The 2018 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 in February 2018. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament and 2018 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 Omaha, ended on June 28, 2018.
Realignment and format changes NYIT, previously the last remaining Division I independent, moved its baseball program to its full-time home of the Division II East Coast Conference. Buffalo dropped their baseball program at the end of the 2017 season, leaving the Mid-American Conference with 10 teams. As a result, the MAC dissolved its divisions. The Ivy League dissolved its divisions, playing in a single league table for the first time since 1992. The top two finishers will meet in the Championship Series. Wichita State left the Missouri Valley Conference for the American Athletic Conference. Valparaiso left the Horizon League for the Missouri Valley Conference.
The 2018 season was also the last for two other teams in their then-current conferences. Both teams moved between the same two conferences, but in opposite directions. Liberty, after 27 seasons in the Big South Conference, joined the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) on July 1, 2018. USC Upstate, after 11 years in the ASUN, moved to the Big South.
Finally, one other Division I team changed its institutional and athletic identities immediately after the 2017–18 season. Indiana University and Purdue University dissolved Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) on July 1, 2018. IPFW's academic programs in health sciences transferred to the IU system as Indiana University Fort Wayne; all remaining academic programs were transferred to the Purdue system as Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW). From 2018 to 2019, the former IPFW athletic program represents only PFW, and its Summit League membership was assumed by PFW. Shortly before the dissolution took effect, but after the school's baseball season had finished, the athletic program announced that it would henceforth be known as the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.
NCAA tournament For the first time, the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament seeded the top 16 teams, rather than only the top 8 teams as had been the practice since 1999. This ensures that the regional featuring the top-seeded team is paired with the regional hosted by the 16th-seeded team, where in the past Super Regionals were paired generally along geographical lines.
Ballpark changes Boston College opened the new 1,000-seat Brighton Field on their Brighton campus. The Eagles left their home of 57 years, Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at John Shea Field to create room for a new athletics field house. The 2018 season was the last for Kentucky at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The Wildcats moved into the new Kentucky Proud Park for the 2019 season. The 2018 season was also the last for UConn at J. O. Christian Field. The Huskies will play elsewhere for 2019 while a new stadium is built.
Season outlook
Conference standings
Conference winners and tournaments Of the 31 Division I athletic conferences that sponsor baseball, 29 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. Two conferences, the Big West and Pac-12, do not hold a conference tournament. The winners of these tournaments, plus the Big West and Pac-12 regular-season champions, receive automatic invitations to the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. ConferenceRegular season winnerConference Player of the YearConference Pitcher of the YearConference Coach of the YearConference tournamentTournament Venue • CityTournament winner America East Conference Hartford Nick Campana, Hartford Nicholas Dombkowski, Hartford Justin Blood, Hartford 2018 America East Conference baseball tournament Mahaney Diamond • Orono, ME Hartford American Athletic Conference Bryant Packard, Aaron Fletcher, Houston Todd Whitting, Houston 2018 American Athletic Conference baseball tournament Spectrum Field • Clearwater, FL East Carolina Atlantic 10 Conference Isaiah Pasteur, Miller Hogan, Saint Louis Darin Hendrickson, Saint Louis 2018 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament Tucker Field at Barcroft Park • Arlington, VA Saint Louis Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic - ClemsonCoastal - North Carolina Joey Bart, Brian Brown, NC State Mike Fox, NC State 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament Durham Bulls Athletic Park • Durham, NC Atlantic Sun Conference Brooks Wilson, Stetson Logan Gilbert, Stetson Steve Trimper, Stetson 2018 Atlantic Sun Conference baseball tournament Harmon Stadium • Jacksonville, FL StetsonBig 12 Conference Texas Kody Clemens, Texas Cody Bradford, David Pierce, Texas 2018 Big 12 Conference baseball tournament Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark • Oklahoma City, OK BaylorBig East Conference John Valente, St. John's Ricky DeVito, Ed Blankmeyer, St. John's 2018 Big East Conference baseball tournament Prasco Park • Mason, OH St. John'sBig South Conference Austin Zente, Allan Winans, Campbell Justin Haire, Campbell 2018 Big South Conference baseball tournament Liberty Baseball Stadium • Lynchburg, VA CampbellBig Ten Conference Bren Spillane, Illinois Patrick Fredrickson, Minnesota John Anderson, Minnesota 2018 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE MinnesotaBig West Conference Cal State Fullerton Alex McKenna, Colton Eastman, Cal State Fullerton Rick Vanderhook, Cal State Fullerton No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bid Cal State Fullerton Colonial Athletic Association Charlie McConnell, Northeastern John Rooney, Mike Glavine, Northeastern 2018 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park • Harrisonburg, VA Conference USA Luke Reynolds, Southern Miss Nick Sandlin, Southern Miss Scott Berry, Southern Miss 2018 Conference USA baseball tournament MGM Park • Biloxi, MS Southern Miss Horizon League Gabe Snyder, Wright State Ryan Campbell, (starting)Charlie Cerny, UIC (relief) Jeff Mercer, Wright State 2018 Horizon League baseball tournament Hosted by regular-season champion Wright State Ivy League Dustin Shirley, Noah Zavolas, Brett Boretti, 2018 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series Campus sites Columbia Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Greg Cullen, J. P. Stevenson, John Delaney, 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball tournament Richmond County Bank Ballpark • Staten Island, NY Canisius Mid-American Conference Rudy Rott, Joey Murray, Kent State Jeff Duncan, Kent State 2018 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament Sprenger Stadium • Avon, OH Kent State Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern - Southern - Corey Joyce, Anthony Maldonado, Sherman Reed, Coppin State 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference baseball tournament Jackie Robinson Ballpark • Daytona Beach, FL North Carolina A&T Missouri Valley Conference Devlin Granberg, Trevor Conn, Dallas Baptist Keith Guttin, Missouri State 2018 Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament Horner Ballpark • Dallas, TX Missouri State Mountain West Conference Grant Fennell, Nevada Garrett Hill, San Diego State & Andrew Mitchel, San Jose State T. J. Bruce, Nevada 2018 Mountain West Conference baseball tournament Tony Gwynn Stadium • San Diego, CA San Diego State Northeast Conference Ryan Ward, Jack Patterson, Bryant Jim Carone, Wagner 2018 Northeast Conference baseball tournament Dodd Stadium • Norwich, CT Ohio Valley Conference Kevin Strohschein, Tennessee Tech Travis Moths, Tennessee Tech Matt Bragga, Tennessee Tech 2018 Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament Choccolocco Park • Oxford, AL Pac–12 Conference Andrew Vaughn, Luke Heimlich, Oregon State David Esquer, Stanford No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bid Stanford Patriot League / Jon Rosoff, Army Connor Van Hoose, Paul Kostacopoulos, Navy 2018 Patriot League baseball tournament Campus sites Army Southeastern Conference East - FloridaWest - Ole Miss/Arkansas Jonathan India, Florida Brady Singer, Florida Kevin O'Sullivan, Florida 2018 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL Ole Miss Southern Conference Andrew Moritz, UNC Greensboro Matt Frisbee, UNC Greensboro Link Jarrett, UNC Greensboro 2018 Southern Conference baseball tournament Fluor Field • Greenville, SC Southland Conference David Fry, Tyler Gray, Bobby Barbier, Northwestern State 2018 Southland Conference baseball tournament Constellation Field • Sugar Land, TX Northwestern State Southwestern Athletic Conference East - West - Kamren Dukes, Texas Southern Aaron Solis, Texas Southern Jose Vazquez, Alabama State 2018 Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball tournament Wesley Barrow Stadium • New Orleans, LA Texas Southern Summit League Noah Cummings, Oral Roberts Miguel Ausua, Oral Roberts Ryan Folmar, Oral Roberts 2018 Summit League baseball tournament J. L. Johnson Stadium • Tulsa, OK Oral Roberts Sun Belt Conference East - Coastal CarolinaWest - Louisiana Joey Denison, Colten Schmidt, Louisiana Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina 2018 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament M. L. Tigue Moore Field • Lafayette, LA Coastal CarolinaWest Coast Conference Jordan Qsar, Pepperdine Jonathan Pendergast, Pepperdine Rick Hirtensteiner, Pepperdine 2018 West Coast Conference baseball tournament Banner Island Ballpark • Stockton, CA Western Athletic Conference Quin Cotton, Grand Canyon Jonathan Groff, Andy Stankiewicz, Grand Canyon 2018 Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament Hohokam Stadium • Mesa, AZ New Mexico State
College World Series
The 2018 College World Series began on June 16 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Coaching changes This table lists programs that changed head coaches at any point from the first day of the 2018 season until the day before the first day of the 2019 season.