Every year there are new teams in the CWS. Is this a golden era of college baseball?

Once upon a College World Series, if you wanted to find the King of College Baseball, you went to Big Fred’s.

There, USC coach Rod Dedeaux and his coaches and players would fill up the back room and the old mentor might tell stories all night.

Skip Bertman held court at Omaha Prime. Augie Garrido was at Lo Sole Mio so much they could have renamed it Lo Sole Garrido.

To find Cliff Gustafson and Texas baseball, you looked for the bright colored lights of Mr. C’s.

Meanwhile, this is Kirk Saarloos’ seventh trip to Omaha — as a player (Cal State-Fullerton), assistant (TCU) and head coach (TCU). But he doesn’t have one favorite spot.

“They’re all great,” Saarloos said. “There’s no bad days in Omaha.”

Good answer. And fitting for the times.

Where are all the blue bloods? These days we have new bloods.

Omaha has always reflected the state of college baseball. Back in the day, it seemed the same eight or nine teams made it here every single year.

Consider: From 1970-2005, seven schools won 32 of those 36 CWS titles. USC, Texas, Arizona, Arizona State, Cal State-Fullerton, Miami, Stanford and LSU.

Maybe they cared more about baseball. Maybe their legend coaches were just that good. Maybe both.

Those coaches were known by single names. Rod. Skip. Gus. Augie. Ron (Fraser). They were honorary residents of Omaha.

But much like some of the old-school eateries they frequented, the legends have gone away.

From 2006-22, 12 schools have won the CWS, led by Oregon State (3), South Carolina (2) and Vanderbilt (2).

In the 11 series (2011-22) held at Charles Schwab Field, there have been nine different champions.

It’s getting so we may have to redefine blue blood in college baseball.

Is USC? With 12 all-time titles, yes. But the Trojans last title came in 1998. And their last trip to Omaha was 22 years ago.

LSU? Of course. But the Tigers, who transformed this event in the 90’s, last took home the trophy in 2009. LSU has been to the CWS “just” four times since, including this year.

Texas baseball (winner of six CWS titles) has been to Omaha six times since last winning in 2005. But TCU has been to Omaha six times since 2010.

Is TCU a blue blood? No titles but a frequent guest at the CWS. Same with Arkansas — seven trips to Omaha under Dave Van Horn since 2004.

How about Virginia, the 2014 champion that has six trips to Omaha since 2009? Or Vanderbilt, a two-time champ with five all-time appearances, all since 2011?

Florida, with 13 all-time trips to Omaha and eight since 2010 with a 2017 title, is a modern era blue blood.

It makes for a good debate over at the Jell-O shot machine.

“I think there can be transfusions,” said Kyle Peterson, the ESPN analyst. “Blue blood can change.

“Years ago USC was a blue blood. But really for the last (two decades), they haven’t figured in too much. Some of that can rotate over time. Vandy’s one. Florida’s one. Texas fits. Stanford is getting back to that.

“We have three or four that you would call (old) blue blood and others that are in the last 10-15 years. And then a few others that are a real cool story. If we can do that, it will really help what we’re doing.”

On Monday night, blue blood LSU faced new blood Wake Forest. The Demon Deacs are the No. 1 overall seed and making their first Omaha trip to 1955.

That’s the world of college baseball now, where any of the eight teams can win it in a given year. It’s a parity infused by NIL and the transfer portal.

Is this another type of golden era?

“I think college baseball is in the best place it’s ever been,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “It’s because so many universities are passionate about being good at baseball.

“It’s here to stay. The portal and NIL are here to stay. If you’re going to have success at this level, you better learn how to play it and better learn how to be good at it.”

It means we’re always having to learn new names. But with baseball this good, no problem.

— Rob Childress told me he had no head coaching offers the last two years but plenty of chances to be a top assistant. He turned them all down to stay at Nebraska but never intended to return as pitching coach.

“I didn’t come back to be the pitching coach,” Childress said. “I came back to serve these guys and Nebraska. You know what this program and the people here mean to me.”

Childress said head coach Will Bolt’s decision to fire former teammate and friend Jeff Christy “was probably the hardest decision he’s had to make in his coaching career.” But it’s part of being a head coach.

“It’s accepting the burden of leadership and doing what’s best for the group first, individuals second,” Childress said. “That’s the hardest thing to do when you’re in that chair.”

Anybody dig up a bottle cap at Rosenblatt Stadium?

TCU coach Kirk Saarloos was visiting Omaha with his dad when he was 10 (1989) and they sneaked into Rosenblatt Stadium to look around. Saarloos said he dug a hole behind home plate and buried a bottle cap.

“I said, “I’m going to come back and dig this thing up because I’m going to play here,” Saarloos said.

“Well, I came back in 1999 (with Cal-State Fullerton) and went to dig it up and couldn’t find anything.”

Any thoughts, Jesse Cuevas?

UNO hockey alum Rob Facca, who lives in Omaha, is the head USA scout for the Chicago Blackhawks.

He’s also a soccer dad.

Facca has balanced preparing for next week’s NHL Draft with following his daughter Bella’s team success. Bella plays for Sporting NE FC ECNL girls team, which won their regional in St. Louis last weekend and qualified for nationals in July.

Looks like a busy, good summer ahead.

Mike Miller’s “Let It Fly” sports bar is a fantastic addition to Omaha.

My favorite part, besides the scoreboard sized TV’s, was a Creighton basketball history mural on the first floor.

This will be a busy place for Jays games and big events. Oh, and that NCAA regional that returns next March.

Rocco’s “Jell-O Shot Challenge” scoreboard showed an update Monday night that totaled 37,378 shots (21,435 by LSU fans).

Now multiply that times $5 (per shot) and it equals $186,890.

It also adds up to a brilliant promotion.