The 2012 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began on February 17, 2012. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2012 NCAA Division I baseball tournament and 2012 College World Series. The College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA tournament and held annually in Omaha, Nebraska, at TD Ameritrade Park concluded on June 25, 2012, with the final game of the best of three championship series. Arizona defeated two-time defending champion South Carolina two games to none to claim their fourth championship.
Realignment
New programs Nebraska-Omaha joined Division I from the Division II MIAA.
Dropped programs Cleveland State dropped its varsity baseball program following the 2011 season. Two programs which had competed as Division I Independents, Le Moyne and New Orleans, dropped to Division II. Centenary, which had been a member of The Summit League, dropped to Division III.
Conference changes
Several conferences added single programs prior to the 2012 season. The Pac-12 Conference added Utah, previously a Mountain West Conference member, and the West Coast Conference added BYU, also a previous Mountain West member. Nebraska moved from the Big 12 Conference to the Big Ten Conference. Campbell moved from the Atlantic Sun Conference to the Big South Conference.
Three Independents joined conferences prior to the season. Savannah State and North Carolina Central both joined the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, while SIU Edwardsville joined the Ohio Valley Conference.
Conference formats With the addition of Savannah State and North Carolina Central, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference split into two divisions, the North and the South.
Season outlook
Coaches' Poll RankingTeam1 Florida2 South Carolina3 4 5 Texas6 7 8 Arkansas9 Florida State10 11 12 13 14 LSU15 16 17 Virginia18 UCLA19 Oregon State20 Arizona21 St. John's22 California23 Clemson24 25 Collegiate Baseball News RankingTeam1 Florida2 South Carolina 3 4 5 Texas6 7 8 Arkansas9 10 11 St. John's12 LSU13 Florida State14 15 16 17 18 19 UCLA20 Arizona21 22 California23 24 Oregon State25 Clemson Baseball America RankingTeam1 Florida2 3 South Carolina 4 Arkansas5 Arizona6 7 8 LSU9 10 11 12 13 Texas14 UCLA15 16 Clemson17 18 19 20 Florida State21 UCF22 23 Oregon State24 25 NCBWA RankingTeam1 Florida2 South Carolina 3 4 5 6 Arkansas7 Texas8 9 10 Florida State11 12 LSU13 14 15 16 17 Clemson18 Arizona19 20 UCLA21 22 Oregon State23 Virginia24 25
Conference standings
Conference winners and tournaments Thirty athletic conferences each end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament or a double-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2012 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, with the exception of the Great West Conference, as that league remains in a provisional status.
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference Player of the YearConference Coach of the YearConference tournamentTournament venue (city)Tournament winnerAmerica East Conference Stony Brook Travis Jankowski, Stony Brook Matt Senk, Stony Brook 2012 America East Conference baseball tournament Joe Nathan Field • Stony Brook, NY Stony BrookAtlantic 10 Conference Dayton/Saint Louis Jeff Roy, Rhode Island Darin Hendrickson, Saint Louis 2012 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament Houlihan Park • Bronx, NY Dayton Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic – Florida StateCoastal – North Carolina James Ramsey, Florida State Mike Martin, Florida State 2012 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament NewBridge Bank Park • Greensboro, NC Georgia TechAtlantic Sun Conference Belmont Gaither Bumgardner, South Carolina Upstate Matt Fincher, South Carolina Upstate 2012 Atlantic Sun Conference baseball tournament Melching Field at Conrad Park • DeLand, FL BelmontBig 12 Conference Baylor Josh Ludy, Baylor Steve Smith, Baylor 2012 Big 12 baseball tournament RedHawks Ballpark • Oklahoma City, OK MissouriBig East Conference Louisville Patrick Kivelehan, Rutgers Ed Blankmeyer, St. John's 2012 Big East Conference baseball tournament Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL St. John'sBig South Conference Coastal Carolina Daniel Bowman, Coastal Carolina Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina 2012 Big South Conference baseball tournament Williard Baseball Stadium • High Point, NC Coastal CarolinaBig Ten Conference Purdue Kevin Plawecki, Purdue Doug Schreiber, Purdue 2012 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament Huntington Park • Columbus, OH PurdueBig West Conference Cal State Fullerton Mitch Haniger, Cal Poly Rick Vanderhook, Cal State Fullerton No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bidColonial Athletic Association UNC Wilmington Donny Poma, Hofstra Mark Scalf, UNC Wilmington 2012 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park • Harrisonburg, VA UNC WilmingtonConference USA Rice Jacob Wilson, Memphis Wayne Graham, Rice 2012 Conference USA baseball tournament Trustmark Park • Pearl, MS UABGreat West Conference Utah Valley Goose Kallunki, Utah Valley Eric Madsen, Utah Valley 2012 Great West Conference baseball tournament Harold Kraft Memorial Field • Grand Forks, ND Utah ValleyHorizon League Valparaiso Tristan Moore, Wright State Tracy Woodson, Valparaiso 2012 Horizon League baseball tournament Les Miller Field • Chicago, IL ValparaisoIvy League Gehrig - CornellRolfe - Dartmouth Dario Pizzano, Columbia 2012 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series Hoy Field • Ithaca, NY CornellMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference Manhattan Chris Burke, Iona Bill Currier, Fairfield 2012 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball tournament Joseph L. Bruno Stadium • Troy, NY ManhattanMid-American Conference East - Kent StateWest - Toledo George Roberts, Kent State Scott Stricklin, Kent State 2012 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament All Pro Freight Stadium • Avon, OH Kent StateMid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern - Delaware StateSouthern - Bethune-Cookman Ryan Haas, Delaware State J. P. Blandin, Delaware State 2012 Mid–Eastern Athletic Conference baseball tournament Marty L. Miller Field • Norfolk, VA Bethune-Cookman Missouri Valley Conference Indiana State Jeremy Lucas, Indiana State Rick Heller, Indiana State 2012 Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament Hammons Field • Springfield, MO CreightonMountain West Conference New Mexico/Texas Christian Mitch Garver, New MexicoDJ Peterson, New Mexico Ray Birmingham, New Mexico 2012 Mountain West Conference baseball tournament Earl Wilson Stadium • Paradise, NV New MexicoNortheast Conference Bryant Ryan Kresky, Fairleigh Dickinson Steve Owens, Bryant 2012 Northeast Conference baseball tournament Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT Sacred HeartOhio Valley Conference Austin Peay/Eastern Kentucky Trenton Moses, Southeast Missouri State Jason Stein, Eastern Kentucky 2012 Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament Pringles Park • Jackson, TN Austin PeayPac-12 Conference UCLA/Arizona Alex Mejia, Arizona Andy Lopez, Arizona No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bidPatriot League Army Kevin McKague, Army Joe Sottolano, Army 2012 Patriot League baseball tournament Campus Sites Army Southeastern Conference West – LSUEast – South Carolina Raph Rhymes, LSU Gary Henderson, Kentucky 2012 SEC baseball tournament Regions Park • Hoover, AL Mississippi StateSouthern Conference Appalachian State/College of Charleston Marty Gantt, College of Charleston Chris Pollard, Appalachian State 2012 Southern Conference baseball tournament Fluor Field at the West End • Greenville, SC SamfordSouthland Conference Sam Houston State Brock Hebert, Southeastern Louisiana David Pierce, Sam Houston State 2012 Southland Conference baseball tournament Bobcat Ballpark • San Marcos, TX Texas–ArlingtonSouthwestern Athletic Conference East - Jackson StateWest - Southern Kendall Logan, Jackson State Waskyla Cullivan, Jackson State 2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball tournament Lee–Hines Field • Baton Rouge, LA Prairie View A&MThe Summit League Oral Roberts Jared Schlehuber, Oral Roberts John Musachio, Oakland 2012 The Summit League baseball tournament J. L. Johnson Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK Oral RobertsSun Belt Conference Florida Atlantic Jeremy Sy, Louisiana–Monroe Tommy Raffo, Arkansas State 2012 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament Bowling Green Ballpark • Bowling Green, KY Louisiana–MonroeWest Coast Conference Pepperdine Joe Sever, Pepperdine Steve Rodriguez, Pepperdine No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bidWestern Athletic Conference New Mexico State Andrew Ayers, Sacramento State Reggie Christiansen, Sacramento State 2012 Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament HoHoKam Stadium • Mesa, AZ Fresno State
College World Series
The 2012 season marked the sixty sixth 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 Arizona claiming their fourth championship with a two games to none series win over South Carolina in the final.
Bracket
Award winners
Consensus All-American teams
Major player of the year awards Dick Howser Trophy: Mike Zunino, Florida Baseball America: Mike Zunino, Florida Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger: Nick Petree, Missouri State American Baseball Coaches Association: James Ramsey, Florida State Golden Spikes Award: Mike Zunino, Florida
Major freshman of the year awards Baseball America Freshman Of The Year: Carlos Rodon, NC State Collegiate Baseball Freshman Player of the Year: Michael Conforto, Oregon State Collegiate Baseball Freshman Pitcher of the Year: Carlos Rodon, NC State
Major coach of the year awards American Baseball Coaches Association: Baseball America: Collegiate Baseball Coach of the Year: National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Coach of the Year: Matt Senk, Stony Brook Chuck Tanner Collegiate Baseball Manager of the Year Award: ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year:
Other major awards Lowe's Senior CLASS Award (baseball) (outstanding Senior of the Year in baseball): James Ramsey, Florida State Johnny Bench Award (Catcher of the Year): Mike Zunino, Florida Brooks Wallace Award (Shortstop of the Year): Zach Vincej, Pepperdine American Baseball Coaches Association Gold Glove:
See also
2012 NCAA Division I baseball rankings 2012 NCAA Division I baseball tournament 2012 College World Series
References Notes