1997 NCAA Division I baseball season

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. It concluded with the 1997 College World Series, the 51st, a double-elimination tournament of eight regional champions held in Omaha, Nebraska, at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. LSU claimed its second consecutive and fourth total Division I championship.^[1]

1997 NCAA Division I baseball season
Number of teams	273
NCAA tournament
College World Series
Champions	LSU (4th title)
Runners-up	Alabama (10th CWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Skip Bertman (4th title)
MOP	Brandon Larson (LSU)
Seasons

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 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, and 32 other teams earned at-large selections.^[1][2]

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 10 Conference	East - UMass West - Xavier	1997 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament	Bear Stadium • Boyertown, PA	Virginia Tech
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 South Conference	UNC Greensboro	1997 Big South Conference baseball tournament	Knights Stadium • Fort Mill, SC	UNC Greensboro
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
Colonial Athletic Association	VCU	1997 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament	Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC	Richmond
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
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference	Northern - Niagara Southern - Fairfield	1997 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball tournament	Heritage Park • Colonie, NY	Siena
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
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	North - Howard South - Florida A&M	1997 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference baseball tournament	Moore–Kittles Field • Tallahassee, FL	Bethune-Cookman
Missouri Valley Conference	Wichita State	1997 Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament	Eck Stadium • Wichita, KS	Southwest Missouri State
Northeast Conference	Marist/Fairleigh Dickinson	1997 Northeast Conference baseball tournament	Sussex, NJ	Marist
Ohio Valley Conference	Middle Tennessee/Tennessee Tech	1997 Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament	Reese Smith Jr. Field • Murfreesboro, TN	Tennessee Tech
Pacific-10 Conference	North - Washington South - Stanford	1997 Pacific-10 Conference Baseball Championship Series	Sunken Diamond • Stanford, CA	Washington
Patriot League	Army	1997 Patriot League baseball tournament	Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field • West Point, NY	Army
Southeastern Conference	Eastern - Florida Western - LSU	1997 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament	Golden Park • Columbus, GA	Alabama
Southern Conference	Western Carolina Georgia Southern	1997 Southern Conference baseball tournament	Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park • Charleston, SC	Western Carolina
Southland Conference	Louisiana - Northwestern State Texas - Southwest Texas State	1997 Southland Conference baseball tournament	Warhawk Field • Monroe, LA	Southwest Texas State
Southwestern Athletic Conference	East - Alcorn State West - Southern	1997 Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball tournament	Kirsch-Rooney Stadium • New Orleans, LA	Southern
Sun Belt Conference	Southwestern Louisiana	1997 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament	M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field • Lafayette, LA	South Alabama
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
Western Athletic Conference	North - Utah South - Rice West - San Jose State	1997 Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament	Smith Field • San Diego, CA	Rice

Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:

1997 America East Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Delaware  ‍†‍‍ 19 – 3   .864 45 – 10   .818 Maine  ‍‍‍ 16 – 8   .667 24 – 27   .471 Vermont  ‍‍‍ 15 – 9   .625 27 – 19   .587 Drexel  ‍‍‍ 13 – 10   .565 28 – 22   .560 Northeastern  ‍‍‡‍y 12 – 12   .500 33 – 19   .635 Towson State  ‍‍‍ 9 – 14   .391 24 – 28   .462 Hartford  ‍‍‍ 7 – 16   .304 16 – 23   .410 Hofstra  ‍‍‍ 7 – 16   .304 14 – 28   .333 New Hampshire  ‍‍‍ 7 – 17   .292 17 – 22   .436 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[3] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 10 Georgia Tech  ‍†‍‍y 19 – 4   .826 46 – 15   .754 No. 9 Florida State  ‍‍‡‍y 18 – 6   .750 50 – 17   .746 No. 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[4] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Big 12 Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Texas Tech  ‍†‍‍y 23 – 7   .767 46 – 14   .767 No. 12 Oklahoma State  ‍‍‍y 21 – 9   .700 46 – 19   .708 No. 26 Texas A&M  ‍‍‍y 19 – 11   .633 39 – 22   .639 No. 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[5] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1997 Big East Conference baseball standings v t e 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 Providence  ‍‍‍ 10 – 15 – 0   .400 26 – 23 – 1   .530 Boston College  ‍‍‍ 8 – 17 – 0   .320 20 – 23 – 0   .465 Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍ 8 – 17 – 0   .320 19 – 26 – 0   .422 National Division Notre Dame  x‍‍‍ 15 – 6 – 0   .714 41 – 19 – 0   .683 Rutgers  ‍‍‍ 13 – 11 – 0   .542 28 – 24 – 0   .538 Seton Hall  ‍‍‍ 13 – 11 – 0   .542 32 – 22 – 0   .593 Villanova  ‍‍‍ 12 – 12 – 0   .500 29 – 27 – 0   .518 Georgetown  ‍‍‍ 8 – 15 – 0   .348 19 – 37 – 1   .342 x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[6][7] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Big South Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT No. 28 UNC Greensboro  ‍†‍‡‍y 18 – 3 – 0   .857 45 – 17 – 0   .726 Winthrop  ‍‍‍ 14 – 7 – 0   .667 27 – 29 – 1   .482 Charleston Southern  ‍‍‍ 12 – 8 – 0   .600 21 – 36 – 0   .368 Liberty  ‍‍‍ 11 – 10 – 0   .524 25 – 32 – 0   .439 UNC Asheville  ‍‍‍ 9 – 11 – 0   .450 20 – 33 – 0   .377 Radford  ‍‍‍ 9 – 12 – 0   .429 26 – 28 – 0   .481 UMBC  ‍‍‍ 5 – 16 – 0   .238 12 – 35 – 0   .255 Coastal Carolina  ‍‍‍ 5 – 16 – 0   .238 23 – 31 – 0   .426 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[8] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Big Ten Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Michigan  ‍†‍‍ 17 – 9   .654 36 – 22   .621 No. 30 Ohio State  ‍‍‡‍y 18 – 10   .643 42 – 18   .700 Purdue  ‍‍‍ 17 – 11   .607 30 – 25   .545 Illinois  ‍‍‍ 17 – 11   .607 32 – 27   .542 Minnesota  ‍‍‍ 15 – 10   .600 30 – 24   .556 Penn State  ‍‍‍ 12 – 14   .462 29 – 24   .547 Michigan State  ‍‍‍ 12 – 16   .429 26 – 28   .481 Indiana  ‍‍‍ 8 – 16   .333 33 – 22   .600 Northwestern  ‍‍‍ 9 – 19   .321 20 – 35   .364 Iowa  ‍‍‍ 7 – 16   .304 17 – 30   .362 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[9][10] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1997 Big West Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Northern Nevada  x‍‍‍ 20 – 10   .667 39 – 21   .650 Pacific  ‍‍‍ 11 – 19   .367 29 – 29   .500 Sacramento State  ‍‍‍ 8 – 22   .267 16 – 39   .291 New Mexico State  ‍‍‍ 8 – 22   .267 21 – 33   .389 Southern No. 24 Long Beach State  x‍‍‍ 22 – 8   .733 39 – 26   .600 No. 21 Cal State Fullerton  ‍‍‍ 21 – 9   .700 39 – 24   .619 Cal Poly  ‍‍‍ 15 – 15   .500 37 – 21   .638 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[11] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Colonial Athletic Association baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT VCU  ‍†‍‍ 15 – 4   .789 32 – 23   .582 Old Dominion  ‍‍‍ 12 – 8   .600 34 – 20   .630 James Madison  ‍‍‍ 10 – 10   .500 31 – 26   .544 George Mason  ‍‍‍ 10 – 11   .476 29 – 24   .547 East Carolina  ‍‍‍ 10 – 11   .476 29 – 27   .518 William & Mary  ‍‍‍ 8 – 12   .400 30 – 24   .556 Richmond  ‍‍‡‍y 8 – 12   .400 34 – 26   .567 UNC Wilmington  ‍‍‍ 7 – 12   .368 28 – 29   .491 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[12] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Conference USA baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Tulane  ‍†‍‍ 19 – 7   .731 40 – 21   .656 Houston  ‍‍‡‍y 19 – 8   .704 40 – 23   .635 South Florida  ‍‍‍y 18 – 8   .692 39 – 24   .619 Southern Miss  ‍‍‍ 16 – 10   .615 34 – 23   .596 Charlotte  ‍‍‍ 14 – 12   .538 30 – 26   .536 UAB  ‍‍‍ 14 – 13   .519 31 – 29   .517 Louisville  ‍‍‍ 11 – 15   .423 23 – 32   .418 Memphis  ‍‍‍ 9 – 17   .346 20 – 31   .392 Saint Louis  ‍‍‍ 8 – 19   .296 21 – 30   .412 Cincinnati  ‍‍‍ 4 – 23   .148 12 – 46   .207 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[13] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1997 NCAA Division I baseball independents standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 3 Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍y –   – 51 – 18   .739 Cal State Northridge  ‍‍‍ –   – 42 – 20   .677 Oral Roberts  ‍‍‍ –   – 26 – 30   .464 Hawaii–Hilo  ‍‍‍ –   – 13 – 34   .277 Wofford  ‍‍‍ –   – 13 – 34   .277 Southern Utah  ‍‍‍ –   – 8 – 37   .178 y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[14] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Ivy League baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT Lou Gehrig Princeton x‍‍‡‍y 10 – 10 – 0   .500 20 – 25 – 0   .444 Penn x‍‍‍ 10 – 10 – 0   .500 19 – 21 – 0   .475 Cornell  ‍‍‍ 7 – 13 – 0   .350 13 – 26 – 0   .333 Columbia  ‍‍‍ 6 – 14 – 0   .300 12 – 25 – 1   .329 Red Rolfe Harvard x‍‍‍ 18 – 2 – 0   .900 34 – 16 – 0   .680 Yale  ‍‍‍ 16 – 4 – 0   .800 24 – 19 – 0   .558 Dartmouth  ‍‍‍ 11 – 9 – 0   .550 22 – 16 – 0   .579 Brown  ‍‍‍ 2 – 18 – 0   .100 5 – 37 – 0   .119 x – Division champion ‡ – Championship Series champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[15] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Northern Niagara  x‍‍‍ 11 – 7   .611 17 – 21   .447 Siena  ‍‍‡‍y 10 – 8   .556 21 – 34   .382 Le Moyne  ‍‍‍ 10 – 8   .556 16 – 23   .410 Canisius  ‍‍‍ 5 – 13   .278 18 – 19   .486 Southern Fairfield  x‍‍‍ 13 – 5   .722 20 – 25   .444 Iona  ‍‍‍ 10 – 8   .556 19 – 27   .413 Saint Peter's  ‍‍‍ 7 – 11   .389 10 – 27   .270 Manhattan  ‍‍‍ 6 – 12   .333 11 – 28   .282 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[16] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1997 Mid-American Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Ohio  ‍†‍‡‍y 22 – 9   .710 43 – 18   .705 Ball State  ‍‍‍ 21 – 10   .677 40 – 19   .678 Kent State  ‍‍‍ 18 – 13   .581 29 – 28   .509 Miami  ‍‍‍ 17 – 13   .567 27 – 28   .491 Eastern Michigan  ‍‍‍ 17 – 14   .548 29 – 25   .537 Central Michigan  ‍‍‍ 14 – 14   .500 29 – 20   .592 Akron  ‍‍‍ 31 – 23   .574 14 – 16   .467 Bowling Green  ‍‍‍ 13 – 17   .433 24 – 27   .471 Toledo  ‍‍‍ 9 – 20   .310 18 – 33   .353 Western Michigan  ‍‍‍ 6 – 24   .200 14 – 39   .264 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[17] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Mid-Continent Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT East Troy State  x‍‍‡‍y 8 – 6   .571 36 – 24   .600 C.W. Post  ‍‍‍ 8 – 7   .533 21 – 24   .467 NYIT  ‍‍‍ 9 – 8   .529 21 – 25   .457 Pace  ‍‍‍ 6 – 6   .500 19 – 18   .514 Central Connecticut  ‍‍‍ 7 – 8   .467 20 – 16   .556 Youngstown State  ‍‍‍ 8 – 11   .421 29 – 21   .580 West Northeastern Illinois  x‍‍‍ 16 – 7   .696 29 – 29   .500 Western Illinois  ‍‍‍ 10 – 9   .526 13 – 24   .351 Chicago State  ‍‍‍ 10 – 12   .455 14 – 35   .286 Valparaiso  ‍‍‍ 6 – 24   .200 20 – 31   .392 ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[18] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Northeast Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT Marist  ‍†‍‡‍y 14 – 7 – 0   .667 32 – 19 – 0   .627 Fairleigh Dickinson  ‍†‍‍ 14 – 7 – 0   .667 23 – 24 – 1   .490 Wagner  ‍‍‍ 12 – 9 – 0   .571 17 – 29 – 2   .375 Rider  ‍‍‍ 12 – 9 – 0   .571 20 – 29 – 0   .408 Monmouth  ‍‍‍ 11 – 10 – 0   .524 23 – 25 – 0   .479 Long Island  ‍‍‍ 10 – 11 – 0   .476 17 – 21 – 0   .447 St. Francis  ‍‍‍ 6 – 15 – 0   .286 15 – 24 – 0   .385 Mount St. Mary's  ‍‍‍ 5 – 16 – 0   .238 10 – 23 – 1   .309 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1997 Pacific-10 Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Northern No. 15 Washington  x‍‍‍y 20 – 4   .833 46 – 20   .697 Oregon State  ‍‍‍ 18 – 6   .750 38 – 12   .760 Washington State  ‍‍‍ 7 – 17   .292 13 – 42   .236 Portland State  ‍‍‍ 3 – 21   .125 10 – 43   .189 Southern No. 4 Stanford  x‍‍‍y 21 – 9   .700 45 – 20   .692 No. 8 UCLA  ‍‍‍y 19 – 11   .633 45 – 21   .682 No. 13 Southern California  ‍‍‍y 17 – 13   .567 42 – 20   .677 No. 14 Arizona State  ‍‍‍y 16 – 14   .533 39 – 22   .639 Arizona  ‍‍‍ 13 – 17   .433 32 – 26   .552 California  ‍‍‍ 4 – 26   .133 21 – 38   .356 x – Division champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[19] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Patriot League baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT Army  ‍†‍‡‍ 15 – 5 – 0   .750 26 – 20 – 1   .564 Navy  ‍‍‍ 12 – 6 – 0   .667 19 – 27 – 0   .413 Bucknell  ‍‍‍ 10 – 10 – 0   .500 25 – 24 – 1   .510 Lehigh  ‍‍‍ 9 – 11 – 0   .450 18 – 24 – 1   .430 Lafayette  ‍‍‍ 7 – 12 – 0   .368 11 – 26 – 0   .297 Holy Cross  ‍‍‍ 5 – 14 – 0   .263 11 – 25 – 0   .306 ‡ – Tournament champion As of June 30, 1997[20] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Southeastern Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Eastern No. 16 Florida  x‍‍‍ 17 – 13   .567 40 – 24   .625 No. 25 Tennessee  x‍‍‍ 17 – 13   .567 42 – 19   .689 Vanderbilt  ‍‍‍ 14 – 16   .467 31 – 24   .564 South Carolina  ‍‍‍ 13 – 17   .433 33 – 24   .579 Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 10 – 20   .333 20 – 34   .370 Georgia  ‍‍‍ 8 – 22   .267 28 – 27   .509 Western No. 1 LSU  x‍†‍‍ 22 – 7   .759 57 – 13   .814 No. 2 Alabama  ‍‍‡‍ 20 – 9   .690 56 – 14   .800 No. 7 Mississippi State  ‍‍‍ 19 – 11   .633 47 – 21   .691 No. 6 Auburn  ‍‍‍ 17 – 12   .586 50 – 17   .746 Arkansas  ‍‍‍ 15 – 14   .517 36 – 20   .643 Ole Miss  ‍‍‍ 6 – 24   .200 22 – 31   .415 x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion Rankings from Baseball America
1997 Southern Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Western Carolina  ‍†‍‡‍y 18 – 6   .750 42 – 20   .677 Georgia Southern  ‍†‍‍ 18 – 6   .750 34 – 26   .567 The Citadel  ‍‍‍ 16 – 7   .696 37 – 21   .638 Furman  ‍‍‍ 13 – 11   .542 29 – 23   .558 East Tennessee State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 11   .500 21 – 24   .467 Davidson  ‍‍‍ 8 – 15   .348 18 – 34   .346 Appalachian State  ‍‍‍ 8 – 16   .333 16 – 32   .333 VMI  ‍‍‍ 6 – 13   .316 13 – 35   .271 Marshall  ‍‍‍ 4 – 17   .190 7 – 39   .152 † – Conference champion ‡ – SoCon Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[21] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Southland Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT Louisiana Northwestern State  x‍‍‍ 19 – 9 – 0   .679 35 – 22 – 0   .614 Northeast Louisianae  ‍‍‍ 17 – 11 – 0   .607 33 – 21 – 0   .611 McNeese State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 19 – 0   .367 19 – 31 – 1   .382 Nicholls State  ‍‍‍ 9 – 19 – 0   .321 19 – 35 – 0   .352 Texas Southwest Texas State  x‍‍‡‍y 18 – 11 – 0   .621 38 – 26 – 0   .594 Sam Houston State  ‍‍‍ 17 – 11 – 0   .607 36 – 27 – 0   .571 Texas–Arlington  ‍‍‍ 12 – 17 – 0   .414 22 – 35 – 0   .386 Texas–San Antonio  ‍‍‍ 12 – 18 – 0   .400 20 – 36 – 0   .357 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[22] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1997 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT South Stetson x‍‍‍y 10 – 8 – 0   .556 37 – 26 – 1   .586 FIU x‍‍‍y 10 – 8 – 0   .556 42 – 21 – 0   .667 Florida Atlantic ‍‍‍ 8 – 9 – 0   .471 32 – 24 – 0   .571 UCF ‍‍‡‍y 7 – 10 – 0   .412 40 – 24 – 0   .625 East Mercer x‍‍‍ 12 – 6 – 0   .667 36 – 23 – 0   .610 Georgia State ‍‍‍ 10 – 8 – 0   .556 23 – 30 – 0   .434 Campbell ‍‍‍ 7 – 11 – 0   .389 17 – 40 – 0   .298 College of Charleston ‍‍‍ 7 – 11 – 0   .389 25 – 29 – 1   .464 West Jacksonville State x‍†‍‍ 14 – 4 – 0   .778 39 – 13 – 0   .750 Southeastern Louisiana ‍‍‍ 11 – 7 – 0   .611 34 – 24 – 0   .586 Samford ‍‍‍ 8 – 10 – 0   .444 31 – 29 – 0   .517 Centenary ‍‍‍ 3 – 15 – 0   .167 11 – 39 – 0   .220 x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1997[23] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

College World Series

Main article: 1997 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.^[1]

Bracket

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

Award winners

All-America team

Main article: 1997 College Baseball All-America Team

Coaching changes

This table lists programs that changed head coaches at any point from the first day of the 1997 season until the day before the first day of the 1998 season.

Team	Former coach	Interim coach	New coach	Reason
Coppin State	Jason Booker		Paul Blair
East Carolina	Gary Overton		Keith LeClair
Hartford	Jim Bretz		Bob Nenna
Iowa	Duane Banks		Scott Broghamer	Banks retired after 28 seasons following 10th-place Big Ten finish in 1997.
James Madison	Kevin Anderson		Spanky McFarland
La Salle	Frank DiMichele		Larry Conti
Liberty	Johnny Hunton		Dave Pastors
McNeese State	Jim Ricklefsen		Mike Bianco
Mississippi State	Ron Polk		Pat McMahon	Polk retired following 1997 CWS appearance.
Mount St. Mary's	Ray Ruffing		Scott Thomson
Nebraska	John Sanders		Dave van Horn	Sanders fired after 20 seasons following 10th-place Big 12 finish in 1997.
Northern Illinois	Spanky McFarland		Frank Del Medico	McFarland left to become head coach at James Madison.
Northwestern State	Dave van Horn		John Cohen	Van Horn left after an SLC Louisiana Division title to become head coach at Nebraska.
Pittsburgh	Mark Jackson		Joe Jordano
Portland	Terry Pollreisz		Chris Sperry
Princeton	Tom O'Connell		Scott Bradley
Samford	Tommy Walker		Tim Parenton
Santa Clara	John Oldham		Mike Cummins
Southern Miss	Hill Denson		Corky Palmer
Southern Utah	Jeff Scholzen		DeLynn Corry
UTPA	Al Ogletree		Reggie Tredaway
Western Carolina	Keith LeClair		Rodney Hennon	Hennon left after a SoCon Tournament title to become head coach at East Carolina.