1996 NCAA Division I baseball season

1996 NCAA Division I baseball season
Number of teams	275
NCAA tournament
College World Series
Champions	LSU (3rd title)
Runners-up	Miami (FL) (15th CWS Appearance)
Winning Coach	Skip Bertman (3rd title)
MOP	Pat Burrell (Miami (FL))
Seasons

The 1996 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1996. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1996 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fiftieth time in 1996, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska, at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. LSU claimed the championship for the third time.

Realignment

• The Metro Conference dissolved, with its members moving primarily to Conference USA.
• Notre Dame departed the Midwestern Collegiate Conference for the Big East Conference, while Xavier and La Salle moved to the Atlantic 10 Conference.
• Fordham and Virginia Tech also joined the Atlantic 10, from the Patriot League and the Metro Conference, respectively.
• VCU joined the Colonial Athletic Association from the Metro Conference.
• Stephen F. Austin dissolved their baseball program. It would not resume until the 2006 season.

Format changes

• The Trans America Athletic Conference divided into three divisions of four teams each, the Eastern, Southern, and Western.
• The Big East divided into two divisions, named National and American.
• The Southland Conference divided into two divisions of four teams each, named Louisiana and Texas.

Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1996 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Each of the eight regionals consisted of six teams competing in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. In order to provide all conference champions with an automatic bid, 12 conference champions participated in a play-in round. The six winners joined the other 18 conference champions with automatic bids, 24 teams earned at-large selections.

Conference	Regular season winner	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue • City	Tournament Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	Florida State	1996 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament	Durham Bulls Athletic Park • Durham, NC	Virginia
Big East Conference	American - West Virginia National - Villanova	1996 Big East Conference baseball tournament	Muzzy Field • Bristol, CT	West Virginia
Big Eight Conference	Missouri	1996 Big Eight Conference baseball tournament	All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma State
Big Ten Conference	Penn State	1996 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament	Beaver Field • State College, PA	Indiana
Big West Conference	Long Beach State	1996 Big West Conference baseball tournament	Titan Field • Fullerton, CA	UNLV
Colonial Athletic Association	Old Dominion/Richmond	1996 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament	Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC	Old Dominion
Conference USA	South Florida	1996 Conference USA baseball tournament	Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS	Tulane
Ivy League	Gehrig - Princeton Rolfe - Harvard	1996 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series	Bill Clarke Field • Princeton, NJ	Princeton
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference	Northern - Siena Southern - Iona	1996 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball tournament	Heritage Park • Colonie, NY	Siena
Mid-American Conference	Kent State	1996 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament	Gene Michael Field • Kent, OH	Akron
Midwestern Collegiate Conference	Butler	1996 Midwestern Collegiate Conference baseball tournament	Indianapolis, IN	Northern Illinois
Mid-Continent Conference	Troy State	1996 Mid-Continent Conference baseball tournament	Riddle–Pace Field • Troy, AL	Northeastern Illinois
North Atlantic Conference	Delaware	1996 North Atlantic Conference baseball tournament	Mahoney Diamond • Orono, ME	Delaware
Northeast Conference	Rider/Monmouth	1996 Northeast Conference baseball tournament	Ewing Township, NJ	Rider
Pacific-10 Conference	North - Washington South - Southern California	no tournament
Patriot League	Bucknell	1996 Patriot League baseball tournament	Bucknell Field • Lewisburg, PA	Bucknell
Southeastern Conference	Eastern - Florida Western - Alabama	1996 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Alabama
Southern Conference	Georgia Southern	1996 Southern Conference baseball tournament	College Park • Charleston, SC	Georgia Southern
Southland Conference	Louisiana - Northeast Louisiana Texas - Southwest Texas State	1996 Southland Conference baseball tournament	Fair Grounds Field • Shreveport, LA	Sam Houston State
Southwest Conference	Texas	1996 Southwest Conference baseball tournament	Dan Law Field • Lubbock, TX	Rice
Trans America Athletic Conference	Eastern - Georgia State Southern - Stetson Western - Jacksonville State	1996 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball tournament	Conrad Park • DeLand, FL	UCF
West Coast Conference	Santa Clara	No tournament

Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:

1996 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 6 Florida State  ‍†‍‍y 19 – 5   .792 52 – 17   .754 No. 4 Clemson  ‍‍‍y 17 – 7   .708 51 – 17   .750 No. 18 Georgia Tech  ‍‍‍y 13 – 11   .542 40 – 24   .625 No. 28 NC State  ‍‍‍y 13 – 11   .542 42 – 19   .689 No. 19 Virginia  ‍‍‡‍y 11 – 13   .458 44 – 21   .677 North Carolina  ‍‍‍ 11 – 13   .458 33 – 25   .569 Duke  ‍‍‍ 9 – 14   .391 39 – 18   .684 Wake Forest  ‍‍‍ 7 – 16   .304 26 – 32   .448 Maryland  ‍‍‍ 7 – 17   .292 24 – 27   .471 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Big East Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT American Division West Virginia  x‍‍‡‍y 15 – 10 – 0   .600 33 – 25 – 0   .569 Providence  x‍‍‍ 15 – 10 – 0   .600 32 – 17 – 1   .650 St. John's  ‍‍‍ 14 – 10 – 0   .583 26 – 18 – 0   .591 Connecticut  ‍‍‍ 13 – 12 – 0   .520 24 – 23 – 0   .511 Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍ 9 – 13 – 0   .409 24 – 20 – 2   .543 Boston College  ‍‍‍ 6 – 18 – 0   .250 15 – 27 – 0   .357 National Division Villanova  x‍‍‍ 16 – 5 – 0   .762 25 – 20 – 0   .556 Rutgers  ‍‍‍ 15 – 7 – 1   .674 32 – 21 – 1   .602 Notre Dame  ‍‍‍y 13 – 7 – 0   .650 44 – 18 – 0   .710 Georgetown  ‍‍‍ 6 – 18 – 0   .250 18 – 34 – 0   .346 Seton Hall  ‍‍‍ 5 – 17 – 1   .239 18 – 27 – 1   .402 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Big Eight Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 29 Missouri  ‍†‍‍y 20 – 8   .714 39 – 19   .672 No. 8 Oklahoma State  ‍‍‡‍y 17 – 9   .654 45 – 21   .682 Oklahoma  ‍‍‍ 14 – 12   .538 32 – 25   .561 Iowa State  ‍‍‍ 12 – 14   .462 23 – 31   .426 Kansas State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 16   .407 28 – 26   .519 Kansas  ‍‍‍ 11 – 17   .393 26 – 30   .464 Nebraska  ‍‍‍ 8 – 17   .320 27 – 27   .500 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1996 Big Ten Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Penn State  ‍†‍‍ 19 – 8   .704 32 – 24   .571 Indiana  ‍‍‡‍y 18 – 8   .692 43 – 18   .705 Illinois  ‍‍‍ 17 – 10   .630 37 – 22   .627 Michigan  ‍‍‍ 17 – 11   .607 24 – 30   .444 Minnesota  ‍‍‍ 15 – 12   .556 30 – 26   .536 Ohio State  ‍‍‍ 15 – 13   .536 36 – 20   .643 Iowa  ‍‍‍ 13 – 13   .500 25 – 22   .532 Northwestern  ‍‍‍ 10 – 18   .357 26 – 29   .473 Purdue  ‍‍‍ 8 – 19   .296 22 – 32   .407 Michigan State  ‍‍‍ 4 – 24   .143 14 – 41   .255 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Big West Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Long Beach State  ‍†‍‍ 15 – 6   .714 34 – 26   .567 No. 26 UNLV  ‍‍‡‍ 14 – 7   .667 43 – 17   .717 UC Santa Barbara  ‍‍‍ 14 – 7   .667 32 – 20   .615 No. 13 Cal State Fullerton  ‍‍‍ 13 – 8   .619 42 – 16   .724 Nevada  ‍‍‍ 8 – 13   .381 28 – 18   .609 New Mexico State  ‍‍‍ 8 – 13   .381 25 – 27   .481 San Jose State  ‍‍‍ 7 – 14   .333 28 – 28   .500 Pacific  ‍‍‍ 5 – 16   .238 24 – 25   .490 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the 1996 NCAA Division I baseball tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Colonial Athletic Association baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Old Dominion  ‍†‍‡‍y 13 – 7   .650 39 – 17   .696 Richmond  ‍†‍‍ 13 – 7   .650 27 – 25   .519 VCU  ‍‍‍ 11 – 7   .611 34 – 22   .607 George Mason  ‍‍‍ 12 – 9   .571 25 – 29   .463 East Carolina  ‍‍‍ 10 – 11   .476 22 – 24   .478 James Madison  ‍‍‍ 9 – 11   .450 34 – 25   .576 UNC Wilmington  ‍‍‍ 9 – 11   .450 28 – 30   .483 William & Mary  ‍‍‍ 2 – 16   .111 23 – 25   .479 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1996 Conference USA baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT South Florida  ‍†‍‍y 20 – 4   .833 47 – 19   .712 Tulane  ‍‍‡‍y 18 – 6   .750 43 – 20   .683 Southern Miss  ‍‍‍ 14 – 10   .583 32 – 28   .533 UAB  ‍‍‍ 13 – 11   .542 33 – 25   .569 Charlotte  ‍‍‍ 11 – 13   .458 29 – 30   .492 Memphis  ‍‍‍ 9 – 11   .450 26 – 28   .481 Saint Louis  ‍‍‍ 9 – 12   .429 25 – 24   .510 Louisville  ‍‍‍ 6 – 15   .286 18 – 36   .333 Cincinnati  ‍‍‍ 1 – 19   .050 5 – 34   .128 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 NCAA Division I baseball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍y –   – 50 – 14   .781 Oral Roberts  ‍‍‍ –   – 32 – 24   .571 Hawaii–Hilo  ‍‍‍ –   – 14 – 31   .311 Wofford  ‍‍‍ –   – 8 – 35   .186 Colgate  ‍‍‍ –   – 3 – 20   .130 Southern Utah  ‍‍‍ –   – –   – y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Ivy League baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Lou Gehrig Princeton  x‍‍‡‍y 13 – 7   .650 26 – 21   .553 Penn  ‍‍‍ 13 – 7   .650 25 – 17   .595 Cornell  ‍‍‍ 8 – 12   .400 17 – 27   .386 Columbia  ‍‍‍ 7 – 13   .350 13 – 29   .310 Red Rolfe Harvard  x‍‍‍ 14 – 6   .700 23 – 17   .575 Yale  ‍‍‍ 11 – 9   .550 24 – 18   .571 Dartmouth  ‍‍‍ 8 – 12   .400 12 – 25   .324 Brown  ‍‍‍ 6 – 14   .300 12 – 25   .324 x – Division champion ‡ – Championship Series champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1996 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Northern Siena  x‍‍‡‍y 14 – 4   .778 28 – 20   .583 Le Moyne  ‍‍‍ 10 – 8   .556 17 – 19   .472 Niagara  ‍‍‍ 7 – 11   .389 14 – 20   .412 Canisius  ‍‍‍ 5 – 13   .278 13 – 22   .371 Southern Iona  x‍‍‍ 11 – 7   .611 26 – 21   .553 Saint Peter's  ‍‍‍ 10 – 7   .588 18 – 24   .429 Fairfield  ‍‍‍ 10 – 8   .556 20 – 19   .513 Manhattan  ‍‍‍ 4 – 13   .235 9 – 30   .231 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Mid-American Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT Kent State  ‍†‍‍ 21 – 7 – 0   .750 30 – 20 – 0   .600 Ohio  ‍‍‍ 21 – 11 – 0   .656 34 – 23 – 0   .596 Toledo  ‍‍‍ 18 – 14 – 0   .563 27 – 27 – 0   .500 Akron  ‍‍‡‍y 18 – 14 – 0   .563 37 – 23 – 0   .617 Ball State  ‍‍‍ 16 – 14 – 0   .533 32 – 20 – 1   .613 Central Michigan  ‍‍‍ 16 – 14 – 0   .533 31 – 20 – 0   .608 Eastern Michigan  ‍‍‍ 16 – 16 – 0   .500 26 – 29 – 0   .473 Bowling Green  ‍‍‍ 14 – 17 – 0   .452 28 – 22 – 0   .560 Western Michigan  ‍‍‍ 10 – 21 – 0   .323 17 – 34 – 0   .333 Miami  ‍‍‍ 5 – 27 – 0   .156 12 – 40 – 0   .231 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Northeast Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT Rider  ‍†‍‡‍ 15 – 6 – 0   .714 28 – 22 – 0   .560 Monmouth  ‍†‍‍ 15 – 6 – 0   .714 25 – 22 – 0   .532 St. Francis  ‍‍‍ 12 – 8 – 0   .600 21 – 20 – 1   .512 Long Island  ‍‍‍ 12 – 9 – 0   .571 21 – 19 – 0   .525 Fairleigh Dickinson  ‍‍‍ 9 – 12 – 0   .429 16 – 23 – 0   .410 Wagner  ‍‍‍ 8 – 12 – 0   .400 14 – 24 – 0   .368 Marist  ‍‍‍ 8 – 13 – 0   .381 16 – 24 – 1   .402 Mount St. Mary's  ‍‍‍ 4 – 17 – 0   .190 6 – 24 – 1   .210 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1996 Patriot League baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT Bucknell  ‍†‍‡‍y 14 – 6 – 0   .700 24 – 23 – 0   .511 Lehigh  ‍‍‍ 12 – 8 – 0   .600 18 – 20 – 1   .474 Navy  ‍‍‍ 11 – 9 – 0   .550 24 – 28 – 0   .462 Army  ‍‍‍ 9 – 11 – 0   .450 20 – 21 – 0   .488 Lafayette  ‍‍‍ 9 – 11 – 0   .450 12 – 28 – 0   .300 Holy Cross  ‍‍‍ 5 – 15 – 0   .250 7 – 26 – 0   .212 ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Southeastern Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Eastern Division No. 3 Florida  x‍†‍‍ 20 – 10   .667 50 – 18   .735 No. 12 Tennessee  ‍‍‍ 18 – 12   .600 43 – 20   .683 Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 15 – 14   .517 35 – 24   .593 Vanderbilt  ‍‍‍ 14 – 16   .467 29 – 25   .537 South Carolina  ‍‍‍ 13 – 17   .433 25 – 28   .472 Georgia  ‍‍‍ 8 – 21   .276 24 – 30   .444 Western Division No. 5 Alabama  x‍†‍‡‍ 20 – 10   .667 50 – 19   .725 No. 1 LSU  x‍†‍‍ 20 – 10   .667 52 – 15   .776 No. 27 Mississippi State  ‍‍‍ 17 – 13   .567 38 – 24   .613 Arkansas  ‍‍‍ 15 – 15   .500 39 – 20   .661 Auburn  ‍‍‍ 12 – 18   .400 32 – 24   .571 Ole Miss  ‍‍‍ 7 – 23   .233 24 – 30   .444 x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Southern Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 14 Georgia Southern †‡y ‍‍‍ 17 – 3   .850 46 – 14   .767 Western Carolina  ‍‍‍ 17 – 7   .708 32 – 24   .571 Furman  ‍‍‍ 15 – 9   .625 26 – 29   .473 The Citadel  ‍‍‍ 13 – 10   .565 33 – 26   .559 Appalachian State  ‍‍‍ 12 – 10   .545 27 – 19   .587 East Tennessee State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 12   .478 26 – 24   .520 VMI  ‍‍‍ 7 – 16   .304 17 – 29   .370 Davidson  ‍‍‍ 6 – 18   .250 16 – 33   .327 Marshall  ‍‍‍ 4 – 17   .190 7 – 35   .167 † – Conference champion ‡ – SoCon Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1996 Southland Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Louisiana Northeast Louisiana  x‍‍‍ 21 – 9   .700 41 – 19   .683 Northwestern State  ‍‍‍ 14 – 16   .467 34 – 27   .557 Nicholls State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 19   .367 17 – 36   .321 McNeese State  ‍‍‍ 10 – 20   .333 23 – 31   .426 Texas Southwest Texas State  x‍‍‍ 19 – 11   .633 27 – 32   .458 Texas–San Antonio  ‍‍‍ 17 – 13   .567 26 – 26   .500 Sam Houston State  ‍‍‡‍y 15 – 15   .500 31 – 29   .517 Texas–Arlington  ‍‍‍ 13 – 17   .433 23 – 35   .397 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Southwest Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 16 Texas  ‍†‍‍y 17 – 7   .708 39 – 24   .619 No. 17 Texas Tech  ‍‍‍y 15 – 9   .625 49 – 15   .766 Texas A&M  ‍‍‍ 12 – 12   .500 37 – 21   .638 Baylor  ‍‍‍ 11 – 13   .458 32 – 27   .542 Texas Christian  ‍‍‍ 11 – 13   .458 34 – 33   .507 Houston  ‍‍‍ 9 – 15   .375 29 – 28   .509 No. 25 Rice  ‍‍‡‍y 9 – 15   .375 42 – 23   .646 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT South No. 22 Stetson x‍†‍‍y 12 – 6   .667 42 – 23   .646 UCF ‍‍‡‍y 9 – 9   .500 43 – 22   .662 Florida Atlantic ‍‍‍ 9 – 9   .500 39 – 23   .629 FIU ‍‍‍ 6 – 12   .333 35 – 24   .593 East Georgia State x‍†‍‍ 12 – 6   .667 21 – 32   .396 Campbell ‍‍‍ 9 – 9   .500 23 – 33   .411 College of Charleston ‍‍‍ 8 – 10   .444 28 – 23   .549 Mercer ‍‍‍ 7 – 11   .389 25 – 30   .455 West Jacksonville State x‍†‍‍ 12 – 6   .667 33 – 18   .647 Southeastern Louisiana ‍‍‍ 11 – 7   .611 34 – 24   .586 Centenary ‍‍‍ 7 – 11   .389 23 – 34   .404 Samford ‍‍‍ 6 – 12   .333 22 – 34   .393 x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1996 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

College World Series

Main article: 1996 College World Series

The 1996 season marked the fiftieth NCAA baseball tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with LSU claiming their third championship with a 9–8 win over Miami (FL) in the final.

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

Award winners

All-America team

Main article: 1996 College Baseball All-America Team