The 1988 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the

1988 NCAA Division I baseball season The 1988 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 1988. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded ...

to determine the national champion of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

. 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 an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

, a double-elimination tournament in its forty-second 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 forty-second tournament's champion was Stanford coached by

Mark Marquess Mark Edward Marquess (born March 24, 1947) is an American college baseball coach. He served as the head coach of the Stanford Cardinal baseball team from 1977 to 2017. Early life and professional baseball career Born and raised in Stockton, Cal ...

. The Most Outstanding Player was

Lee Plemel Lee A. Plemel (born September 19, 1966) is a former baseball pitcher. He won the 1988 College World Series College World Series Most Outstanding Player, Most Outstanding Player award while a senior at Stanford University. He is one of three players ...

of Stanford.

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. In 1988, for the first time, the NCAA seeded all six teams in each regional. The winners of each regional advanced to the College World Series. Bold indicates winner.

Northeast Regional at
New Britain, CT New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135. Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wi ...

East Regional at
Tallahassee, FL Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

Atlantic Regional at
Coral Gables, FL Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the U ...

Central Regional at Austin, TX

Midwest Regional at
Stillwater, OK Stillwater ( iow, Ñápinⁿje, ''meaning: "Water quiet"'') is a city in, and the county seat of, Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177 and State Highway 51. As of ...

South Regional at Starkville, MS

West I Regional at
Fresno, CA Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

West II Regional at
Tempe, AZ , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

College World Series

After 38 seasons as a full double-elimination tournament, the format changed for 1988. Teams were split into two four-team double-elimination brackets, with the winners of each bracket meeting in a one-game championship. This format was used through 2002.

Participants

Results

Of the 15 tournaments in which a single championship game was played, this was the only one where both teams entered the final with a loss.

Bracket

Game results

All-Tournament Team

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

Notable players

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

: Kevin Higgins,

Pat Listach Patrick Alan Listach (born September 12, 1967) is the former Manager of the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League and a former Major League Baseball shortstop, minor league manager, and major league third base coach. Amateur career ...

Blas Minor Blas Minor Jr. (born March 20, 1966), is a former professional baseball pitcher who played from 1992 to 1997. He would play for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1992-1994), New York Mets (1995-1996), Seattle Mariners (1996), and Houston Astros (1997). A ...

Tim Spehr Timothy Joseph Spehr (born July 2, 1966) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Kansas City Royals (1991, 1997 and 1998–99), Montreal Expos (1993–96), Atlanta Braves (1997) ...

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

: Huck Flener,

Brent Mayne Brent Danem Mayne (born April 19, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 2004 for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giant ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Jeff Kent Jeffrey Franklin Kent (born March 7, 1968) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992–2008 for the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, San Francis ...

Darren Lewis Darren Joel Lewis (born August 28, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player who played center field in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (1990), San Francisco Giants (1991–1995), Cincinnati Reds (1995), C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Jamie McAndrew James Brian McAndrew (born September 2, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1995 and 1997. Early years McAndrew was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania,Baseball-Reference.com, Play ...

Herb Perry Herbert Edward Perry Jr. (born September 15, 1969) is an American former college and professional baseball player who was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for all or parts of nine season during the 1990s and 2000s. Perry played coll ...

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

Tom Goodwin Thomas Jones Goodwin (born July 27, 1968) is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons, primarily as a center fielder, from 1991 to 2004. As a player, he was listed at and ...

Steve Hosey Steven Bernard Hosey (born April 2, 1969) is a small business owner and former right fielder in Major League Baseball. Originally from Oakland, California Steve has lived in Fresno, California for more than 30 years and is where he has built a s ...

Erik Schullstrom Erik Paul Schullstrom (born March 25, 1969) is a former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins in its 1994 and 1995 seasons. Listed at , 220 pounds, Schullstrom threw and batted right-handed. He was born in San Diego, Ca ...

Eddie Zosky Edward James Zosky (born February 10, 1968) is a former professional baseball shortstop. He played in brief parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball, between 1991 and 2000, for the Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and H ...

Miami (FL) Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

Joe Grahe Joseph Milton Grahe (born August 14, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels, Colorado Rockies, and Philadelphia Phillies. His best seasons we ...

Kurt Knudsen Kurt David Knudsen (born February 20, 1967) is former Major League Baseball pitcher. Knudsen played for the Detroit Tigers from to . External links

1967 births Living people American River Beavers baseball players Detroit Tigers players M ...

, Oscar Múñoz * Stanford: Paul Carey, Steve Chitren,

Brian Johnson Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Rol ...

Brian Keyser Brian Lee Keyser (born October 31, 1966) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during two seasons at the major league level for the Chicago White Sox. He was drafted by the White Sox in the 19th round of the amateur draft. Keyser ...

Mike Mussina Michael Cole Mussina (born December 8, 1968), nicknamed "Moose", is an American former baseball starting pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1991–2000) and the New York Yankees (2001–2008). ...

, Stan Spencer, Ed Sprague,

Ron Witmeyer Ronald Herman Witmeyer (born June 28, 1967) is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Oakland Athletics during their 1991 season. Listed at 6' 3", 215 lb., he batted and threw left handed. Amateur career B ...

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a 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 areas of study in ...

: Greg Brummett,

P. J. Forbes Patrick Joseph Forbes (born September 22, 1967) is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2001 for the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies. He was later a minor league ba ...

Dave Haas Robert David Haas (born October 19, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of three seasons in the majors, from until , for the Detroit Tigers. On April 14, 1991, Haas pitched a no-hitter while playing for Lakeland in t ...

Mike Lansing Michael Thomas Lansing (born April 3, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and the Boston Red Sox between 1993 and 2001. During his playing days, he had the nickname “The L ...

Pat Meares Patrick James Meares (born September 6, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. Meares was the 12th round draft pick of the 1990 amateur draft by the Minnesota Twins, from Wichita State University. Meares made his major league debut ...

Eric Wedge Eric Michael Wedge (born January 27, 1968) is an American former baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher and manager. As a player, Wedge attended Northrop High School in Fort Wayne and played on the school's state champion baseball team in ...

Tournament notes

* Arizona State sets a new tournament record scoring 27 runs in their victory over UNLV surpassing the record set by Arizona in the 1986 tournament when they scored 26 runs.

References

{{College World Series on CBS NCAA Division I Baseball Championship 1988 NCAA Division I baseball season

NCAA Division I baseball The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

Baseball in Austin, Texas