The San Jose State Spartans baseball team represents San José State University in NCAA Division I college baseball as a member of the Mountain West Conference.
San Jose State fielded its first baseball team in 1890, although the current SJSU baseball media guide only provides records dating back to 1911. The team plays its home games at Excite Ballpark in San Jose, California. The team formerly played select home games at Blethen Field, which was located on San Jose State's south campus. In 2014, SJSU released plans to build a new baseball stadium to replace Blethen Field.
History The team first took the field in 1890. Known back then as the Normalites, the men's baseball beat a local high school team in the first recognized game. From 1911 through the 2013 season, the SJSU baseball team compiled a win–loss record of 1,878–1,696 (.525).
From 1965 to 2021, 104 Spartans were taken in the Major League Baseball draft and 19 were signed by MLB teams. As of 2021, seven former Spartans are active professional baseball players in both major and minor leagues.
The Spartan baseball team has made NCAA tournament appearances in 1955, 1971, 2000 and 2002. In 2000, the team advanced to the College World Series.
From 1997 to 2013, the SJSU baseball team competed in the Western Athletic Conference, earning three WAC pennants in 1997, 2000 and 2009.
Under head coach and SJSU alumnus Sam Piraro (1987–2012), the SJSU baseball team reached the 30-win mark 17 times (including five 40+ wins seasons) and appeared in the national rankings 47 times.
The SJSU baseball team has fielded 16 All-Americans including four first-team selections.
All-time record vs. current Mountain West teams
As of the conclusion of the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season:
Air Force 28 39 0 Fresno State 111 180 0 Nevada 106 100 0 Grand Canyon 8 3 0 New Mexico 26 29 1 San Diego State 33 73 0 UNLV 42 53 0 Washington State 12 24 0
San Jose State in the NCAA tournament
The Spartans are 7–12 (.368) all-time in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
1955 Fresno Regional Fresno Regional Won 9–2 vs. Pepperdine Won 3–1 @ Fresno State Lost 4–9 @ Fresno State Lost 1–5 @ Fresno State 1971 Santa Clara Regional Santa Clara Regional Lost 0–5 @ Santa Clara Lost 1–3 @ Santa Clara 2000 Waco Regional Houston Super Regional College World Series Waco Regional Won vs. Florida 4–1 Won vs. SW Texas State 5–2 Lost vs. Florida 7–8 Won vs. Florida 2–1 Houston Super Regional Won @ Houston 5–3 Lost 2–5 @ Houston Won 3–2 @ Houston College World Series Lost vs. Clemson 6–10 Lost vs. Louisiana–Lafayette 3–6 2002 Stanford Regional Stanford Regional Lost 3–6 vs. Long Beach State Lost 1–9 vs. CSU Fullerton2023Stanford RegionalStanford Regional Lost 2–13 vs. Stanford Lost 5–9 vs. CSU Fullerton
Major League Baseball
San José State has had 102 Major League Baseball draft selections since the draft began in 1965.
Spartans in the MLB Draft Year Player Round Team 1965 46 Mets 1969 30 Expos 1969 26 Phillies 1970 4 Royals 1970 14 Dodgers 1971 7 Royals 1971 6 Expos 1972 36 Royals 1972 12 Giants 1972 11 Yankees 1973 48 Royals 1973 36 Cardinals 1974 19 Padres 1975 10 Expos 1976 17 Rangers 1978 26 Indians 1978 25 Cubs 1978 11 Mets 1978 10 Dodgers 1978 10 Mets 1979 40 Indians 1979 33 Twins 1980 8 Padres 1980 7 Angels 1981 2 Mariners 1983 20 Phillies 1983 19 Braves 1983 17 Royals 1983 10 Yankees 1984 30 Mariners 1984 16 Cardinals 1984 8 Rangers 1984 3 Astros 1985 14 Braves 1985 12 Rangers 1986 37 Phillies 1987 24 Padres 1987 3 Orioles 1988 62 Braves 1988 21 Expos 1988 14 Expos 1989 19 Brewers 1990 40 Twins 1990 28 Pirates 1990 27 Athletics 1990 12 Astros 1991 60 Giants 1991 24 Rangers 1991 23 Yankees 1992 50 Angels 1993 33 Indians 1993 23 Mets 1994 34 Angels 1994 12 Twins 1996 30 Phillies 1997 28 Rays 1997 11 Astros 1998 39 Braves 1998 22 Marlins 1998 20 Red Sox 1998 20 Royals 1999 5 Angels 2000 18 Indians 2000 18 Marlins 2000 16 Royals 2001 34 Astros 2001 33 Astros 2001 30 Mets 2001 13 Dodgers 2001 9 Reds 2002 33 Phillies 2002 21 Yankees 2002 18 Indians 2002 17 Yankees 2002 12 Reds 2002 6 Padres 2004 38 Indians 2004 12 Giants 2004 2 Mets 2005 29 Athletics 2005 15 Rockies 2005 9 Giants 2006 41 Mariners 2006 16 Athletics 2007 33 Angels 2009 32 Blue Jays 2009 25 Rockies 2009 18 Athletics 2009 14 Astros 2009 4 Indians 2011 38 Diamondbacks 2011 17 Nationals 2011 12 Cardinals 2011 8 Rockies 2012 39 Cardinals 2012 4 Twins 2013 37 Rays 2017 27 Giants 2017 19 Indians 2019 22 Rockies 2019 8 Padres 2019 5 Rangers 2021 4 Rangers 2022 15 Rockies 2023 3 Pirates
Making it to Omaha Under the direction of head coach Sam Piraro, the Spartans played in the College World Series in 2000 in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams who accompanied the Spartans in Omaha were Clemson, Florida State, Louisiana State, Stanford, Texas, Louisiana-Lafayette, and the University of Southern California. San Jose State was eliminated after the first round of the tournament by the number four seed, the Clemson Tigers.
See also List of NCAA Division I baseball programs
References
External links