2011 NCAA Division I baseball tournament
The 2011 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, June 3, 2011 as part of the 2011 [NCAA Division I baseball season]. The 64 team double elimination tournament concluded with the 2011 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 29, 2011. This was the first CWS at the new venue, TD Ameritrade Park, after closing Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, which hosted the series since 1950.
The 64 NCAA Division I college baseball teams were selected out of an eligible 300 teams. Thirty teams were awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conferences, and 34 teams were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee. The University of South Carolina won their second straight CWS championship after winning the final CWS championship at historic Rosenblatt stadium the previous year.
Bids
Automatic bids
Conference champions from 30 Division I conferences earned automatic bids to regionals. The remaining 34 spots were awarded to schools as at-large invitees.| School | Conference | Record | Berth | Last NCAA appearance |
| SWAC | 26–27 | Won SWAC Tourney | First NCAA Appearance | |
| Sun Belt | 24–32 | Won Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament|Sun Belt Tourney] | First NCAA Appearance | |
| OVC | 33–22 | Won 2011 [Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Tournament|OVC Tourney] | 2007 | |
| Atlantic Sun | 36–24 | Won 2011 [Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Tournament|A-Sun Tourney] | First NCAA Appearance | |
| MEAC | 35–22 | Won 2011 [Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament|MEAC Tourney] | 2010 | |
| Big West | 39–15 | Regular season Champion | 2010 | |
| Atlantic 10 | 42–14 | Won 2011 [Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Tournament|A-10 Tourney] | 2008 | |
| Big South | 41–18 | Won Big South Conference Baseball Tournament|Big South Tourney] | 2010 | |
| Missouri Valley | 44–14 | Won Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament|MVC Tourney] | 2007 | |
| 2011 [Florida Gators baseball team|Florida] | SEC | 44–16 | Won SEC Tourney | 2010 |
| WAC | 40–14 | Won WAC Tourney | 2009 | |
| Southern | 35–24 | Won Southern Conference Baseball Tournament|SoCon Tourney] | 2009 | |
| Big Ten | 28–25 | Won Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament|Big Ten Tourney] | 2000 | |
| Colonial Athletic | 40–17 | Won Colonial Athletic Association Baseball Tournament|CAA Tourney] | 2008 | |
| Mid-American | 43–15 | Won Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament|MAC Tourney] | 2010 | |
| America East | 32–22 | Won America East Conference Baseball Tournament|AEC Tourney] | 2006 | |
| MAAC | 34–17 | Won 2011 [Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament|MAAC Tourney] | 2006 | |
| Patriot | 33–23–1 | Won Patriot League Baseball Tournament|Patriot League Tourney] | 2002 | |
| Mountain West | 20–39 | Won 2011 [Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament|MWC Tourney] | 2010 | |
| Summit | 35–20 | Won Summit League Baseball Tournament|Summit Tourney] | 2010 | |
| Ivy | 23–22 | Won Ivy League Baseball Championship Series|Championship series] | 2006 | |
| Conference USA | 38–18 | Won 2011 [Conference USA Baseball Tournament|C-USA Tourney] | 2010 | |
| Northeast | 34–21 | Won Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament|NEC Tourney] | 2006 | |
| West Coast | 31–23 | Regular season Champion | 2006 | |
| Big East | 29–23 | Won Big East Baseball Tournament|Big East Tourney] | 2001 | |
| 2011 [Texas A&M Aggies baseball team|Texas A&M] | Big 12 | 42–18 | Won Big 12 Baseball Tournament|Big 12 Tourney] | 2010 |
| Southland | 40–21 | Won Southland Conference Baseball Tournament|Southland Tourney] | 2009 | |
| UCLA Bruins baseball team|UCLA] | Pac-10 | 33–22 | Regular season Champion | 2010 |
| Virginia Cavaliers baseball team|Virginia] | Atlantic Coast | 49–9 | Won 2011 [Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament|ACC Tourney] | 2010 |
| Horizon | 35–17 | Won Horizon League Baseball Tournament|Horizon Tourney] | 2009 |
National seeds
Bold indicates CWS participant.- Virginia
- Florida Gators baseball team|Florida]
- 2011 [North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team|North Carolina]
- 2011 [South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team|South Carolina]
- 2011 [Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team|Vanderbilt]
- 2011 [Texas Longhorns baseball team|Texas]
Regionals & Super Regionals
Bold indicates winner. * indicates extra innings.Santa Clara Super Regional
Hosted by the University of California at Stephen Schott Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University.College World Series
Bracket
All-Tournament Team
The following players were members of the College World Series All-Tournament Team.| Position | Player | School |
| P | Matt Price | |
| P | Michael Roth | |
| 1B | Christian Walker | |
| 2B | Scott Wingo | |
| 3B | Cody Dent | Florida |
| SS | Peter Mooney | |
| C | Robert Beary | |
| OF | Tony Kemp | Vanderbilt |
| OF | Connor Harrell | Vanderbilt |
| OF | Bryson Smith | Florida |
| DH | Brady Thomas |
Final standings
Seeds listed below indicate national seeds only| Place | School | Record |
| 1st | #4 South Carolina | 10-0 |
| 2nd | #2 Florida | 8-3 |
| 3rd | #6 Vanderbilt | 7-2 |
| 3rd | #1 Virginia | 7-3 |
| 5th | California | 7-3 |
| 5th | #3 North Carolina | 6-2 |
| 7th | #7 Texas | 6-4 |
| 7th | Texas A&M | 5-4 |
| 9th | Arizona State | 4-2 |
| 9th | Connecticut | 4-3 |
| 9th | Dallas Baptist | 3-3 |
| 9th | #5 Florida State | 4-2 |
| 9th | Mississippi State | 4-2 |
| 9th | Oregon State | 3-2 |
| 9th | Stanford | 3-2 |
| 9th | UC Irvine | 4-2 |
| 17th | Alabama | 2-2 |
| 17th | Arizona | 3-2 |
| 17th | Arkansas | 2-2 |
| 17th | Baylor | 2-2 |
| 17th | Belmont | 2-2 |
| 17th | Clemson | 2-2 |
| 17th | East Carolina | 2-2 |
| 17th | Georgia | 2-2 |
| 17th | Georgia Tech | 2-2 |
| 17th | Illinois | 2-2 |
| 17th | James Madison | 2-2 |
| 17th | Kent State | 2-2 |
| 17th | Miami | 2-2 |
| 17th | Oral Roberts | 3-2 |
| 17th | Stetson | 2-2 |
| 17th | UCLA | 2-2 |
| 33rd | Austin Peay | 1-2 |
| 33rd | Cal State Fullerton | 1-2 |
| 33rd | Central Florida | 1-2 |
| 33rd | Charlotte | 1-2 |
| 33rd | Coastal Carolina | 1-2 |
| 33rd | Creighton | 1-2 |
| 33rd | Jacksonville | 1-2 |
| 33rd | Maine | 1-2 |
| 33rd | NC State | 1-2 |
| 33rd | #8 Rice | 1-2 |
| 33rd | San Francisco | 1-2 |
| 33rd | Seton Hall | 1-2 |
| 33rd | St. John's | 1-2 |
| 33rd | Texas State | 1-2 |
| 33rd | TCU | 1-2 |
| 33rd | Troy | 1-2 |
| 49th | Alcorn State | 0-2 |
| 49th | Arkansas–Little Rock | 0-2 |
| 49th | Bethune-Cookman | 0-2 |
| 49th | FIU | 0-2 |
| 49th | Fresno State | 0-2 |
| 49th | Georgia Southern | 0-2 |
| 49th | Kansas State | 0-2 |
| 49th | Manhattan | 0-2 |
| 49th | Navy | 0-2 |
| 49th | New Mexico | 0-2 |
| 49th | Oklahoma | 0-2 |
| 49th | Oklahoma State | 0-2 |
| 49th | Princeton | 0-2 |
| 49th | Sacred Heart | 0-2 |
| 49th | Southern Miss | 0-2 |
| 49th | Wright State | 0-2 |
- # denotes national seed
Record by conference
The columns RF, SR, WS, NS, CS, and NC respectively stand for the Regional Finals, Super Regionals, College World Series, National Semifinals, Championship Series, and National Champion.Round 1
- 14 of 16 No. 1 seeds won their first round games, with Georgia Tech & UCLA being the only No. 1 seeds to lose.
- Only 5 of 16 No. 2 seeds won their first round games.
Round 2
- 6 No. 1 seeds have been eliminated from the tournament. 3 prior to the regional finals: TCU, Cal State Fullerton, and No. 8 national seed Rice; with Georgia Tech, Clemson, and UCLA losing in the regional final
Regional Finals
- 6 non No. 1 seeds have won their regional and advanced to the Super Regionals: No. 3 UC Irvine, No. 3 Mississippi State, No. 3 Dallas Baptist, No. 3 California, No. 2 Stanford, and No. 2 Connecticut
Super Regionals
- In the context of almost being eliminated as a sponsored intercollegiate team by the University due to financial issues, the Cal Baseball team has advanced to the College World Series as a No. 3 seed.
College World Series
- Before the opening game of the CWS between Vanderbilt and North Carolina, the ceremonial first pitch was delivered by former President George W. Bush. Omaha Little Leaguer Henry Slagle had the honor of handing the ball to President Bush as his Memorial Park Little League team greeted the former president on the field. Before the pitch, his father, former president George H. W. Bush, who played for Yale in the first CWS in 1947, delivered a video message christening the new facility.
- This is the first CWS to feature eight schools from BCS automatic qualifying conferences.
- *The 1987 event was the last with eight major football-playing schools. Florida State, which played baseball in the Metro Conference at the time, was an elite Independent in football, since the Metro did not sponsor football until the 1995 conference reunification.
- The SEC Eastern Division has three teams in the same CWS for the first time, South Carolina, Florida, Vanderbilt.
- *The SEC East qualified all three teams in these semi-finals, effectively taking the podium.
- *The SEC West qualified four of its six teams in 1997, including national champion LSU.
- Florida is making its first back-to-back trip to the College World Series in school history. South Carolina is also making a back-to-back CWS appearance, but for the fourth time,.
- * South Carolina is the first defending Champion to make it back to the CWS and defend its title since Oregon State did so in 2007.
- This is Vanderbilt's first trip to the College World Series in school history.
- * This now makes Kentucky the only SEC school to have never made it to the College World Series.
- ** Both members added to the SEC in 2013, Texas A&M and Missouri, also previously made it to Omaha.
- This is the 19th consecutive year that the SEC has fielded at least one team in the College World Series.
- This is the 4th consecutive year that the SEC has fielded at least one team in the Championship Series.
- * * This is the second time that the SEC fielded two teams in the Championship Game, and with the last in 1997, LSU-Alabama 1997, representing the Western Division, this was the first to feature two Eastern Division opponents.
- The SEC was undefeated against out-of-conference opponents this CWS, going 6–0 in those games versus teams outside of the SEC.
- The Big 12 Conference went 0–4 this CWS.
- There have been 86 extra-inning games played in the history of the College World Series. By the end of this series, South Carolina had played in the past four.
- Three CWS Championship Series games have gone to 11 innings. By the end of this series South Carolina had played in the past two.
- For the first time in CWS history, the All-Tournament Team, including the Most Outstanding Player, was composed entirely of players from one conference, the SEC; more specifically the SEC Eastern Division..
- The South Carolina Gamecocks were the first team to go undefeated in the NCAA tournament since the Miami Hurricanes did so in 2001.
- With Game 2 Championship Series win South Carolina ties NCAA record for consecutive Post Season wins 15.
- With Game 2 Championship Series win South Carolina ties NCAA record for consecutive College World Series wins 10.
- South Carolina becomes the first team to win the CWS NCAA National Championship in the new TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.
- South Carolina becomes the first team to win the CWS NCAA National Championship while using the new BBCOR Standard composite baseball bats that resulted in far less overall offensive production, nationally and across the board, during the 2011 college baseball season. The Gamecocks were also the first team to win the CWS while operating under the new "20-second pitch clock" rule.
- South Carolina becomes the sixth team in CWS history to win Back-to-Back NCAA D1 Baseball Championships.
- This was the lowest-scoring College World Series in modern,, history.
Television coverage
Selection shows
The NCAA Division I Road to Omaha Selection Show Presented by Capital One aired on ESPN on May 30, 2011.Competition
- Regionals:
- Super Regionals: All games were broadcast on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com, and ESPN Mobile
- CWS: Every game was broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2.