The 2021 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 19, 2021. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament and 2021 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 30, 2021. The Mississippi State Bulldogs won the tournament, and were named national champions.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the season was delayed one week, and some teams opted out of playing at all for the 2021 season. The Ivy League announced on February 18 that no conference competitions would take place, to include conference championships.
Realignment
For 2021 season Four schools began transitions from NCAA Division II to Division I on July 1, 2020. Bellarmine, already a D-I member in men's lacrosse, joined D-I for all other sports as a new member of the ASUN Conference. Dixie State and Tarleton State joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). UC San Diego, already a de facto D-I member in men's volleyball and women's water polo (which do not have D-II championship events) as an associate member of the Big West Conference, moved the rest of its athletic program to the Big West. Boise State dropped baseball when the season was canceled after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared leading to baseball's second elimination because the athletic department's budget was reduced by $3 million. Chicago State dropped baseball in June 2020, effective immediately. Furman announced in May 2020 that the Paladins baseball team would be terminated due to budget concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. La Salle and North Carolina Central dropped baseball after this season. NJIT moved from the ASUN to the America East Conference. Cal State Bakersfield moved from the WAC to the Big West.
Future moves The following schools changed conferences effective with the 2022 season: Five schools left the Southland Conference. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, and Stephen F. Austin joined the WAC, and Central Arkansas joined the ASUN. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference lost three members. Bethune–Cookman and Florida A&M joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and North Carolina A&T joined the Big South Conference. The Ohio Valley Conference lost Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State to the ASUN. Northern Colorado, a WAC baseball associate through the 2021 season, left for single-sport membership in the Summit League. St. Thomas, formerly of NCAA Division III's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, also joined the Summit League after successfully obtaining an NCAA waiver for a direct transition to D-I.
Ballpark changes The 2021 season was the first for UConn at Elliot Ballpark, replacing J. O. Christian Field. Oklahoma State began play in O'Brate Stadium, replacing Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. Florida began play in Florida Ballpark, replacing Alfred A. McKethan Stadium. Omaha began play in Tal Anderson Field, replacing J. J. Isaacson Field at Seymour Smith Park.
Season outlook
ESPN/USA Today CoachesRankingTeam1 Florida (24)2 UCLA (2)3 Vanderbilt (4)4 Texas Tech5 Ole Miss6 Louisville (1)7 Mississippi State8 Arkansas9 LSU10 Texas11 TCU12 NC State13 UC Santa Barbara14 Virginia15 Miami (FL)16 Tennessee17 Georgia Tech18 Oklahoma State19 Arizona20 South Carolina21 Florida State22 23 East Carolina24 Georgia25 Wake Forest Collegiate Baseball News RankingTeam1Florida2Vanderbilt3UCLA4Texas Tech5Ole Miss6Miami (FL)7LSU89Mississippi State10Arizona11Louisville12Georgia13NC State14Virginia15Arizona State16East Carolina17Oklahoma State18Michigan19TCU20Texas21South Carolina22Arkansas23Coastal Carolina24Dallas Baptist25ClemsonD1BaseballRankingTeam1Florida2UCLA3Texas Tech4Vanderbilt5Louisville6Ole Miss7Mississippi State8Arkansas9Texas10TCU1112LSU13NC State1415Georgia Tech16Virginia17Wake Forest18South Carolina19Tennessee20Oklahoma State21Miami (FL)22Arizona23Auburn24Florida State25East CarolinaBaseball AmericaRankingTeam1Florida2UCLA3Texas Tech4Ole Miss5Virginia6Vanderbilt7Louisville8Mississippi State9Florida State1011Miami12Texas13TCU14Arkansas15Arizona16Duke17NC State18South Carolina19Tennessee20Michigan21UC Santa Barbara22Georgia Tech2324UCF25AlabamaNCBWARankingTeam1Florida2UCLA3Vanderbilt4Texas Tech5Ole Miss6Louisville7Mississippi State8Arkansas9Texas10Miami (FL)11NC Stateт12TCUт13LSU14UC Santa Barbara15Virginia16Florida State17Arizona18Georgia Tech19East Carolina20Tennessee212223South Carolina24Georgia25Auburn
Conference standings
Conference winners and tournaments Of the 32 Division I all-sports athletic conferences, 31 sponsor baseball, with the Big Sky Conference the only exception. All but one of these conferences played in the 2021 season; the Ivy League opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns. Several conferences canceled or modified their conference tournaments for 2021, with the Big Ten, Mid-American, Mountain West and West Coast joining the Big West and Pac-12 in forgoing a tournament to end the regular season. For those conferences holding a tournament, the teams in each conference that won their regular season title were given the top seeds in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments received automatic invitations to the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Conferences that do not hold a tournament award their automatic bids to the regular-season champion.
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference Player of the YearConference Pitcher of the YearConference Coach of the YearConference tournamentTournament venue (city)Tournament winnerAmerica East Conference Division A – Division B – Stony Brook John Thrasher, Nicholas Sinacola, Jon Mueller, Albany 2021 America East Conference baseball tournament Joe Nathan Field • Stony Brook, NY NJITAmerican Athletic Conference East Carolina Connor Norby, East Carolina Gavin Williams, East Carolina Cliff Godwin, East Carolina 2021 American Athletic Conference baseball tournament BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL South FloridaASUN Conference Division 1 – LibertyDivision 2 – Alex Kachler, Trevor Delaite, Liberty Scott Jackson, Liberty 2021 ASUN Conference baseball tournament Division round: Campus sitesSemifinals and final: Jacksonville, FL JacksonvilleAtlantic 10 Conference North – Rhode IslandSouth – VCU Tyler Locklear, VCU Matt Mikulski, Fordham David Miller, 2021 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament The Diamond • Richmond, VA VCUAtlantic Coast Conference Atlantic – Notre DameCoastal – Georgia Tech Matheu Nelson, Florida State Parker Messick, Florida State Link Jarrett, Notre Dame 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament Truist Field • Charlotte, NC DukeBig 12 Conference Texas/TCU Jace Jung, Texas Tech Ty Madden, Texas David Pierce, Texas 2021 Big 12 Conference baseball tournament Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark • Oklahoma City, OK TCUBig East Conference UConn Kyler Fedko, UConn Dylan Tebrake, Jim Penders, UConn 2021 Big East Conference baseball tournament Prasco Park • Mason, OH UConnBig South Conference Campbell Zach Neto, Campbell Jordan Marks, Jim Chester, &Justin Haire, Campbell 2021 Big South Conference baseball tournament Segra Stadium • Fayetteville, NC PresbyterianBig Ten Conference Nebraska Spencer Schwellenbach, Nebraska Trenton Wallace, Iowa Will Bolt, Nebraska No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bidBig West Conference UC Irvine Mike Peabody, UC Irvinie &Brooks Lee, Johnathan Lavallee, &Rodney Boone, UC Santa Barbara Ben Orloff, UC Irvine No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bidColonial Athletic Association Jared Dupere, Northeastern Landen Roupp, Mike Glavine, Northeastern 2021 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC Northeastern Conference USA East – CharlotteWest –Louisiana Tech Austin Knight, Charlotte Walker Powell, Southern Miss Robert Woodard, Charlotte 2021 Conference USA baseball tournament J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park • Ruston, LA Old DominionHorizon League Wright State Quincy Hamilton, Wright State Collin Floyd, Youngstown State Alex Sogard, Wright State 2021 Horizon League baseball tournament Regular season champion home stadium Wright State No conference competition for 2021 season.Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Fairfield Mike Caruso, Fairfield Rob Hensey, Bill Currier, Fairfield 2021 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball tournament Richmond County Bank Ballpark • Staten Island, NY RiderMid-American Conference Chris Meyers, Andrew Taylor, Central Michigan Jordan Bischel, Central Michigan No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bidMid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern – Norfolk StateSouthern – Danny Hosley, Norfolk State Ryan Miller, North Carolina Central Jim Koerner, North Carolina Central 2021 Mid–Eastern Athletic Conference baseball tournament Marty L. Miller Field • Norfolk, VA Norfolk StateMissouri Valley Conference Dallas Baptist Jackson Glenn, Dallas Baptist Geremy Guerrero, Dan Heefner, Dallas Baptist 2021 Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament Itchy Jones Stadium • Carbondale, IL Dallas Baptist Mountain West Conference Nevada Dillan Shrum, Nevada Justin Armbruester, T. J. Bruce, Nevada No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bidNortheast Conference Liam McGill, Bryant Tyler Mattison, Bryant Ryan Klosterman, Bryant 2021 Northeast Conference baseball tournament Dodd Stadium • Norwich, CT Central ConnecticutOhio Valley Conference Trey Sweeney, Dylan Dodd, Southeast Missouri State Andy Sawyers, Southeast Missouri State 2021 Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament The Ballpark at Jackson • Jackson, TN Southeast Missouri State Pac-12 Conference Arizona Aaron Zavala, Brendan Beck, Stanford Jay Johnson, Arizona No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bidPatriot League Casey Rother, Lehigh Mason Black, Lehigh Sean Leary, Lehigh 2021 Patriot League baseball tournament Campus Sites ArmySoutheastern Conference Eastern – TennesseeWestern – Arkansas Tanner Allen, Mississippi State Kevin Kopps, Arkansas Dave Van Horn, Arkansas 2021 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL ArkansasSouthern Conference Blue – Samford Red – Colin Davis, Wofford Elliot Carney, Wofford Todd Interdonato, Wofford 2021 Southern Conference baseball tournament Fluor Field at the West End • Greenville, SC SamfordSouthland Conference Abilene Christian Colton Cowser, Sam Houston State Will Dion, McNeese State Rick McCarty, Abilene Christian 2021 Southland Conference baseball tournament Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA McNeese StateSouthwestern Athletic Conference East – West – Ty Hill, Jackson State Anthony Becerra, Jackson State Omar Johnson, Jackson State 2021 Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball tournament Smith–Wills Stadium • Jackson, MS SouthernSummit League Bennett Hostetler, North Dakota State Isaac Coffey, Oral Roberts Ryan Folmar, Oral Roberts 2021 Summit League baseball tournament Tal Anderson Field • Omaha, NE North Dakota StateSun Belt Conference East – South AlabamaWest – Louisiana/UT Arlington Mason McWhorter, Georgia Southern Hayden Arnold, Little Rock Mark Calvi, South Alabama 2021 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament Riverwalk Stadium • Montgomery, AL South Alabama West Coast Conference Gonzaga Thomas Luevano, Alek Jacob, Gonzaga Mark Machtolf, Gonzaga No tournament, regular season champion earns auto bidWestern Athletic Conference / Damon Keith, California Baptist Pierson Ohl, Grand Canyon Andy Stankiewicz, Grand Canyon 2021 Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament Hohokam Stadium • Mesa, AZ Grand Canyon
Coaching changes