The 1978 Arizona Wildcats baseball team represented the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

during the

1978 NCAA Division I baseball season The 1978 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1978. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded ...

. The Wildcats played their home games at Wildcat Field. The team was coached by

Jerry Kindall Gerald Donald Kindall (May 27, 1935 – December 24, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball player and coach. He was primarily a second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who appeared in 742 games played over ...

in his 6th season at Arizona. The Wildcats finished 42-13 overall and placed 2nd in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

's Southern Division with a 13–5 record. After a single year gap, Arizona was selected to the postseason and was placed in the West Regional hosted by the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Dedeaux Field Dedeaux Field is a college baseball stadium in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on the west end of the campus of the University of Southern California. The home field of the USC Trojans of the Big Ten Conference, it has a seating capacity of 2,500 ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The Wildcats lost their 1st game to

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

before bouncing back to win their next 2 against Santa Clara and

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

. The team however lost their next game - a rematch with USC - to end their season. This would be Arizona's final season as members of the Western Athletic Conference, which they had been affiliated with for the previous 16 seasons. Beginning in 1979, the Wildcats would compete as members of the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

(later Pac-12 Conference) for the next 45 seasons, which they would remain in until leaving for the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

in 2024.

Previous Season

The Wildcats finished the 1977 season with a record of 38-25-1 and 11–7 in conference play, finishing 2nd in the WAC Southern. Arizona would miss the postseason for the 1st time since Jerry Kindall's inaugural 1973 season.

Personnel

Roster

Coaches

1978 Schedule and results

West Regional

1978 MLB Draft

References

{{Arizona Wildcats baseball navbox Arizona Wildcats baseball seasons

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 ...

Arizona Wildcats baseball The Arizona Wildcats baseball team is the intercollegiate men's baseball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. They compete in the Big 12 Conference (Big 12) of NCAA Division I. Arizona has won four c ...