No. 1–seed curse?

The GIST: The No. 1–seed Tennessee Volunteers etched their names into NCAA baseball history this week by literally stealing their first-ever MCWS championship with Monday’s 6–5 winner-take-all Game 3 dub over No. 3 Texas A&M. Here’s how the rest of the last ’ship of the 2023–24 season played out, by the numbers:

7: The number of strikeouts that lefty pitcher Zander Sechrist threw in over five innings of work to start his Vols off strong. Tennessee’s offense then hammered 13 hits to claim a comfortable 6–1 seventh-inning lead, which proved enough to contain A&M’s four-run rally and secure the win.

25: The years since the last No. 1–seed won the NCAA baseball championship in 1999, which also happened to be the first year the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams. Consider this curse officially broken.

60: How many games the Vols won en route to their MCWS crown, a number no other SEC team has ever reached in a single season, and no champion has hit in 35 years.

38,340: The number of Jello shots Tennessee fans purchased during the annual Rocco’s Jello Shot Challenge, making the charity challenge–winner the same as the natty-winning team for the fourth straight year. Not not saying Jello wins championships...

1.2M: How many people watched the first six games of the MCWS, setting a new viewership record. As for the three-game championship series, it drew the second-most finals viewership on record, trailing only last year’s numbers.

The GIST: Dreams will come true tonight at the 2024 NBA Draft and, based on ESPN’s mock draft, 43 of the 58 selectees will hail from the NCAA. So let’s dive into the college-to-NBA pipeline, plus all the names to know before the ABC broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET.

The process: The NBA uses a traditional draft structure in which the league’s 30 teams make selections across two rounds. Normally, that equates to 60 picks, but the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns lost their second-round 2024 picks as punishment for tampering violations, so tonight’s lucky number is 58.

• NCAA men are generally eligible for the draft after competing in one season of college hoops, aka the “one-and-done” rule.

• While there are ample professional opportunities overseas or in the G League (the NBA’s developmental league), the odds of a college star making the NBA are long: Only 1.1% of all eligible NCAA players — 3.6% of eligible Division I players — were chosen in last year’s draft.

• And though some of the league’s biggest stars, like LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic, did not play NCAA ball, the vast majority of NBAers did. Of the 532 currently active NBA players, only 67 skipped college hoops.

This year’s top crop: International stars will likely capture the top draft spots, but Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard is projected to go as high as the No. 3 overall pick. Reigning two-time Player of the Year, Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, should also hear his name in the first round.

• Other likely first-rounders include guard Stephon Castle and center Donovan Clingan, who led UConn to two straight NCAA titles, as well as 2023–24’s breakout star, Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht. Hey now.

The GIST: ICYMI, pro women’s basketball is in its revolution era, and the sport’s historic growth is fueled in part by the college game’s skyrocketing popularity. When it comes to going pro in the U.S., one league is the gold standard — but there are other opportunities for NCAAers to make the big time.

The WNBA: As the dream destination for college stars, 134 of the league’s 144 players arrived from the NCAA. Unlike the NBA, the W requires four years of NCAA competition (with exceptions for international athletes), which directly boosts the quality of collegiate competition. Rookies usually enter the league via the annual draft, but even for the lucky 36 players drafted annually, securing a W roster spot is cutthroat.

• According to Forbes, less than 1% of women’s college hoopers will make the W — but upcoming league expansion will have more women balling out at the professional level over the next few seasons.

Unrivaled: During the WNBA offseason, many players head overseas to pad their modest W salaries, but former UConn teammates and current W stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier are working to change that with their new 3x3 and 1x1 league called Unrivaled, which launches in January. Keeping top U.S. talent and NCAA alums on domestic courts? Say less.

Athletes Unlimited: AU’s five-week winter season provides another shot at cold, hard cash for stateside players. Seventeen of the 2024 season’s 40 hoopers are WNBAers, with other former NCAA stars filling the AU rosters. Creating more opportunities for pros to get paid and for fans to watch their fellow alums level up? Priceless.