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. 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
Central I Regional Hosted by Texas at Disch–Falk Field in Austin, Texas
Central II Regional Hosted by Texas Tech at Dan Law Field in Lubbock, Texas
East Regional Hosted by Florida at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Florida
Midwest Regional Hosted by Wichita State at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kansas
South I Regional Hosted by Alabama at Sewell–Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
South II Regional Hosted by Louisiana State at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
West Regional Hosted by Stanford at Sunken Diamond in Stanford, California
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 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
Game results Date Game Winner Score Loser Notes May 31 Game 1 Alabama 7–5 Oklahoma State Game 2 Miami (FL) 7–3 Clemson June 1 Game 3 Florida 5–2 Florida State Game 4 LSU 9–8 June 2 Game 5 Miami (FL) 15–1 Alabama Game 6 Clemson 8–5 (10 innings) Oklahoma State Oklahoma State eliminated June 3 Game 7 LSU 9–4 Florida Game 8 Florida State 8–4 Wichita State eliminated June 4 Game 9 Clemson 14–13 Alabama Alabama eliminated 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) 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, Josh Holliday, 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).
See also 1996 NCAA Division II baseball tournament 1996 NCAA Division III baseball tournament 1996 NAIA World Series
References