll have to pull out all the stops to qualify in either the 5k or 10k this weekend.