The 1996 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the

1996 NCAA Division I baseball season The 1996 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 1996. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded ...

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 fiftieth year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Each region was composed of six teams, resulting in 48 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament. The fiftieth tournament's champion was

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, coached by Skip Bertman. The Most Outstanding Player was Pat Burrell of Miami (FL).

Regionals

The opening rounds of the tournament were played across eight regional sites across the country, each consisting of a six-team field. Each regional tournament is double-elimination, however region brackets are variable depending on the number of teams remaining after each round. The winners of each regional advanced to the College World Series. Bold indicates winner.

Atlantic Regional

Hosted by Clemson at Tiger Field in

Clemson, South Carolina Clemson () is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, Pickens and Anderson County, South Carolina, Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is adjacent to Clemson University, - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university pr ...

Central I Regional

Hosted by Texas at Disch–Falk Field in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

Central II Regional

Hosted by Texas Tech at Dan Law Field in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

East Regional

Hosted by Florida at

Alfred A. McKethan Stadium Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at Perry Field was the college baseball stadium of the University of Florida, serving as the home field for the Florida Gators baseball team until being replaced by Condron Ballpark in 2020. McKethan Stadium was locate ...

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

Midwest Regional

Hosted by Wichita State at Eck Stadium in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

South I Regional

Hosted by Alabama at Sewell–Thomas Stadium in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

South II Regional

Hosted by Louisiana State at

Alex Box Stadium Alex Box Stadium, pronounced Alec Box Stadium, was a baseball stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It was the home field of the LSU Tigers baseball team. The stadium was located across the street from Tiger Stadium (LSU), Tiger Sta ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

West Regional

Hosted by Stanford at Sunken Diamond in

Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...

College World Series

The championship game ended dramatically when LSU's Warren Morris hit a two-out, two-run home run against Miami reliever Robbie Morrison in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Tigers to a 9–8 victory over the Hurricanes. It was Morris's only home run of the 1996 season. Morris, an All-American in 1995, missed much of the 1996 season after suffering a wrist injury early in the campaign. Oklahoma State's participation in CWS marked the last athletic event for the Big 8 Conference. The Big 8 was absorbed into the new

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate 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, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

on July 1, 1996.

Participants

Results

Bracket

Game results

All-Tournament Team

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

Notable players

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

: Dustan Mohr, Tim Young * Clemson: Kris Benson,

Billy Koch William Christopher Koch (born December 14, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He was born in Rockville Centre, New York and went to West Babylon High School. He debuted in the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays a ...

, Matt LeCroy, Ken Vining *

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

: David Eckstein, Mark Ellis, Josh Fogg, Paul Rigdon, Brad Wilkerson, Chuck Hazzard *

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 ...

: Randy Choate, J. D. Drew *

: Brett Laxton, Warren Morris, Ed Yarnall, Eddy Furniss * Miami (FL): Pat Burrell, Alex Cora *

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

: Dave Maurer, Brian Aylor *

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

Casey Blake William Casey Blake (born August 23, 1973) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and Los Angeles Dodge ...

, Braden Looper

Tournament notes

* LSU's 29–13 victory over Georgia Tech sets a new tournament record for most combined runs (42).

References

{{1995–96 NCAA Division I championships navbox NCAA Division I baseball tournament Baseball in Austin, Texas Baseball in Lubbock, Texas Events in Lubbock, Texas Sports competitions in Texas