By The finish line of the 2024 college baseball season, the 2024 College World Series, is officially here.
Over the better part of two weeks, college baseball’s top teams will compete against one another in Omaha, Nebraska on the sport’s brightest, most pressurized stage, a frenetic parade of games that will end with the crowning of a national champion.
At the corner of Mike Fahey and North 13th Streets in downtown Omaha — across the street from Charles Schwab Field Omaha, where the CWS will be held — a different kind of competition will be unfolding.
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Over the past several years, the Jell-o Shot Challenge at Rocco’s Pizza & Cantina in Omaha has become a fixture of the CWS, an event that’s not nearly as big as the games themselves, but still holds a special place in the hearts and minds of college sports fans across the country.
The restaurant and bar, which plays host to fans who descend on the city for the CWS, keeps a running tally of how many Jell-o shots have been purchased by each of the eight fan bases in Omaha. The count is displayed on a white board and updated throughout the day, with photos of it posted to social media to keep interested viewers across the country attuned to what is often a hotly contested race for bragging rights.
As the 2024 CWS continues, here’s a look at where things stand in the Rocco’s Jello Shot Challenge:
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Which team leads Rocco’s Jello Shot Challenge today?
Last updated June 14. All times Eastern
- Tennessee: 348
- North Carolina: 284
- Kentucky: 279
- NC State: 209
- Florida State: 171
- Texas A&M: 165
- Virginia: 88
- Florida: 77
June 14, 12:04 a.m.: Tennessee enters the CWS as the No. 1 team in the nation and after the first day of the Jell-o Shot Challenge, the Vols have a hold on the top spot — and with what Rocco’s said is an all-time day one record.
June 13, 8:08 p.m.: Kentucky, making its first-ever appearance in the CWS, has the early lead on the first day of the competition.
Rocco’s Jello Shot Challenge record
While one fan base will leave Omaha as the champion of Rocco’s Jell-o Shot Challenge, it’s highly unlikely it will have set a record in the process.
Last year, as its team marched to a national title, LSU rewrote the relatively young Rocco’s record book by purchasing 68,888 shots over the course of the CWS. It shattered the record set the previous year by Ole Miss, with 18,777.
While the Tigers would have easily claimed the crown without the purchase, their final total was boosted by a single order. Todd Graves, a Baton Rouge resident and the founder and CEO of Raising Cane’s, bought $30,000 worth of shots, which comes out to 6,000 drinks.
Here are the five best finishes in the history of the Rocco’s Jello Shot Challenge:
- LSU, 2023: 68,888
- Ole Miss, 2022: 18,777
- Arkansas, 2022: 8,672
- Wake Forest, 2023: 7,622
- TCU, 2023: 7,070
