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 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 pl ...

. 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 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 (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, coached by

Skip Bertman Stanley "Skip" Bertman (born May 23, 1938) is a former college baseball coach and athletic director at Louisiana State University (LSU). He led the LSU Tigers baseball team to five College World Series championships and seven Southeastern Confere ...

. The Most Outstanding Player was

Pat Burrell Patrick Brian Burrell (born October 10, 1976), nicknamed "Pat the Bat", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, and San Francisco Giants. Bur ...

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 ...

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 and Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is home to Clemson University; in 2015, ''the Princeton Review'' cited the town of Clemson as ranking #1 in the United States for " town-and-gown" ...

Central I Regional

Hosted by Texas at Disch–Falk Field in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

Central II Regional

Hosted by Texas Tech at

Dan Law Field Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park, nicknamed "The Law", is the home stadium of the Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball team in Lubbock, Texas. It is located on the Texas Tech University campus, adjacent to Jones AT&T Stadium and Fuller Track. Dan L ...

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

East Regional

Hosted by Florida at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

Midwest Regional

Hosted by Wichita State at

Eck Stadium Eck Stadium is a baseball stadium in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is located on the south side of 21st Street between Hillside and Oliver on the campus of Wichita State University in northeast Wichita. The stadium is home of the Wichit ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest 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 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

South I Regional

Hosted by Alabama at

Sewell–Thomas Stadium Sewell–Thomas Stadium is a baseball stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It is the home field of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide college baseball team. The stadium opened in 1948 and the current seating capacity is 8,500. The stadium is com ...

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

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, which is visible ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

West Regional

Hosted by Stanford at

Sunken Diamond Klein Field at Sunken Diamond is a college baseball park on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. It is the home field of the Stanford Cardinal of the Pac-12 Conference. The sta ...

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. The population was 21,150 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. Stanford is ...

College World Series

The championship game ended dramatically when LSU's

Warren Morris Warren Randall Morris (born January 11, 1974) is an American former college and Major League Baseball player. He is most remembered for his two-out, 9th inning walk-off home run that won the 1996 College World Series for the Louisiana State U ...

hit a two-out, two-run home run against Miami reliever Robbie Morrison in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Bayou Bengals 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 Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

. The Big 8 was absorbed into the new

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

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 (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Dustan Mohr Dustan Kyle Mohr (born June 19, 1976) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder who played for several teams between 2001 and 2007. Amateur career A native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Mohr attended Oak Grove High School and the U ...

, Tim Young * Clemson:

Kris Benson Kristin James Benson (born November 7, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played for several teams between 1999 and 2010. A highly touted prospect, Benson was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1996. ...

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

, Matt LeCroy,

Ken Vining Kenneth Edward Vining (born December 5, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Vining played for the Chicago White Sox during the 2001 MLB season, 2001 season. In 8 career games, he posted an 0–0 record and an earned run average ...

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 ...

David Eckstein David Mark Eckstein (; born January 20, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player. He was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida and played professiona ...

, Mark Ellis,

Josh Fogg Joshua Smith Fogg (born December 13, 1976) is an American retired Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for several teams between 2001 and 2009. Fogg played college baseball for the University of Florida and was drafted by the Chicago Whi ...

Paul Rigdon Paul David Rigdon (born November 2, 1975) is a former American professional baseball player who was a pitcher for two Major League Baseball seasons. Rigdon played for the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers from to . Rigdon was born in Ja ...

Brad Wilkerson Stephen Bradley Wilkerson (born June 1, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball for eight seasons. Wilkerson played college baseball for the University of Florida, and was selected ...

Chuck Hazzard Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Randy Choate Randol Doyle Choate (born September 5, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. The New York Yankees selected him in the 1997 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft from Florida State University. Choate made his MLB debut for the Ya ...

J. D. Drew David Jonathan "J. D." Drew (born November 20, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. He began his major league career in with the St. Louis Cardinals, and also played for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Bo ...

Brett Laxton Brett William Laxton (born October 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in parts of two seasons for the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the son of former major ...

Ed Yarnall Harvey Edward Yarnall (born December 4, 1975) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees, and two seasons in Japan with the Orix BlueWave. Career Yarnall played co ...

, Eddy Furniss *

Alex Cora Jose Alexander Cora (born October 18, 1975) is a Puerto Rican baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 14 seasons with the Red Sox, Los Angele ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

: Dave Maurer, Brian Aylor *

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 ...

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 Braden LaVerne Looper (born October 28, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for several teams between 1998 and 2009. High school Looper was a scholar athlete while a student at Mangum High School in Mangum, Oklaho ...

Tournament notes

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

References

{{College World Series on CBS NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Baseball in Austin, Texas Baseball in Lubbock, Texas