The 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, June 1, 2018, as part of the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64-team, double-elimination tournament concluded with the 2018 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, starting on June 16 and ended on June 28. The Oregon State Beavers defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks in the best-of-three final series to win the championship.
The 64 participating NCAA Division I college baseball teams were selected out of an eligible 298 teams. Thirty-one teams will be awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conferences, and 33 teams will be selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee.
Teams were divided into sixteen regionals of four teams, which conducted a double-elimination tournament. Regional champions competed in Super Regionals, a best-of-three-game series, to determine the eight participants in the College World Series. For the first time, the Tournament seeded the top 16 teams instead of pairing teams generally along geographical lines.
In the championship series, Arkansas won the first game and held a 3–2 lead entering the top of the ninth inning in game 2. With two outs and a runner on third, Oregon State shortstop Cadyn Grenier popped a foul ball down the right field line that multiple Razorback players appeared to have a play on. Had the ball been caught, Arkansas would have won their first national championship in baseball; instead, the ball dropped between the first baseman, second baseman, and right fielder to continue the at-bat. Three pitches later, with the Beavers down to their final strike, Grenier singled in the tying run, and was followed by Trevor Larnach's two-run homer to give OSU a 5–3 lead and the eventual victory to even the series. The following day, Oregon State freshman Kevin Abel – who threw 23 pitches the previous night – notched a 129-pitch complete game shutout, allowing just two hits and retiring the final 20 Razorback hitters to secure the Beavers' third national title in baseball. Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player after collecting 13 RBI's and a College World Series record 17 hits.
Bids
Automatic bids School Conference Record (Conf) Berth Last NCAA appearance Hartford America East 26–29 (17–8) Tournament First Appearance American 43–16 (15–10) Tournament 2016 (Lubbock Super Regional) ACC 43–17 (16–13) Tournament 2017 (College World Series) Atlantic Sun 45–11 (15–3) Tournament 2016 (Coral Gables Regional) Atlantic 10 38–18 (20–4) Tournament 2013 (Columbia Regional) Big 12 36–19 (14–11) Tournament 2017 (Houston Regional) Big East 39–15 (15–3) Tournament 2017 (Clemson Regional) Big South 35–24 (22–6) Tournament 2014 (Columbia Regional) Big Ten 40–13 (18–4) Tournament 2016 (College Station Regional) Cal State Fullerton Big West 32–23 (18–6) Regular season 2017 (College World Series) Colonial 37–21 (14–9) Tournament 2016 (Columbia Regional) Conference USA 43–16 (23–6) Tournament 2017 (Hattiesburg Regional) Horizon 39–15 (23–6) Tournament 2016 (Louisville Regional) Ivy League 20–27 (13–8) Championship series 2015 (Coral Gables Regional) Metro Atlantic 35–20 (16–8) Tournament 2015 (Springfield Regional) Mid-American 39–16 (19–8) Tournament 2014 (Louisville Regional) Mid-Eastern 32–23 (16–8) Tournament 2005 (Clemson Regional) Missouri Valley 39–15 (18–3) Tournament 2017 (Fort Worth Super Regional) San Diego State Mountain West 39–19 (19–12) Tournament 2017 (Long Beach Regional) Northeast 31–24 (16–12) Tournament 1972 (Princeton District) Ohio Valley 37–24 (20–12) Tournament 2015 (Louisville Regional) Pac-12 44–10 (22–8) Regular season 2017 (Palo Alto Regional) Patriot 35–22 (18–7) Tournament 2013 (Charlottesville Regional) Ole Miss Southeastern 46–15 (18–12) Tournament 2016 (Oxford Regional) Southern 36–24 (16–8) Tournament 2012 (Tallahassee Regional) Southland 37–22 (18–12) Tournament 2005 (Baton Rouge Regional) Southwestern Athletic 27–26 (17–6) Tournament 2017 (Baton Rouge Regional) Summit 38–18 (24–6) Tournament 2017 (Fayetteville Regional) Coastal Carolina Sun Belt 42–17 (23–7) Tournament 2016 (National Champions) West Coast 32–22 (16–11) Tournament 2016 (Fort Worth Regional) Western Athletic 40–20 (17–7) Tournament 2012 (Tucson Regional)
By conference Conference Total Schools SEC10 Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt ACC6 NC State, Duke, Louisville, Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina Big 125 Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Baylor American4 East Carolina, Houston, South Florida, Connecticut Big Ten4 Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue Pac-124 Oregon State, UCLA, Stanford, Washington Atlantic Sun2 Stetson, Jacksonville Colonial2 Northeastern, UNC Wilmington Conference USA2 Southern Miss, Florida Atlantic Missouri Valley2 Missouri State, Dallas Baptist Ohio Valley2 Tennessee Tech, Morehead State Sun Belt2 Coastal Carolina, Troy America East1 Hartford Atlantic 101 Saint Louis Big East1 St. John's Big South1 Campbell Big West1 Cal State Fullerton Horizon1 Wright State Ivy1 Columbia MAAC1 Canisius Mid-American1 Kent State MEAC1 North Carolina A&T Mountain West1 San Diego State NEC1 LIU Brooklyn Patriot1 Army Southern1 Samford Southland1 Northwestern State Summit1 Oral Roberts SWAC1 Texas Southern West Coast1 Gonzaga WAC1 New Mexico State
National seeds 16 National Seeds were announced on the Selection Show Monday, May 28 at 12 p.m. EDT on ESPNU. The 16 national seeds host the Regionals. Teams in italics advanced to Super Regionals. Teams in bold advanced to College World Series.
1. Florida
2.
3. Oregon State
4. Ole Miss
5. Arkansas
6. North Carolina
7.
8.
9. Texas Tech
10. Clemson
11.
12.
13. Texas
14.
15. Coastal Carolina
16. NC State
Regionals and Super Regionals Bold indicates winner. Seeds for regional tournaments indicate seeds within regional. Seeds for super regional tournaments indicate national seeds only.
Gainesville Super Regional
Lubbock Super Regional
Fayetteville Super Regional
Austin Super Regional
Corvallis Super Regional
Chapel Hill Super Regional
Nashville Super Regional Hosted by Vanderbilt at Hawkins Field
Fullerton Super Regional Hosted by Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field
College World Series The College World Series was held at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
Participants School Conference Record (conference) Head coach Previous CWS Appearances Best CWS Finish CWS RecordNot including this year Arkansas SEC 44–19 (18–12) Dave Van Horn 8(last: 2015) 2nd(1979) 11–16 Florida SEC 47–19 (20–10) 11(last: 2017) 1st(2017) 19–22 SEC 37–27 (15–15) 9(last: 2013) 2nd(2013) 10–18 North Carolina ACC 43–18 (22–8) Mike Fox 10(last: 2013) 2nd(2006, 2007) 17–21 Oregon State Pac-12 Pat Casey 6(last: 2017) 1st(2006, 2007) 15–10 Texas Big 12 42–21 (17–7) David Pierce 35(last: 2014) 1st 85–59 Texas Tech Big 12 44–16 (15–9) Tim Tadlock 2(last: 2016) 5th(2016) 1–4 Washington Pac-12 35–24 (20–10) Lindsay Meggs none none 0–0
Bracket Seeds listed below indicate national seeds only
Game results Date Game Winning team Score Losing team Winning pitcher Losing pitcher Save Notes June 16 Game 1 North Carolina 8–6 Caden O'Brien (7–0) Luke Heimlich (16–2) Cooper Criswell (1) (4 hours, 24 minutes) Game 2 1–0 Washington Zach Neff (4–3) Alex Hardy (5–3) – June 17 Game 3 Arkansas 11–5 Texas Blaine Knight (13–0) Nolan Kingham (8–5) – Game 4 Texas Tech 6–3 Florida Ryan Shetter (6–0) Brady Singer (12–2) – June 18 Game 5 Oregon State 14–5 Washington Kevin Abel (5–1) Alex Hardy (5–4) – Washington eliminated June 19 Game 6 Mississippi State 12–2 North Carolina Austin Bergner (7–3) Cole Gordon (4) Postponed from June 18 due to rain Game 7 Florida 6–1 Texas Jackson Kowar (10–5) Blair Henley (6–7) – Texas eliminated June 20 Game 8 Arkansas 7–4 Texas Tech Barrett Loseke (4–2) Davis Martin (7–6) – Postponed from June 19 due to rain Game 9 Oregon State 11–6 North Carolina Jake Mulholland (2–2) Brett Daniels (4–2) – North Carolina eliminated June 21 Florida 9–6 Texas Tech Jack Leftwich (5–5) Caleb Kilian (9–3) Michael Byrne (16) Texas Tech eliminated Game 11 Oregon State 12–2 Brandon Eisert (5–3) – Game 12 Arkansas 5–2 Florida Isaiah Campbell (5–6) Brady Singer (12–3) Matt Cronin (13) Florida eliminatedJune 23 Game 13 Oregon State 5–2 Mississippi State Kevin Abel (6–1) Ethan Small (5–4) – Mississippi State eliminatedFinalsJune 26 Game 1 Arkansas 4–1 Oregon State Blaine Knight (14–0) Luke Heimlich (16–3) Matt Cronin (14) Postponed from June 25 due to rain June 27 Game 2 Oregon State 5–3 Arkansas Kevin Abel (7–1) Matt Cronin (2–2) June 28 Game 3 Oregon State 5–0 Arkansas Kevin Abel (8−1) Isaiah Campbell (5–7) – Oregon State wins CWS
All-Tournament Team The following players were members of the College World Series All-Tournament Team. Position Player School P Kevin Abel Oregon State Blaine Knight Arkansas C Adley Rutschman (MOP) Oregon State 1B Jared Gates Arkansas 2B Hunter Stovall Mississippi State 3B Casey Martin Arkansas SS Cadyn Grenier Oregon State OF Dominic Fletcher Arkansas Heston Kjerstad Arkansas Trevor Larnach Oregon State DH Tyler Malone Oregon State
Final standings Seeds listed below indicate national seeds only Place School Record 1st 3 Oregon State11–2 2nd 5 Arkansas9–3 3rd 1 Florida7–4Mississippi State8–4 5th 6 North Carolina6–2 9 Texas Tech6–3 7th 13 Texas5–3Washington5–3 9th Auburn4–2Cal State Fullerton4–2Duke5–3 14 Minnesota3–2South Carolina4–2 11 Stetson3–2Tennessee Tech5–3Vanderbilt4–2 17th 10 Clemson2–2Connecticut2–2Dallas Baptist2–2Florida Atlantic3–2 8 Georgia2–2Houston2–2Indiana2–2Louisville2–2LSU2–2 16 NC State2–2Oklahoma2–2Oklahoma State2–2 4 Ole Miss2–2 2 Stanford2–2UCLA2–2UNC Wilmington2–2 33rdArmy1–2Baylor1–2 15 Coastal Carolina1–2 12 East Carolina1–2Gonzaga1–2Jacksonville1–2Kent State1–2Missouri State1–2Northwestern State1–2Purdue1–2Samford1–2South Florida1–2Southern Miss1–2St. John's1–2Texas A&M1–2Troy1–2 49thCampbell0–2Canisius0–2Columbia0–2 7 Florida State0–2Hartford0–2LIU Brooklyn0–2Morehead State0–2New Mexico State0–2North Carolina A&T0–2Northeastern0–2Ohio State0–2Oral Roberts0–2Saint Louis0–2San Diego State0–2Texas Southern0–2Wright State0–2
Record by conference Conference# of BidsRecordWin % Record Win %Pac–12 4 20–9 19–8 4 2 2 1 1 1 SEC 10 43–25 33–15 9 6 3 3 1 Big 12 5 16–12 16–12 4 2 2 ACC 6 17–13 17–13 5 2 1 Big Ten 4 6–8 6–8 2 1 Atlantic Sun 2 4–4 4–4 1 1 Ohio Valley 2 5–5 5–5 1 1 Big West 1 4–2 4–2 1 1 American 4 6–8 6–8 2 Colonial 2 2–4 2–4 1 Conference USA 2 4–4 4–4 1 Missouri Valley 2 3–4 3–4 1 Sun Belt 2 2–4 2–4 6–36 6–36 The columns RF, SR, WS, NS, CS, and NC respectively stand for the Regional Finals, Super Regionals, College World Series Teams, National Semifinals, Championship Series, and National Champion.
Nc is non–conference records, i.e., with the records of teams within the same conference having played each other removed.
Media coverage
Radio NRG Media provided nationwide radio coverage of the College World Series through its Omaha station KOZN, in association with Westwood One. It was streamed at westwoodonesports.com, on TuneIn, and on SiriusXM. Kevin Kugler and John Bishop called all games leading up to the Championship Series with Gary Sharp acting as the field reporter. The Championship Series was called by Kugler and Scott Graham with Bishop acting as field reporter.
Television ESPN carried every game from the Regionals, Super Regionals, and College World Series across its networks. During the Regionals and Super Regionals ESPN offered a dedicated channel, ESPN Bases Loaded (carried in the same channel allotments as its "Goal Line" services for football), carried live look-ins and analysis across all games in progress.
Broadcast assignments
Regionals Mike Morgan and Greg Swindell: Athens, Georgia Tom Hart and Kyle Peterson: Austin, Texas Brett Dolan and Scott Pose: Chapel Hill, North Carolina