The 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season, play 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, ...
in the United States organized by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) at the
Division I level, began on February 17, 2023. The regular season was followed by many conference tournaments and championship series, and the season concluded with the
2023 NCAA Division I baseball tournament
The 2023 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was the 76th edition of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The 64-team tournament began on Friday, June 2, as part of the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season and ended with the 2023 Men's Col ...
and
2023 Men's College World Series. The Men's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA tournament and held annually 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 ...
, at
Charles Schwab Field Omaha, ended on June 26, 2023, with
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 ...
winning the title.
Realignment
A total of 22 baseball-sponsoring schools changed conferences after the 2022 season.
* The 2022 season proved to be the last for baseball in the
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...
(MEAC) for the immediate future. On July 12, 2022, the
Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...
(NEC) and MEAC announced a partnership in which all MEAC members that sponsored baseball and men's and women's golf became NEC affiliates in those sports effective immediately. Accordingly,
Coppin State,
Delaware State,
Maryland Eastern Shore
The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Ma ...
, and
Norfolk State became NEC baseball affiliates for the 2023 season and beyond.
*
Austin Peay,
Belmont, and
Murray State left the Ohio Valley Conference. Peay joined the
ASUN Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...
, and Belmont and Murray State joined the
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...
(MVC).
*
Bryant and
Mount St. Mary's left the NEC, respectively for the
America East Conference
The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...
and
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...
(MAAC).
*
Dallas Baptist, a baseball-only member of the MVC, left for
Conference USA
Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
Mem ...
(C-USA).
*
Hartford
Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, which began a transition to
NCAA Division III
NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...
in the 2021–22 school year, left the America East to become an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
for 2022–23 before joining the D-III
Commonwealth Coast Conference
The Conference of New England (CNE), formerly known as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division ...
in 2023.
*
James Madison
James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...
left the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA; since renamed
Coastal Athletic Association
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...
) for the
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...
(SBC).
*
Lamar, which had announced it would leave the WAC to return to its former home of the
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...
(SLC) in 2023–24, expedited this move to 2022–23.
*
Little Rock
Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...
and
UT Arlington left the SBC, respectively for the OVC and WAC.
*
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
** Marshall railway station
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Is ...
,
Old Dominion, and
Southern Miss left C-USA for the SBC.
*
Monmouth
Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...
left the MAAC for the CAA.
*
North Carolina A&T left the
Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...
after only one season for the CAA.
[
* Stony Brook left the America East for the CAA.][
* ]UIC
UIC may refer to:
Computing
* Uranium Information Centre, a defunct website sponsored by uranium mining companies
* User identification code, the user number of the Files-11 file system in the RSX-11 operating system
Education
* University of Ill ...
left the Horizon League
The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...
for the MVC.
Incarnate Word had announced plans to leave the SLC for the WAC after the 2022 season, but days before that move was to take effect, the school announced it was staying in the SLC.
The 2023 season was the last for 15 baseball schools in their then-current conferences, as well as the aforementioned Hartford's only season as a D-I independent.
* BYU, Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, and UCF joined 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 ...
. BYU left the West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...
, and the others left the American Athletic Conference
The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...
.
* Campbell left the Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...
for the CAA.
* Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice
Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
, UAB, and UTSA left C-USA for The American.
* Jacksonville State, Liberty
Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
, New Mexico State
New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...
, and Sam Houston
Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...
joined C-USA. Jacksonville State and Liberty left the ASUN, and New Mexico State and Sam Houston the WAC.
* Western Illinois
Forgottonia (), also spelled Forgotonia, is the name given to a 16-county region in Western Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This geographic region forms the distinctive western bulge of Illinois (area west of 90° Longitude West) t ...
left the Summit League
The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...
for the Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...
.
Other changes from 2022
Two Division I members adopted new names after the 2022 season. Neither school's nickname was affected.
* Dixie State University changed its forward-facing name to Utah Tech University
Utah Tech University (UT), formerly named Dixie State University (DSU), is a polytechnic four-year public university in St. George, Utah, in southwest Utah (also known by the longtime nickname of " Utah's Dixie" region). UT offers doctoral degre ...
in May 2022, ahead of the legal name change on July 1. The nickname remains Trailblazers.
* Houston Baptist University became Houston Christian University
Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), is a private Baptist university in Houston, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Its Cultural Arts Center houses three museums: the ...
on September 21, 2022. The nickname remains Huskies.
Other headlines
* On December 29, 2022, the Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...
announced it would add a postseason tournament effective as early as the 2025 season. The 2025 start date was confirmed by a vote of the conference chancellors and presidents on June 9, 2023.
Season outlook
Conference standings
Conference winners and tournaments
Thirty athletic conference
An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller Division (sport), divisions, with the best teams competing at successively ...
s each end their regular season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...
s with a single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
or a double-elimination tournament
A double-elimination tournament is a type of elimination tournament competition in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost ''two'' games or matches. It stands in contrast to a single-elimin ...
. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball tournament
The 2023 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was the 76th edition of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The 64-team tournament began on Friday, June 2, as part of the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season and ended with the 2023 Men's Col ...
.
Men's College World Series
Coaching changes
This table lists programs that changed head coaches at any point from the first day of the 2023 season until the day before the first day of the 2024 season.
See also
*2023 NCAA Division I softball season
The 2023 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level, began in February 2023. The season progressed throu ...
References
{{NCAA Division I baseball season navbox, state=autocollapse