| Year: | 1996 |
| Division: | Division I |
| Teams: | 48 |
| Collegeworldseriesballpark: | Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium |
| City: | Omaha, NE |
| Champions: | LSU |
| Titlecount: | 3rd |
| Runner-Up: | Miami (FL) |
| Cwscount: | 15th |
| Coach: | Skip Bertman |
| Coachcount: | 3rd |
| Mop: | Pat Burrell |
| Mopteam: | Miami (FL) |
| Television: | ESPN Networks, CBS Sports |
| Tournament Link: | NCAA Division I Baseball Championship |
The 1996 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1996 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, 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.[1] The fiftieth tournament's champion was LSU, coached by Skip Bertman. The Most Outstanding Player was Pat Burrell of Miami (FL).
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.
Hosted by Clemson at Tiger Field in Clemson, South Carolina
Hosted by Texas at Disch–Falk Field in Austin, Texas
Hosted by Texas Tech at Dan Law Field in Lubbock, Texas
Hosted by Florida at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Florida
Hosted by Wichita State at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kansas
Hosted by Alabama at Sewell–Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Hosted by Louisiana State at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Hosted by Stanford at Sunken Diamond in Stanford, California
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 on July 1, 1996.
| Seeding | School | Conference | Record (conference) | Head coach | CWS appearances | CWS best finish | CWS record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49–17 (20–10) | 2 (last: 1983) | 2nd (1983) | 4–4 | ||||
| 2 | 48–16 (20–10) | 2 (last: 1991) | 3rd (1991) | 3–4 | ||||
| 3 | 54–9 (24–4) | 6 (last: 1993) | 1st (1989) | 16–9 | ||||
| 4 | 49–15 (17–7) | 7 (last: 1995) | 5th (1958, 1959, 1976) | 4–14 | ||||
| 5 | n/a | 47–13 (n/a) | 14 (last: 1995) | 1st (1982, 1985) | 29–25 | |||
| 6 | 48–15 (20–10) | 7 (last: 1994) | 1st (1991, 1993) | 15–11 | ||||
| 7 | 51–15 (19–5) | 14 (last: 1995) | 2nd (1970, 1986) | 18–28 | ||||
| 8 | 45–19 (17–9) | 17 (last: 1993) | 1st (1959) | 38–32 |
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31 | Game 1 | 7–5 | ||||
| Game 2 | 7–3 | |||||
| June 1 | Game 3 | 5–2 | ||||
| Game 4 | 9–8 | |||||
| June 2 | Game 5 | 15–1 | ||||
| Game 6 | 8–5 (10 innings) | Oklahoma State eliminated | ||||
| June 3 | Game 7 | 9–4 | ||||
| Game 8 | 8–4 | Wichita State eliminated | ||||
| June 4 | Game 9 | 14–13 | Alabama eliminated | |||
| Game 10 | 6–3 | Florida State eliminated | ||||
| June 5 | Game 11 | 14–5 | Clemson eliminated | |||
| June 6 | Game 12 | 2–1 | Florida eliminated | |||
| June 8 | Final | 9–8 | LSU wins CWS |
The following players were members of the College World Series All-Tournament Team.
| Position | Player | School | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | style= | Miami (FL) | ||
| style= | LSU | |||
| C | style= | LSU | ||
| 1B | style= | Alabama | ||
| 2B | style= | Miami (FL) | ||
| 3B | Pat Burrell (MOP) | style= | Miami (FL) | |
| SS | style= | Miami (FL) | ||
| OF | style= | LSU | ||
| style= | Miami (FL) | |||
| style= | Florida | |||
| DH | style= | Florida |