1996 NCAA Division I baseball tournament

1996 NCAA Division I
baseball tournament
Season	1996
Teams	48
Finals site	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium; Omaha, NE;
Champions	LSU (3rd title)
Runner-up	Miami (FL) (15th CWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Skip Bertman (3rd title)
MOP	Pat Burrell (Miami (FL))
Television	ESPN Networks, CBS Sports
	← 1995 ; NCAA Division I Baseball Championship; 1997 →;

The 1996 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1996 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its fiftieth year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Each region was composed of six teams, resulting in 48 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament.^[1] The fiftieth tournament's champion was LSU, coached by Skip Bertman. The Most Outstanding Player was Pat Burrell of Miami (FL).

Regionals

The opening rounds of the tournament were played across eight regional sites across the country, each consisting of a six-team field. Each regional tournament is double-elimination, however region brackets are variable depending on the number of teams remaining after each round. The winners of each regional advanced to the College World Series.

Bold indicates winner.

Atlantic Regional

Hosted by Clemson at Tiger Field in Clemson, South Carolina


Round 1			Round 2			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Final



1	Clemson	9

6	Charleston Southern	1	1	Clemson	5

			4	Old Dominion	1

2	Tennessee	4				1	Clemson	6

5	West Virginia	8				5	West Virginia	3

			5	West Virginia	9							1	Clemson	12	–

			3	Georgia Southern	4							2	Tennessee	5	–

3	Georgia Southern	6							2	Tennessee	10

4	Old Dominion	0				2	Tennessee	6	5	West Virginia	4

			2	Tennessee	8	3	Georgia Southern	1

			6	Charleston Southern	4

Central I Regional

Hosted by Texas at Disch–Falk Field in Austin, Texas


Round 1			Round 2			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Final



			6	Sam Houston State	2

			3	Texas	4
1	Miami (FL)	4				3	Texas	7

6	Sam Houston State	5				1	Miami (FL)	9	1	Miami (FL)	8
			1	Miami (FL)	5
									5	SW Missouri State	2
			2	Long Beach State	2
2	Long Beach State	3
												1	Miami (FL)	8
5	SW Missouri State	5
			5	SW Missouri State	13							4	UCLA	4

			4	UCLA	2
3	Texas	2				5	SW Missouri State	4*

4	UCLA	5				4	UCLA	9*
			6	Sam Houston State	2

			4	UCLA	10

Central II Regional

Hosted by Texas Tech at Dan Law Field in Lubbock, Texas


Round 1			Round 2			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Final



1	Southern California	20

6	Akron	10	1	Southern California	15

			4	Arkansas	5

2	Texas Tech	2				1	Southern California	3

5	Fresno State	12				3	Oklahoma State	9

			5	Fresno State	5							3	Oklahoma State	10	–

			3	Oklahoma State	12							1	Southern California	2	–

3	Oklahoma State	6							1	Southern California	13*

4	Arkansas	5				5	Fresno State	2	2	Texas Tech	10*

			6	Akron	2	2	Texas Tech	4

			2	Texas Tech	7

East Regional

Hosted by Florida at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Florida


Round 1			Round 2			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Final



1	Florida	7

6	Bucknell	0	1	Florida	12

			3	NC State	9

2	UCF	7				1	Florida	6*

5	UMass	8				4	South Florida	4*

			5	UMass	8							1	Florida	12	–

			4	South Florida	14							5	UMass	2	–

3	NC State	3							4	South Florida	12

4	South Florida	12				5	UMass	7	5	UMass	13

			6	Bucknell	1	2	UCF	5

			2	UCF	13

Midwest Regional

Hosted by Wichita State at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kansas


Round 1			Round 2			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Final



1	Wichita State	4

6	Indiana	0	1	Wichita State	9

			4	Missouri	2

2	Cal State Fullerton	19				1	Wichita State	6

5	Delaware	8				2	Cal State Fullerton	1

			2	Cal State Fullerton	7							1	Wichita State	16	–

			3	Rice	3							3	Rice	6	–

3	Rice	17							2	Cal State Fullerton	10

4	Missouri	4				3	Rice	11	3	Rice	13

			6	Indiana	10	6	Indiana	8

			5	Delaware	8

South I Regional

Hosted by Alabama at Sewell–Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama


Round 1			Round 2			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Final



1	Alabama	19

6	Princeton	2	1	Alabama	9

			3	South Alabama	3

2	Virginia	1				1	Alabama	3

5	Notre Dame	12				4	Stetson	1

			5	Notre Dame	6							1	Alabama	18	–

			4	Stetson	7							2	Virginia	8	–

3	South Alabama	8							4	Stetson	4*

4	Stetson	9				5	Notre Dame	1	2	Virginia	5*

			6	Princeton	2	2	Virginia	7

			2	Virginia	12

South II Regional

Hosted by Louisiana State at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana


Round 1			Round 2			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Final



1	LSU	8

6	Austin Peay	5	1	LSU	7

			3	UNLV	6

2	Georgia Tech	3				1	LSU	17

5	New Orleans	13				5	New Orleans	4

			5	New Orleans	13							1	LSU	29	—

			4	Tulane	5							2	Georgia Tech	13	—

3	UNLV	7							5	New Orleans	7

4	Tulane	10				4	Tulane	4	2	Georgia Tech	12

			6	Austin Peay	3	2	Georgia Tech	7

			2	Georgia Tech	14

West Regional

Hosted by Stanford at Sunken Diamond in Stanford, California


Round 1			Round 2			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Final



1	Florida State	16

6	Northeastern Illinois	0	1	Florida State	10

			4	UC Santa Barbara	1

2	Stanford	10				1	Florida State	5

5	Cal State Northridge	5				2	Stanford	4

			2	Stanford	8							1	Florida State	9	—

			3	Mississippi State	6							5	Cal State Northridge	2	—

3	Mississippi State	6							2	Stanford	3

4	UC Santa Barbara	2				3	Mississippi State	19	5	Cal State Northridge	4

			6	Northeastern Illinois	1	5	Cal State Northridge	20

			5	Cal State Northridge	18

College World Series

The championship game ended dramatically when LSU's Warren Morris hit a two-out, two-run home run against Miami reliever Robbie Morrison in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Tigers to a 9–8 victory over the Hurricanes. It was Morris's only home run of the 1996 season. Morris, an All-American in 1995, missed much of the 1996 season after suffering a wrist injury early in the campaign.

Oklahoma State's participation in CWS marked the last athletic event for the Big 8 Conference. The Big 8 was absorbed into the new Big 12 on July 1, 1996.

Participants

Seeding	School	Conference	Record (conference)	Head coach	CWS appearances	CWS best finish	CWS record
1	Alabama	SEC	49–17 (20–10)	Jim Wells	2 (last: 1983)	2nd (1983)	4–4
2	Florida	SEC	48–16 (20–10)	Andy Lopez	2 (last: 1991)	3rd (1991)	3–4
3	Wichita State	MVC	54–9 (24–4)	Gene Stephenson	6 (last: 1993)	1st (1989)	16–9
4	Clemson	ACC	49–15 (17–7)	Jack Leggett	7 (last: 1995)	5th (1958, 1959, 1976)	4–14
5	Miami (FL)	n/a	47–13 (n/a)	Jim Morris	14 (last: 1995)	1st (1982, 1985)	29–25
6	LSU	SEC	48–15 (20–10)	Skip Bertman	7 (last: 1994)	1st (1991, 1993)	15–11
7	Florida State	ACC	51–15 (19–5)	Mike Martin	14 (last: 1995)	2nd (1970, 1986)	18–28
8	Oklahoma State	Big 8	45–19 (17–9)	Gary Ward	17 (last: 1993)	1st (1959)	38–32

Results

Bracket

First round			Second round			Semifinals				Finals

1	Alabama	7

8	Oklahoma State	5
			1	Alabama	1

			5	Miami (FL)	15
4	Clemson	3

5	Miami (FL)	7
						5	Miami (FL)	14	—
Bracket One
						4	Clemson	5	—
8	Oklahoma State	5

4	Clemson	8¹⁰
			1	Alabama	13

			4	Clemson	14



										5	Miami (FL)	8

										6	LSU	9
2	Florida	5

7	Florida State	2
			2	Florida	4

			6	LSU	9
3	Wichita State	8

6	LSU	9
						6	LSU	2	—
Bracket Two
						2	Florida	1	—
7	Florida State	8

3	Wichita State	4
			2	Florida	6

			7	Florida State	3

Game results

Date	Game	Winner	Score	Loser	Notes
May 31	Game 1	Alabama	7–5	Oklahoma State
May 31	Game 2	Miami (FL)	7–3	Clemson
June 1	Game 3	Florida	5–2	Florida State
June 1	Game 4	LSU	9–8	Wichita State
June 2	Game 5	Miami (FL)	15–1	Alabama
June 2	Game 6	Clemson	8–5 (10 innings)	Oklahoma State	Oklahoma State eliminated
June 3	Game 7	LSU	9–4	Florida
June 3	Game 8	Florida State	8–4	Wichita State	Wichita State eliminated
June 4	Game 9	Clemson	14–13	Alabama	Alabama eliminated
June 4	Game 10	Florida	6–3	Florida State	Florida State eliminated
June 5	Game 11	Miami (FL)	14–5	Clemson	Clemson eliminated
June 6	Game 12	LSU	2–1	Florida	Florida eliminated
June 8	Final	LSU	9–8	Miami (FL)	LSU wins CWS

All-Tournament Team

The following players were members of the College World Series All-Tournament Team.

Position	Player	School
P	J.D. Arteaga	Miami (FL)
P	Ed Yarnall	LSU
C	Tim Lanier	LSU
1B	Chris Moller	Alabama
2B	Rudy Gomez	Miami (FL)
3B	Pat Burrell (MOP)	Miami (FL)
SS	Alex Cora	Miami (FL)
OF	Justin Bowles	LSU
	Michael DeCelle	Miami (FL)
	Brad Wilkerson	Florida
DH	Chuck Hazzard	Florida

Notable players

Alabama: Dustan Mohr, Tim Young
Clemson: Kris Benson, Billy Koch, Matt LeCroy, Ken Vining
Florida: David Eckstein, Mark Ellis, Josh Fogg, Paul Rigdon, Brad Wilkerson, Chuck Hazzard
Florida State: Randy Choate, J. D. Drew
LSU: Brett Laxton, Warren Morris, Ed Yarnall, Eddy Furniss
Miami (FL): Pat Burrell, Alex Cora
Oklahoma State: Dave Maurer, Brian Aylor
Wichita State: Casey Blake, Braden Looper

Tournament notes

LSU's 29–13 victory over Georgia Tech sets a new tournament record for most combined runs (42).

References

^ "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. p. 195. Retrieved November 5, 2014.

[NCAA-1] "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. p. 195. Retrieved November 5, 2014.

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