The 1980 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 ...
in the
1980 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 1980 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 1980. 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 8th season at Arizona. The Wildcats finished with a record of 45-21-1 and 17–13 in conference play, finishing tied for 1st in the "Six-Pac" (Pac-10 Southern). This was the Wildcats' 1st Pacific-10 Conference championship. Arizona advanced to the postseason for the 3rd straight season and was selected to host the West Regional at Wildcat Field. The Wildcats defeated
Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
in their 1st game before defeating
Gonzaga
Gonzaga may refer to:
Places
*Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy
*Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines
*Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil
*Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily
Surname
*House of Gonza ...
twice to advance to the College World Series for the 2nd straight season (and 12th overall). After losing their 1st game in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
to St. John's, Arizona won the next 4 against
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
and
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
to advance to the final game: a rematch against Hawaii. The Wildcats defeated Hawaii 5–3 to win their 2nd National Championship.
Personnel
Roster
Coaches
1980 Schedule and results
West Regional
College World Series
Awards and honors
;Craig Barger
* College World Series All-Tournament Team
;Wes Clements
* First Team All-American
* First Team All-Pac-10 South
* College World Series All-Tournament Team
;Terry Francona
*
Golden Spikes Award
The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...
* ''
The Sporting News
''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
'' Player of the Year
* First Team All-American
* Pac-10 South Player of the Year
*
College World Series Most Outstanding Player
The Men's College World Series Most Outstanding Player is an award for the best individual performance during the NCAA Division I Men's College World Series (MCWS) in Omaha, Nebraska. The recipient of the award is announced at the completion of ...
;Craig Lefferts
* College World Series All-Tournament Team
;John Moses
* First Team All-Pac-10 South
;Dwight Taylor
* First Team All-Pac-10 South
1980 MLB Draft
Notes
* As part of the Sun Lite Classic, Arizona lost 7-14 as a result of a tiebreaker.
* As part of the Sun Lite Classic, Arizona won 28-16 as a result of a tiebreaker.
References
{{NCAA Division I Baseball Champion navbox
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 seasons
NCAA Division I baseball championship seasons
College World Series seasons
Pac-12 Conference baseball champion seasons
1980 in sports in Arizona