1997 NCAA Division I baseball season

1997 NCAA Division I baseball season
Number of teams	273
NCAA Tournament
College World Series
Champions	LSU
Runners-up	Alabama
MOP	Brandon Larson (LSU)
Seasons
← 1996	1998 →

The 1997 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1997. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1997 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fifty first time in 1997, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. LSU claimed the championship for the fourth time.

Realignment

• The Big Eight Conference merged with four members of the Southwest Conference, Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech to form the Big 12 Conference.

Format changes

• The Big West Conference divided into two divisions of four, called Northern and Southern.

Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1997 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Each of the eight regionals consisted of six teams competing in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. In order to provide all conference champions with an automatic bid, 10 conference champions participated in a play-in round. The five winners joined the other 19 conference champions with automatic bids, 24 teams earned at-large selections.

Conference	Regular Season Winner	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue • City	Tournament Winner
America East Conference	Delaware	1997 America East Conference Baseball Tournament	Frawley Stadium • Wilmington, DE	Northeastern
Atlantic Coast Conference	Georgia Tech	1997 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament	Florida Power Park • St. Petersburg, FL	Florida State
Big 12 Conference	Texas Tech	1997 Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament	All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma
Big East Conference	American - West Virginia National - Notre Dame	1997 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament	Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT	St. John's
Big Ten Conference	Michigan	1997 Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament	Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	Ohio State
Big West Conference	Northern - Nevada Southern - Long Beach State	1997 Big West Conference Baseball Tournament	Blair Field • Long Beach, CA	Cal State Fullerton
Conference USA	Tulane	1997 Conference USA Baseball Tournament	Turchin Stadium • New Orleans, LA	Houston
Ivy League	Gehrig - Princeton Rolfe - Harvard	1997 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series	Joseph J. O'Donnell Field • Cambridge, MA	Harvard
Mid-American Conference	Ohio	1997 Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament	Trautwein Field • Athens, OH	Ohio
Midwestern Collegiate Conference	Wright State	1997 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Baseball Tournament	Dayton, OH	Detroit
Mid-Continent Conference	Eastern - Troy State Western - Northeastern Illinois	1997 Mid-Continent Conference Baseball Tournament	Les Miller Field • Chicago, IL	Troy State
Pacific-10 Conference	North - Washington South - Stanford	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Eastern - Florida Western - LSU	1997 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament	Golden Park • Columbus, GA	Alabama
Southern Conference	Western Carolina	1997 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament	Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park • Charleston, SC	Western Carolina
Trans America Athletic Conference	Eastern - Mercer Southern - Stetson Western - Jacksonville State	1997 Trans America Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament	Conrad Park • DeLand, FL	UCF
West Coast Conference	Santa Clara	No tournament

Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:

1997 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT #10 Georgia Tech †y 19 – 4   .826     46 – 15   .754 #9 Florida State ‡y 18 – 6   .750     50 – 17   .746 #23 NC State y 15 – 8   .652     43 – 20   .683 Clemson y 13 – 10   .565     41 – 23   .641 Wake Forest 10 – 13   .435     37 – 20   .649 Virginia 10 – 13   .435     32 – 22   .593 Duke 9 – 14   .391     33 – 25   .569 North Carolina 6 – 18   .250     29 – 31   .483 Maryland 5 – 19   .208     22 – 32   .407 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1997; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Big 12 Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Texas Tech †y 23 – 7   .767     46 – 14   .767 #12 Oklahoma State y 21 – 9   .700     46 – 19   .708 #26 Texas A&M y 19 – 11   .633     39 – 22   .639 #17 Oklahoma ‡y 18 – 11   .621     39 – 20   .661 Baylor 18 – 12   .600     32 – 23   .582 Missouri 15 – 16   .484     31 – 27   .534 Texas 12 – 15   .444     29 – 22   .569 Kansas 12 – 18   .400     31 – 25   .554 Kansas State 10 – 20   .333     32 – 24   .571 Nebraska 7 – 23   .233     27 – 35   .435 Iowa State 6 – 21   .222     12 – 31   .279 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1997; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Big East Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T   PCT     W   L   T   PCT American Division West Virginia x 17 – 7 – 0   .708     36 – 19 – 0   .655 St. John's ‡y 16 – 7 – 0   .696     35 – 17 – 0   .673 Connecticut 11 – 13 – 0   .458     27 – 20 – 0   .574 [[{{{school}}}|Providence]] 10 – 15 – 0   .400     26 – 23 – 1   .530 [[{{{school}}}|Boston College]] 8 – 17 – 0   .320     20 – 23 – 0   .465 [[{{{school}}}|Pittsburgh]] 8 – 17 – 0   .320     19 – 26 – 0   .422 National Division Notre Dame 15 – 6 – 0   .714     41 – 19 – 0   .683 [[{{{school}}}|Rutgers]] 13 – 11 – 0   .542     28 – 24 – 0   .538 [[{{{school}}}|Seton Hall]] 13 – 11 – 0   .542     32 – 22 – 0   .593 [[{{{school}}}|Villanova]] 12 – 12 – 0   .500     29 – 27 – 0   .518 [[{{{school}}}|Georgetown]] 8 – 15 – 0   .348     19 – 37 – 1   .342 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1997; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1997 Big Ten Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Michigan † 17 – 9   .654     36 – 22   .621 #30 Ohio State ‡y 18 – 10   .643     42 – 18   .700 [[{{{school}}}|Purdue]] 17 – 11   .607     30 – 25   .545 [[{{{school}}}|Illinois]] 17 – 11   .607     32 – 27   .542 [[{{{school}}}|Minnesota]] 15 – 10   .600     30 – 24   .556 [[{{{school}}}|Penn State]] 12 – 14   .462     29 – 24   .547 [[{{{school}}}|Michigan State]] 12 – 16   .429     26 – 28   .481 [[{{{school}}}|Indiana]] 8 – 16   .333     33 – 22   .600 [[{{{school}}}|Northwestern]] 9 – 19   .321     20 – 35   .364 [[{{{school}}}|Iowa]] 7 – 16   .304     17 – 30   .362 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1997; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Big West Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Northern Nevada x 20 – 10   .667     39 – 21   .650 [[{{{school}}}|Pacific]] 11 – 19   .367     29 – 29   .500 [[{{{school}}}|Sacramento State]] 8 – 22   .267     16 – 39   .291 [[{{{school}}}|New Mexico State]] 8 – 22   .267     21 – 33   .389 Southern #24 Long Beach State x 22 – 8   .733     39 – 26   .600 #21 Cal State Fullerton 21 – 9   .700     39 – 24   .619 [[{{{school}}}|Cal Poly]] 15 – 15   .500     37 – 21   .638 [[{{{school}}}|UC Santa Barbara]] 15 – 15   .500     26 – 30   .464 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the 1997 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament As of June 30, 1997; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Conference USA baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Tulane † 19 – 7   .731     40 – 21   .656 Houston ‡y 19 – 8   .704     40 – 23   .635 [[{{{school}}}|South Florida]] y 18 – 8   .692     39 – 24   .619 [[{{{school}}}|Southern Miss]] 16 – 10   .615     34 – 23   .596 [[{{{school}}}|Charlotte]] 14 – 12   .538     30 – 26   .536 [[{{{school}}}|UAB]] 14 – 13   .519     31 – 29   .517 [[{{{school}}}|Louisville]] 11 – 15   .423     23 – 32   .418 [[{{{school}}}|Memphis]] 9 – 17   .346     20 – 31   .392 [[{{{school}}}|Saint Louis]] 8 – 19   .296     21 – 30   .412 [[{{{school}}}|Cincinnati]] 4 – 23   .148     12 – 46   .207 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1997; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1997 Mid-American Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Ohio †‡y 22 – 9   .710     43 – 18   .705 [[{{{school}}}|Ball State]] 21 – 10   .677     40 – 19   .678 [[{{{school}}}|Kent State]] 18 – 13   .581     29 – 28   .509 [[{{{school}}}|Miami]] 17 – 13   .567     27 – 28   .491 [[{{{school}}}|Eastern Michigan]] 17 – 14   .548     29 – 25   .537 [[{{{school}}}|Central Michigan]] 14 – 14   .500     29 – 20   .592 [[{{{school}}}|Akron]] 31 – 23   .574     14 – 16   .467 [[{{{school}}}|Bowling Green]] 13 – 17   .433     24 – 27   .471 [[{{{school}}}|Toledo]] 9 – 20   .310     18 – 33   .353 [[{{{school}}}|Western Michigan]] 6 – 24   .200     14 – 39   .264 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1997; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Pacific-10 Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Northern #15 Washington xy 20 – 4   .833     46 – 20   .697 [[{{{school}}}|Oregon State]] 18 – 6   .750     38 – 12   .760 [[{{{school}}}|Washington State]] 7 – 17   .292     13 – 42   .236 [[{{{school}}}|Portland State]] 3 – 21   .125     10 – 43   .189 Southern #4 Stanford xy 21 – 9   .700     45 – 20   .692 #8 UCLA y 19 – 11   .633     45 – 21   .682 #13 [[{{{school}}}|Southern California]] y 17 – 13   .567     42 – 20   .677 #14 [[{{{school}}}|Arizona State]] y 16 – 14   .533     39 – 22   .639 [[{{{school}}}|Arizona]] 13 – 17   .433     32 – 26   .552 [[{{{school}}}|California]] 4 – 26   .133     21 – 38   .356 x – Division champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1997; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Southeastern Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Eastern #16 Florida x 17 – 13   .567     40 – 24   .625 #25 [[{{{school}}}|Tennessee]] x 17 – 13   .567     42 – 19   .689 [[{{{school}}}|Vanderbilt]] 14 – 16   .467     31 – 24   .564 [[{{{school}}}|South Carolina]] 13 – 17   .433     33 – 24   .579 [[{{{school}}}|Kentucky]] 10 – 20   .333     20 – 34   .370 [[{{{school}}}|Georgia]] 8 – 22   .267     28 – 27   .509 Western #1 LSU x 22 – 7   .759     57 – 13   .814 #2 Alabama ‡ 20 – 9   .690     56 – 14   .800 #7 [[{{{school}}}|Mississippi State]] 19 – 11   .633     47 – 21   .691 #6 [[{{{school}}}|Auburn]] 17 – 12   .586     50 – 17   .746 [[{{{school}}}|Arkansas]] 15 – 14   .517     36 – 20   .643 [[{{{school}}}|Ole Miss]] 6 – 24   .200     22 – 31   .415 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion Rankings from Baseball America
1997 Southern Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Western Carolina †‡y 18 – 6   .750     42 – 20   .677 [[{{{school}}}|Georgia Southern]] 18 – 6   .750     34 – 26   .567 [[{{{school}}}|The Citadel]] 16 – 7   .696     37 – 21   .638 [[{{{school}}}|Furman]] 13 – 11   .542     29 – 23   .558 [[{{{school}}}|East Tennessee State]] 11 – 11   .500     21 – 24   .467 [[{{{school}}}|Davidson]] 8 – 15   .348     18 – 34   .346 [[{{{school}}}|Appalachian State]] 8 – 16   .333     16 – 32   .333 [[{{{school}}}|VMI]] 6 – 13   .316     13 – 35   .271 [[{{{school}}}|Marshall]] 4 – 17   .190     7 – 39   .152 † – Conference champion ‡ – SoCon Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1997; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

College World Series

The 1997 season marked the fifty first NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with LSU claiming their fourth championship with a 13–6 win over Alabama in the final.

Bracket

	First round					Second round					Semifinals						Finals
	1	Alabama	3
	8	[[{{{school}}}|Mississippi State]]	2
						1	Alabama	1
						5	Miami (FL)	6
	4	UCLA	3
	5	[[{{{school}}}|Miami (FL)]]	7
											5	Miami (FL)	6	2
										1	Alabama	8	8
	8	Mississippi State	7
	4	UCLA	5
						1	Alabama	9
						8	Mississippi State	5
																1	Alabama	6
																2	LSU	13
	2	LSU	5
	7	[[{{{school}}}|Rice]]	4
						2	LSU	10
						3	Stanford	5
	3	Stanford	8
	6	[[{{{school}}}|Auburn]]	3
											2	LSU	13	—
										3	Stanford	9	—
	7	Rice	1
	6	Auburn	10
						3	Stanford	11
						6	Auburn	4