College World Series

History

Contract extension

Format history and changes

• 1947 – Eight teams were divided into two, four-team, single-elimination playoffs. The two winners then met in a best-of-three final in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
• 1948 – Similar to 1947, but the two, four-team playoffs were changed to double-elimination tournaments. The two winners continued to meet in a best-of-three final in Kalamazoo. The teams were selected from the NCAA's eight districts, with a local committee choosing its representative based on their own criteria, which might or might not include committee selections, conference champions, and district playoffs.
• 1949 – The final was expanded to a four-team, double-elimination format and the site changed to Wichita, Kansas. Eight teams began the playoffs with the four finalists decided by a best-of-three district format.
• 1950–1953 – An eight-team, double-elimination format for the College World Series coincided with the move to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1950. A national baseball committee chose one team from each of the eight NCAA districts.
• 1954–1975 – Preliminary rounds determined the eight CWS teams, and the total number of teams in the preliminary round ranged from 21 to 32. The format of the CWS remained the same as 1950.
• 1976–1981 – The number of preliminary-round teams was increased to 34.
• 1982–1984 – The number of preliminary-round teams was increased to 36.
• 1985 – The number of preliminary-round teams was increased to 38.
• 1986 – The number of preliminary-round teams was increased to 40.
• 1987 – The number of preliminary-round teams was increased to 48, with teams split into eight, six-team regionals. The regionals were a test of endurance, as teams had to win at least four games over four days, sometimes five if a team dropped into the loser's bracket, placing a premium on pitching. In the last two years of the six-team regional format, the eventual CWS champion – LSU in 1997 and Southern California in 1998 – had to battle back from the loser's bracket in the regional to advance to Omaha. Unlike the current 64 team tournament, the CWS pairings were set after the regional tournaments.
• 1988–1998 – The format for the CWS was changed for the first time since 1950 with the 1988 College World Series, when the tournament was divided into 2 four-team double-elimination brackets, with the survivors of each bracket playing in a single championship game. The single-game championship was designed for network television, with the final game on CBS on a Saturday afternoon.
• 1999–2002 – With some 293 Division I teams playing, the NCAA expanded the overall tournament to a 64-team field in 1999. Teams were divided into 16 four-team double-elimination regionals. The regional winners advanced to the Super Regional round, which had 8 best-of-three series to advance to the CWS. Within each region, teams were seeded 1 to 4. Additionally, the top 8 teams in the tournament were given "national seeds" and placed in different Super Regionals so no national seeds could meet before the CWS. The 64-team bracket was set at the beginning of the championship and teams are not reseeded for the CWS. Since the 1999 College World Series, the four-team brackets in the CWS have been determined by the results of super-regional play, much like the NCAA basketball tournament.
• 2003–2017 – The championship final became a best-of-three series between the two four-team bracket winners, with games scheduled for three consecutive evenings. In the results shown below, Score indicates the score of the championship game only. In 2008, the start of the CWS was moved back one day, and an extra day of rest was added in between bracket play and the championship series.
• 2018–2026 – The number of national seeds increased from 8 to 16. Each Super Regional featured the winners of regionals in which the numerical sum of those regions' national seeds totaled 17. No other format changes were made.
• 2026-present – The baseball selection committee changed the format so that the number of national seeds was shifted from 16 to 32, with each team outside of the top 16 grouped based on location. This change doesn't alter the structure of the event, as 16 four-team regionals are still featured.

  Results

Teams reaching the finals

Best performances by conference

• CIBA was California Intercollegiate Baseball Association that competed as a division under the Pacific Coast Conference which operated under its own Charter.
• Independents = Miami Hurricanes and Holy Cross Crusaders
• SCBA was Southern California Baseball Association.
• The Big 12 does not claim any national championships, including baseball, that were won as members of the Big Eight and makes no claim to the history or records of the Big Eight.
• The Western Athletic Conference claims 7 national championships in baseball by former members. There are no gaps in its existence; the WAC has existed continuously since its formation in 1962. After the 2026 season, the WAC will rebrand as the United Athletic Conference.
• Coastal Carolina won the 2016 CWS as a member of the Big South Conference less than 24 hours before officially joining the Sun Belt Conference.
• Missouri won the 1954 CWS as a member of the Big Eight Conference.

  Awards

Records and statistics

All-time record for champions