1976 NCAA Division I baseball tournament

The 1976 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1976 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its thirtieth year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Seven regions held a four team, double-elimination tournament while one region included six teams, resulting in 34 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament.^[1] The thirtieth tournament's champion was Arizona, coached by Jerry Kindall. The Most Outstanding Player was Steve Powers of Arizona.

1976 NCAA Division I
baseball tournament

Season	1976
Teams	34
Finals site	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium Omaha, Nebraska
Champions	Arizona (1st title)
Runner-up	Eastern Michigan (2nd CWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Jerry Kindall (1st title)
MOP	Steve Powers (Arizona)
← 1975  NCAA Division I Baseball Championship 1977 →

Regionals

Seven of the eight regionals were played as 4-team double-elimination tournaments. One regional was played as a 6-team double-elimination tournament. The winner of each regional moved onto the College World Series.

Atlantic Regional

Games played in Columbia, South Carolina.

First Round

Semi-Finals

Finals

Clemson

13

Furman

2

Clemson

10

South Carolina

4

South Carolina

7*

Virginia Tech

6*

Clemson

6

—

Furman

2

—

Lower round 1

Lower final

South Carolina

1

Furman

5

Furman

12

Virginia Tech

4

Rocky Mountain Regional

Games played in Tempe, Arizona.

	First Round					Semi-Finals					Finals
	Memphis		6
	Minnesota		0
						Memphis		4
						Arizona State		11
	Arizona State		13
	Gonzaga		2
											Arizona State		12	—
											Minnesota		5	—
	Lower round 1					Lower final
						Memphis		4
	Minnesota		4			Minnesota		17
	Gonzaga		0

Mideast Regional

Games played in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

	First Round					Semi-Finals					Finals
	Illinois State		5
	Southern Illinois		2
						Illinois State		0
						Eastern Michigan		3
	Eastern Michigan		6
	Michigan		0
											Eastern Michigan		3	6
											Michigan		5	0
	Lower round 1					Lower final
						Illinois State		4
	Southern Illinois		0			Michigan		5
	Michigan		2

South Regional

Games played in Tallahassee, Florida.

	First Round					Semi-Finals					Finals
	Auburn		10
	Middle Tennessee		5
						Auburn		2
						Florida State		1
	Florida State		6
	Jacksonville		1
											Auburn		7	—
											Jacksonville		5	—
	Lower round 1					Lower final
						Florida State		7
	Middle Tennessee		5			Jacksonville		9
	Jacksonville		8

Midwest Regional

Games played in Edinburg, Texas.

	First Round					Semi-Finals					Finals
	Missouri		5
	Texas A&M		3
						Missouri		1
						Arizona		10
	Arizona		5
	Texas–Pan American		0
											Arizona		8	—
											Texas A&M		2	—
	Lower round 1					Lower final
						Missouri		3
	Texas A&M		2			Texas A&M		12
	Texas–Pan American		1

South Central Regional

Games played in Arlington, Texas.

First Round

Semi-Finals

Finals

Oklahoma

11

Miami (FL)

3

Oklahoma

3

Texas

2

Texas

3

Lamar

2

Oklahoma

5*

4

Texas

6*

1

Lower round 1

Lower final

Texas

5

Miami (FL)

6

Miami (FL)

0

Lamar

0

West Regional

Games played in Pullman, Washington.

	First Round					Semi-Finals					Finals
	Cal State Fullerton		7
	Northern Colorado		1
						Cal State Fullerton		1
						Washington State		5
	Washington State		8
	Pepperdine		2
											Washington State		1	7
											Cal State Fullerton		13	2
	Lower round 1					Lower final
						Cal State Fullerton		11
	Pepperdine		4			Pepperdine		3
	Northern Colorado		2

Northeast Regional

Games played in Storrs, Connecticut.

	First Round					Second Round					Third Round					Semi-Finals					Finals
	1	Seton Hall	8
	6	St. John's	0			Seton Hall		3
						Penn State		2
	2	Temple	6								Seton Hall		1
	5	Columbia	2								Maine		3
						Temple		3													Maine		4	—
						Maine		6													Seton Hall		2	—
	3	Maine	11													Seton Hall		1
	4	Penn State	4								St. John's		3			Temple		0
						Columbia		5			Temple		4
						St. John's		12

College World Series

Participants

School	Conference	Record (conference)	Head coach	CWS appearances	CWS best finish	CWS record
Arizona	WAC	51–16 (12–6)	Jerry Kindall	9 (last: 1970)	2nd (1956, 1958, 1960)	17–18
Arizona State	WAC	62–8 (17–1)	Jim Brock	7 (last: 1975)	1st (1965, 1967, 1969)	26–11
Auburn	SEC	37–13 (12–7)	Paul Nix	1 (last: 1967)	4th (1967)	2–2
Clemson	ACC	35–13 (10–2)	Bill Wilhelm	2 (last: 1959)	5th (1958, 1959)	2–4
Eastern Michigan	MAC	43–14 (12–3)	Ron Oestrike	1 (last: 1975)	6th (1975)	1–2
Maine	Eastern Collegiate	27–7 (n/a)	John Winkin	1 (last: 1964)	3rd (1964)	3–2
Oklahoma	Big 8	62–17 (4–1)	Enos Semore	5 (last: 1975)	1st (1951)	9–8
Washington State	Pac-8	42–13 (16–2)	Chuck Brayton	3 (last: 1965)	2nd (1950)	5–6

Results

Bracket

	Upper round 1					Upper round 2					Upper final					Semifinals					Preliminary final					Final
	Clemson		9
	Auburn		4
						Clemson		2
						Eastern Michigan		310
	Eastern Michigan		3
	Maine		2
											Eastern Michigan		2
											Arizona State		1
	Arizona State		710
																Eastern Michigan		6
	Arizona		6
						Arizona State		9								Arizona		11
						Washington State		3
	Washington State		6
	Oklahoma		1																							Eastern Michigan		1
																					Arizona		5			Arizona		7
						Lower round 1					Lower round 2										Arizona State		1
											Washington State		3
						Auburn		8			Maine		6
																Arizona State		7
						Maine		9
																Maine		0
											Clemson		6
						Arizona		10			Arizona		10
						Oklahoma		2

Game results

Date	Game	Winner	Score	Loser	Notes
June 11	Game 1	Clemson	9–4	Auburn
	Game 2	Eastern Michigan	3–2	Maine
June 12	Game 3	Arizona State	7–6 (10 innings)	Arizona
	Game 4	Washington State	6–1	Oklahoma
	Game 5	Maine	9–8	Auburn	Auburn eliminated
June 13	Game 6	Arizona	10–2	Oklahoma	Oklahoma eliminated
	Game 7	Eastern Michigan	3–2 (10 innings)	Clemson
	Game 8	Arizona State	9–3	Washington State
June 14	Game 9	Arizona	10–6	Clemson	Clemson eliminated
	Game 10	Maine	6–3	Washington State	Washington State eliminated
June 15	Game 11	Eastern Michigan	2–1	Arizona State
June 16	Game 12	Arizona State	7–0	Maine	Maine eliminated
	Game 13	Arizona	11–6	Eastern Michigan
June 18	Game 14	Arizona	5–1	Arizona State	Arizona State eliminated
June 19	Final	Arizona	7–1	Eastern Michigan	Arizona wins CWS

All-Tournament Team

The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team.

Position	Player	School
P	Bob Chaulk	Arizona
	Bob Owchinko	Eastern Michigan
C	Ron Hassey	Arizona
1B	Ken Phelps	Arizona State
2B	Dan Schmitz	Eastern Michigan
3B	Brian Petroff	Eastern Michigan
SS	Russ Quetti	Maine
OF	Ken Landreaux	Arizona State
	Dave Stegman	Arizona
	Pete Van Horne	Arizona
DH	Steve Powers (MOP)	Arizona

Notable players

• Arizona: Ron Hassey, Dave Stegman
• Arizona State: Gary Allenson, Chris Bando, Floyd Bannister, Mike Colbern, Bob Horner, Dave Hudgens, Darrell Jackson, Ken Landreaux, Chris Nyman, Bob Pate, Rick Peters, Ken Phelps, Gary Rajsich
• Auburn: Joe Beckwith, Terry Leach
• Clemson: Ron Musselman, Chuck Porter, Kurt Seibert
• Eastern Michigan: Glenn Gulliver, John Martin, Bob Owchinko, Bob Welch
• Maine: Jack Leggett, Bert Roberge
• Oklahoma: Terry Bogener, Keith Drumright, George Frazier, Gene Krug, Roger LaFrancois
• Washington State: Dave Edler, Eric Wilkins, Tom Niedenfuer

Tournament Notes

• The Arizona State team featured 13 future Major League players – a record matched by the school's team from the previous year.
• Arizona head coach Jerry Kindall became the first person to win a College World Series as both a player (1956, Minnesota) and a coach.
• Keith Drumright appeared in his fourth College World Series.
• Eastern Michigan was the last northern school to play in the final game of the College World Series for 43 years, until Michigan in 2019.

See also

• 1976 NCAA Division II baseball tournament
• 1976 NCAA Division III baseball tournament (inaugural edition)
• 1976 NAIA World Series