College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played by student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association ; in Japan, it is governed by the All Japan University Baseball Federation.
In comparison to American football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional players, as Minor League Baseball tends to be more extensive, with a greater history of supplying players from the high school level to Major League Baseball. But many amateur baseball players may choose college, for the sake of physical preparation and a softer transition from the high school level to the minor leagues.
If players opt to enroll at a four-year college, they must complete three years of college to regain professional eligibility, or have turned at least age 21 before starting their third year of college. Players who enroll at junior colleges regain eligibility after one year at that level.
During the most recent NCAA regular season, 301 teams competed at the Division I level in the United States, with top teams progressing through the regular season, various conference tournaments and championship series, and the 2025 NCAA Division I baseball tournament to play for the Division I championship in the 2025 Men's College World Series.
Organization
As with most other U.S. intercollegiate sports, competitive college baseball is played under the auspices of the NCAA, the NAIA, the NJCAA, the CCCAA, or the NWAC. The NCAA writes the rules of play, while each sanctioning body supervises season-ending tournaments. The final rounds of the NCAA Division I tournament is known as the Men's College World Series ; while each of the three levels of competition sanctioned by the NCAA holds a championship tournament, the "Men's College World Series" branding is reserved strictly for the final round of the Division I tournament. The MCWS takes place in Omaha, Nebraska in June, following the regular season. The playoff bracket for Division I consists of 64 teams, with four teams playing at each of 16 regional sites. The 16 winners advance to the Super Regionals at eight sites, played head-to-head in a best-of-three series. The eight winners then advance to the MCWS, a double-elimination tournament to determine the two national finalists. The finalists play a best-of-three series to determine the Division I national champion. The most recent Men's College World Series winner is LSU.History
The first intercollegiate baseball game took place in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on July 1, 1859, between squads representing Amherst College and Williams College. Amherst won, 73–32. This game was one of the last played under an earlier version of the game known as "Massachusetts rules", which prevailed in New England until the "Knickerbocker Rules" developed in the 1840s gradually became accepted. The first ever nine-man team college baseball game under the Knickerbocker Rules still in use today was played in New York on November 3, 1859, between the Fordham Rose Hill Baseball Club of St. John's College against The College of St. Francis Xavier, now known as Xavier High School.Students at many colleges began organizing games between colleges, particularly after the Civil War, first in the northeastern United States but quickly throughout the country. By the late 1870s, several northeastern schools were playing regular home and home series. The team with the best record claimed a "National Championship." Arguments over professional and graduate players led to the creation of the American College Base Ball Association in late 1879, consisting of six northeastern schools which sought to govern such issues and organize games. This organization lasted until 1887, when it dissolved in acrimony and waves of realignment. The Western Conference and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association were formed in the 1890s as multi-sport conferences. The first tournament to name a national champion was held at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, resulting in Yale being crowned champion. No other such tournament was held until the first College World Series in 1947.
Traditionally, college baseball has been played in the early part of the year, with a relatively short schedule and during a time when cold weather hinders the ability for games to be played, particularly in the northern and midwestern parts of the U.S. These and other factors have historically led most colleges and universities across the nation to effectively consider baseball a minor sport, both in scholarships as well as money and other points of emphasis.
College baseball's popularity has increased greatly since the 1980s. As increased efforts to popularize the sport resulted in better players and overall programs, more television and print media coverage began to emerge. The ESPN family of networks have greatly increased television coverage of the NCAA playoffs and the College World Series since 2003.
For 2008 and succeeding seasons, the NCAA mandated the first ever start date for Division I baseball, thirteen weeks before the selection of the NCAA tournament field, which takes place on Memorial Day.
Collegiate rules
The rules of college baseball are similar to the Official Baseball Rules. Exceptions include the following:- The bat may be made of wood, or a composite material that meets NCAA standards. Since the 2011 season, composite bats have been required to pass the "Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution" test.
- The designated hitter rule is used. In addition, a player may serve as both pitcher and DH at the same time and may remain in one position when removed in the other.
- One or both ends of a doubleheader are sometimes seven innings in length. However, the NCAA has recently tightened the interpretation of what constitutes a regulation game, encouraging schools to play as many nine-inning games as possible. Seven-inning games may be played on the final day of a conference series, or if the two teams in a non-conference match will play a doubleheader, often to make up a game that could not be played earlier in the year due to inclement weather.
- A mercy rule may be in use, which terminates play when one team is ahead by 10 or more runs after seven innings. In games that are scheduled for seven innings the rule takes effect in the fifth. This rule is not used in NCAA tournament games. Several conferences institute this rule only on Sundays or the final day of a conference series so that the visiting team can travel early. In some conferences, the mercy rule may also be used to end such games in order to start the next tournament game sooner.
- There is an automatic ejection for maliciously running into a defender who is trying to tag a runner or execute a force out. An automatic double play may also be called if a player slides into a base in an attempt to take out the defensive player who is trying to throw the ball to complete a double play.
- In televised games and in tournament games, instant replay may be used to determine if a slide was malicious.
Metal versus wood bat
Draft process
All players resident in the U.S. and its territories, plus Canada, are eligible to be selected in Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft upon graduating from high school. However, once a player enrolls in a four-year college or university, he is not allowed to be drafted until completing three years of school or reaching age 21, whichever comes first. By contrast, players who enroll in junior colleges are eligible for selection at any time. The Rule 4 Draft of eligible college and high school players consists of 20 rounds, most recently reduced from 40 after the 2019 edition. Despite MLB's draft being considerably longer than that of the NFL or NBA, only about 9.1% of all NCAA senior baseball players are drafted by an MLB team.One of the biggest controversies with the draft and these amateur athletes is the use of agents. There have been many cases of college athletes consulting or hiring an agent prematurely in direct violation of NCAA rules. The NCAA came up with the "no agent rule" as a result of this, claiming it was to benefit the amateur athletes. The rule states that "n individual shall be ineligible for participation in an intercollegiate sport if he or she has agreed to be represented by an agent for the purpose of marketing his or her athletics ability or reputation in that sport". Representation of an agent is considered to be any direct contact with the professional team during the contract negotiations. This contact can be made many different ways, whether through direct conversation, via mail or through the telephone. This rule is strongly enforced by the NCAA and has harsh consequences if broken. Recent changes to NCAA rules regarding compensation to college athletes for the use of their name, image, and likeness have clarified that players can sign with agents to negotiate endorsement deals without loss of eligibility, though not for negotiating with professional teams.