College Top 25

Notes:

Overall: 59-12, 23-7 in SEC
Weekend Series: 11-2
NCAA Tournament: 10-2, won national championship

Vanderbilt began the season as the top-ranked team in the country, and it ends there as well after capturing the program’s second national title. It wasn’t a perfect postseason for the Commodores, but they looked the part most of the way through. They went 3-0 in a home regional, and after losing the super regional opener to Duke, Vanderbilt bounced back to advance to Omaha on the strength of a no-hitter from righthander Kumar Rocker and a blowout win in the finale. Once in Omaha, Vandy started 3-0 to advance to the finals, and after dropping the series opener to Michigan, won the final two games fairly comfortably. When you are the No. 1 team in the country coming into the season, it’s nearly impossible to live up those expectations, but Vanderbilt pulled it off.

Notes:

Overall: 50-22, 16-7 in Big Ten
Weekend Series: 9-4
NCAA Tournament: 9-4, lost in CWS final

Fair or not, despite a gaudy record in the regular season, there was a feeling that Michigan never quite fully hit its stride. But it certainly did once it reached the postseason as one of the last four teams in the Field of 64. First, it went 3-1 to win a wide-open Corvallis Regional, even after losing the first game of the regional final to Creighton. Next, it went on the road and took two of three against No. 1 overall seed UCLA in the super regional. Still not satisfied, it went 3-0 to begin its stay in Omaha to get to the final before losing two of three in that championship series to Vanderbilt. The Wolverines are undoubtedly disappointed to be heading home without a national title after winning Game 1 of the final, and you can’t blame them, but the 2019 season was nothing but positive for Michigan.

Notes:

Overall: 51-18, 21-9 in ACC
Weekend Series: 10-4
NCAA Tournament: 8-3, reached Omaha

The Cardinals had a roller coaster of a postseason run. First, they were pushed to a seventh and deciding game in the Louisville Regional by upstart Illinois State. But after that scare, they pounded East Carolina in two games by a combined 26-1 score in their super regional, and then won two games in Omaha for the first time in program history. With the way it performed over the last two weeks, Louisville might have been one of the last two teams standing had it not been slotted in the same CWS bracket as Vanderbilt, to which they lost both of their games in Omaha.

Notes:

Overall: 46-20, 16-8 in Big 12
Weekend Series: 10-2
NCAA Tournament: 7-3, reached Omaha

After cruising through its home regional with a 3-0 record, Texas Tech got pushed in its super regional against conference foe Oklahoma State before advancing to Omaha thanks to a back-and-forth 8-6 win over the Cowboys in Game 3. Once in the College World Series, the Red Raiders did what they had never managed in their previous trips and won more than one game. In a 5-4 elimination game win over Arkansas, Tech clubbed three home runs, which is more than it had in all of its previous CWS trips combined. After a 4-1 victory to eliminate Florida State, Texas Tech was knocked out in a bracket final against Michigan.

Notes:

Overall: 52-15, 20-10 in SEC
Weekend Series: 11-2
NCAA Tournament: 6-2, reached Omaha

An outstanding four-year run for Mississippi State that featured four different head coaches, four trips to super regionals, and two Omaha trips came to an end in Omaha. After going 5-0 in the regional and super regional rounds in Starkville, the Bulldogs went 1-2 in the CWS, including a heart-breaking 4-3 walk-off loss to Louisville that ended their season. With the end of the season comes the end of Jake Mangum’s decorated college career, which saw him set the SEC’s all-time hits record and, in 2019, the MSU single-season hits record.

Notes:

Overall: 52-11, 24-5 in Pac-12
Weekend Series: 13-0
NCAA Tournament: 5-3, eliminated in super regional

After cruising through the regular season without losing so much as a single series, the Bruins suffered through uncharacteristic struggles in the postseason. In the regional, Loyola Marymount pushed them to a seventh game, and Michigan took two out of three in the super regional round. UCLA scored two runs in each of its super regional losses, which torpedoed its chances of getting to Omaha, but also served as foreshadowing for how well the Wolverines would pitch during their stay in the CWS.

Notes:

Overall: 42-23, 17-13 in ACC
Weekend Series: 9-4
NCAA Tournament: 6-2, reached Omaha

The Seminoles sent retiring head coach Mike Martin out in style. With a 3-0 showing in the Athens Regional, including two wins over host Georgia, and a two-game sweep of Louisiana State in the Baton Rouge Super Regional, FSU got Martin to Omaha one last time. Once in the CWS, the Noles got off to a quick start, with lefthander Drew Parrish throwing a shutout in a 1-0 win against Arkansas. From there, the lack of offense became an issue, and FSU was eliminated having scored one run in its final 18 innings.

Notes:

Overall: 46-20, 20-10 in SEC
Weekend Series: 11-3
NCAA Tournament: 5-3, reached Omaha

Arkansas deserves a ton of credit for the season it had in 2019. After coming one out from a national title in 2018, the Razorbacks put together another fantastic regular season and capped things off with the program’s first-ever back-to-back CWS trips. Once in Omaha, things got sideways on them. In a loss to Florida State, they were shut out by lefthander Drew Parrish, and in an elimination game against Texas Tech, they let a 3-0 lead after three innings turn into a 5-4 defeat. The accomplishment of getting to Omaha shouldn’t be minimized, but it was a disappointing end for a team that had national title aspirations coming into the event.

Notes:

Overall: 38-28, 14-16 in SEC
Weekend Series: 8-6
NCAA Tournament: 5-3, reached Omaha

After a regular season that featured a hot start, myriad injuries, and a sluggish finish due in large part to those injuries, Auburn hit the accelerator in the postseason. It went 3-0 to win the Atlanta Regional, including a heart-stopping walk-off win in a winner’s bracket game against Georgia Tech, and then went on the road and took two of three against North Carolina, including a 14-7 drubbing in Game 3, to advance to the CWS for the first time since 1997. Once in Omaha, the Tigers battled hard. It took a 4-1 lead into the ninth inning against Mississippi State before the Bulldogs mounted a furious comeback, and then just ran out of gas in an elimination game against Louisville. Even with the quick exit, the trajectory of this program is pointed nowhere but up.

Notes:

Overall: 45-14, 22-7 in Pac-12
Weekend Series: 11-1-1
NCAA Tournament: 4-3, eliminated in super regional

For much of 2019, this Stanford season looked destined to lead the Cardinal to Omaha for the first time since 2008, but it simply wasn’t to be. Stanford got out of its regional with a Game 7 win against Fresno State, but then ran into Mississippi State, one of the hottest teams in college baseball at the time, in the raucous environment of Dudy Noble Field. After two fairly routine losses to the Bulldogs, the Cardinal were headed home.

Notes:

Overall: 40-21, 14-9 in Big 12
Weekend Series: 9-4
NCAA Tournament: 4-3, eliminated in super regional

As it is wont to do, Oklahoma State played well down the stretch in the regular season, pushing not only to make sure it was a lock to get into the Field of 64, but also to get into position to host a regional. The only real disappointment for the Cowboys was that they were unable to host at home in the final season at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium because torrential rains in the state of Oklahoma made the playing surface unplayable. Back in Oklahoma City, where it had won the Big 12 Tournament the week prior, OSU won its regional before falling in the super regional against Texas Tech after three wild, back-and-forth games. With seven consecutive regional appearances under Josh Holliday and a new stadium on the way for the 2020 season, things are looking up for the Cowboys.

Notes:

Overall: 47-18, 20-4 in American
Weekend Series: 11-1
NCAA Tournament: 4-3, eliminated in super regional

There was much at which to marvel during East Carolina’s season. Its 47 wins were the most since the 2004 team won 51, and at 20-4, it ran away with the American Athletic Conference regular season title. The Pirates also deserve to be commended for the way they responded in the regional. After dropping their opening game against Quinnipiac, they won each of their final four games by seven runs or more. The program’s first trip to the College World Series, however, continues to be elusive, as ECU was swept at Louisville in super regionals by a combined 26-1 score.

Notes:

Overall: 41-27, 16-14 in SEC
Weekend Series: 9-4-1
NCAA Tournament: 4-2, eliminated in super regional

The Rebels exorcised some demons in the 2019 postseason. After losing both ends of the 2018 regional final to Tennessee Tech on its home turf, Ole Miss went 3-0 with little incident this time around. In the super regional on the road against Arkansas, it fell just a bit short, after winning four consecutive regular-season series against the Razorbacks. After getting blown out in Game 1, it returned the favor with a 13-5 win in Game 2, only to get blown away in the final game of the series as well.

Notes:

Overall: 46-19, 17-13 in ACC
Weekend Series: 9-4
NCAA Tournament: 4-2, eliminated in super regional

North Carolina made a late push to host a regional in Chapel Hill, and once there, it cruised through at 3-0, and played particularly well after surviving a scare against UNC Wilmington to begin the weekend. It had the chance to host a super regional as well, thanks to an Auburn upset win in the Atlanta Regional, but wasn’t able to advance to Omaha for the second straight season. After splitting the first two games of the super regional, UNC surrendered 13 runs in the first inning of Game 3 to Auburn on the way to a 14-7 loss to end its season.

Notes:

Overall: 40-26, 17-13 in SEC
Weekend Series: 8-5
NCAA Tournament: 3-2, eliminated in super regional

Things went swimmingly for the Tigers in a home regional. After a blowout win against Stony Brook to get things started, they collected back-to-back wins over Southern Mississippi to advance to a super regional, the first of which came after USM tied the game late, with the second of which coming in come-from-behind fashion. In the super regional, they ran into a buzzsaw known as Florida State, and the Seminoles advanced to Omaha on the back of two narrow wins at Alex Box Stadium.

Notes:

Overall: 46-17, 21-9 in SEC
Weekend Series: 12-2
NCAA Tournament: 2-2, eliminated in regional

Another outstanding regular season earned Scott Stricklin’s club a spot as a regional host for the second year in a row, but the Bulldogs weren’t able to keep the momentum going in the postseason. Wins against Mercer and Florida Atlantic were enough to get Georgia to the regional final, but it was undone by a pair of losses to what was then a scalding-hot Florida State team. To top it off, neither game was particularly competitive, as the Seminoles won the two games by a combined 22-4 score. For all of the successes of the last two seasons, winning a regional is still an elusive milestone for this generation of Bulldogs.

Notes:

Overall: 43-19, 19-11 in ACC
Weekend Series: 11-2
NCAA Tournament: 2-2, eliminated in regional

The Yellow Jackets enjoyed a comeback campaign in 2019. They not only got into a regional for the first time since 2014, but hosted one for the first time since 2011. They were not, however, able to parlay that into a super regional appearance, although as late as the ninth inning of a winner’s bracket game against Auburn, they looked to be in good shape to do so. But Steven Williams hit a walk-off homer for the Tigers, and the next day, Georgia Tech fell to Auburn again, ending its run.

Notes:

Overall: 35-27, 15-15 in ACC
Weekend Series: 8-5
NCAA Tournament: 4-2, eliminated in super regional

The biggest compliment you can give Duke about the way it played in the Morgantown Regional is that it won the thing in boring fashion. All three of the Blue Devils’ wins were fairly routine and were rarely in doubt. But digging deeper, what they did is impressive. In their first two wins, for example, they won games with Texas A&M lefthander John Doxakis and West Virginia righthander Alek Manoah on the mound. And then after A&M scored an emotional walk-off win over WVU in an elimination game, Duke put it away, 4-1, in the final. The Blue Devils kept the ball rolling with a super regional-opening win against Duke, but fell victim to Kumar Rocker’s no-hitter in Game 2, and then simply couldn’t keep up in Game 3.

Notes:

Overall: 36-20-1, 21-8 in Pac-12
Weekend Series: 9-2-1
NCAA Tournament: 0-2, eliminated in regional

For much of the season, Oregon State looked the part of a national title contender, right alongside conference mates UCLA and Stanford, but it slowed down as the postseason approached. It was swept by Oklahoma State in early-May, its first series loss since losing two of three to UCLA in mid-March, and then dropped two of three to Southern California to end the regular season. Things didn’t improve in the postseason, either, as the Beavers were the lone host team to go 0-2 in a regional. After a close loss to Cincinnati to begin the weekend, the Oregon bats went silent in a 4-1 loss to Creighton, bringing an end to an era in Corvallis.

Notes:

Overall: 38-22, 13-11 in Big 12
Weekend Series: 10-3
NCAA Tournament: 1-2, eliminated in regional

The 2019 season was nothing short of historic for West Virginia. By simply getting to a regional, the Mountaineers got to the postseason for the second time in three years, which is the first time they’ve done that since getting there in 1994 and 1996. On top of that, West Virginia hosted a regional for the first time since 1955. Still, the ending was a bit of a letdown. It wasn’t just that WVU went 1-2 in the regional. It’s also the way it was eliminated. After taking a 9-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh against Texas A&M, the Mountaineers were walked off in an 11-10 loss thanks to a grand slam from A&M second baseman Bryce Blaum.

Notes:

Overall: 40-16-1, 20-8-1 in Mountain West
Weekend Series: 7-3-2
NCAA Tournament: 2-2, eliminated in regional

What a second half of the season Fresno State had. It didn’t lose a series after the month of March, ran away with the Mountain West Conference regular season title, and then showed well in its regional. The Bulldogs opened with a blowout win over UC Santa Barbara, and then followed that up with a similarly routine win over host Stanford. Ultimately, it couldn’t win that final game to break through into a super regional, but it was a season to remember for Fresno State.

Notes:

Overall: 41-20, 18-12 in ACC
Weekend Series: 10-4
NCAA Tournament: 2-2, eliminated in regional

The Hurricanes bounced back nicely from missing regionals in both 2017 and 2018 with a solid 2019 season that nearly earned them a spot as a host, but still got them into the postseason as a two seed in Starkville. Miami lost its first game of the regional against Central Michigan, but then fought back to win its next two before falling in a hard-fought regional final against Mississippi State.

Notes:

Overall: 39-23-1, 16-13-1 in SEC
Weekend Series: 9-2-1
NCAA Tournament: 2-2, eliminated in regional

The Aggies rode the dynamite one-two punch of lefthanders John Doxakis and Asa Lacy to a near-miss as a regional host and an eventual two seed in the Morgantown Regional. Though it was eliminated in the regional final by Duke, A&M did score one of the most dramatic wins of the entire regional round. Trailing 9-1 heading to the bottom of the seventh, the Aggies not only came back to win 11-10 but did so thanks to a walk-off grand slam from second baseman Bryce Blaum.

Notes:

Overall: 45-11, 19-5 in Big West
Weekend Series: 11-2-1
NCAA Tournament: 0-2, eliminated in regional

UC Santa Barbara toyed with hosting a regional, thanks in large part to a gaudy overall record, but ultimately, a weaker-than-usual Big West hurt the metrics enough that the Gauchos couldn’t pull it off. Instead, they were sent off to Stanford, where they were eliminated in two games. After getting fantastic starting pitching all season long, the Gauchos didn’t get it in either of their regional games, as neither starter escaped the fourth inning.

Notes:

Overall: 41-13, 14-4 in Big East
Weekend Series: 8-3
NCAA Tournament: 3-2, eliminated in regional

Fighting off its usual slate of early road games and a rash of cancellations due to poor weather in Omaha, Creighton had a great regular season. Its 41 wins were the most for the program since winning 45 in 2011, and had it not been for all of those cancelled games, it probably would have eclipsed that number. It won the Big East regular season title, won the automatic bid to get into a regional for the first time since 2012, and then pushed Michigan to a deciding seventh game in the Corvallis Regional before being eliminated.