The 1976 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1976 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

, a double-elimination tournament in its thirtieth year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Seven regions held a four team, double-elimination tournament while one region included six teams, resulting in 34 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament. The thirtieth tournament's champion was

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, coached by Jerry Kindall. The Most Outstanding Player was Steve Powers of

Regionals

Seven of the eight regionals were played as 4-team double-elimination tournaments. One regional was played as a 6-team double-elimination tournament. The winner of each regional moved onto the College World Series.

Atlantic Regional

Games played in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

Rocky Mountain Regional

Games played in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

Mideast Regional

Games played in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

South Regional

Games played in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

Midwest Regional

Games played in

Edinburg, Texas Edinburg ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 100,243 at the 2020 census, and in 2022, its estimated population was 104,294, making it the second-largest city in Hidalgo County, and th ...

South Central Regional

Games played in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

West Regional

Games played in

Pullman, Washington Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as ...

Northeast Regional

Games played in

Storrs, Connecticut Storrs ( ) is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The village is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, ...

College World Series

Participants

Results

Bracket

Game results

All-Tournament Team

The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team.

Notable players

Ron Hassey Ronald William Hassey (born February 27, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Cleveland Indians (1978–1984), Chicago Cubs (1984), New York Yankees (1985–1986) ...

, Dave Stegman *

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

: Gary Allenson, Chris Bando,

Floyd Bannister Floyd Franklin Bannister (born June 10, 1955) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros (–), Seattle Mariners (–), Chicago White Sox (–), Kansas City R ...

, Mike Colbern,

Bob Horner James Robert Horner (born August 6, 1957) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and first baseman who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Atlanta Braves. After a record-setting NCAA College ...

, Dave Hudgens, Darrell Jackson,

Ken Landreaux Kenneth Francis Landreaux (born December 22, 1954) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1977 through 1987. Play ...

, Chris Nyman, Bob Pate,

Rick Peters Rick Peters is an American actor. He has appeared in several films and numerous television shows, and is perhaps best known for his role as Bobby Manning in '' Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye''. He also plays the role of Elliot Larson in the 4th season ...

, Ken Phelps, Gary Rajsich * Auburn: Joe Beckwith, Terry Leach * Clemson: Ron Musselman, Chuck Porter, Kurt Seibert *

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

: Glenn Gulliver, John Martin, Bob Owchinko, Bob Welch *

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Jack Leggett Jack Leggett (born March 5, 1954) is an American college baseball coach. He was recently the head coach of the Clemson Tigers from 1994 to 2015. Under Leggett, the Tigers reached the College World Series six times. As of the end of the 2012 ...

Bert Roberge Bertrand Roland Roberge (born October 3, 1954) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, and Montreal Expos from 1979 through 1986. Amateur career A native ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

: Terry Bogener,

Keith Drumright Keith Alan Drumright (October 21, 1954 – August 7, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He played parts of two seasons in the major leagues. He played for the Houston Astros in 1978 and the Oakland Athletics in 1981. Dru ...

George Frazier George Frazier may refer to: * George Frazier (manager) (1861–1913), American baseball manager * George Frazier (pitcher) (1954–2023), American baseball pitcher * George Frazier (journalist) (1911–1974), American journalist See also * George ...

, Gene Krug,

Roger LaFrancois Roger Victor LaFrançois (born August 2, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for the Boston Red Sox of the Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher in . Listed at tall and , he batted left-handed and threw right-h ...

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

: Dave Edler, Eric Wilkins, Tom Niedenfuer

Tournament Notes

*The Arizona State team featured 13 future Major League players – a record matched by the school's team from the previous year. *Arizona head coach Jerry Kindall became the first person to win a College World Series as both a player (

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

) and a coach. *

appeared in his fourth College World Series. *Eastern Michigan was the last northern school to play in the final game of the College World Series for 43 years, until Michigan in 2019.

References

{{1975–76 NCAA Division I championships navbox NCAA Division I baseball tournament

Tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

NCAA Division I Baseball Baseball in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex