1998 NCAA Division I baseball season

1998 NCAA Division I baseball season
Number of teams	273
NCAA Tournament
College World Series
Champions	Southern California
Runners-up	Arizona State
MOP	Wes Rachels (Southern California)
Seasons
← 1997	1999 →

The 1998 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 1998. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1998 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fifty second time in 1998, 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. Southern California claimed the championship for the twelfth time, and first since 1978.

Realignment

• Northern Illinois and Marshall joined the Mid-American Conference.
• Wofford and UNC Greensboro joined the Southern Conference.

Format changes

• The Big East Conference dissolved its divisions after one season.
• The Mid-American Conference divided into two divisions of six.

Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1998 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	1998 America East Conference Baseball Tournament	Frawley Stadium • Wilmington, DE	Delaware
Atlantic Coast Conference	Florida State	1998 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament	Durham Bulls Athletic Park • Durham, NC	Wake Forest
Big 12 Conference	Texas A&M	1998 Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament	AT&T Bricktown Ballpark • Oklahoma City, OK	Texas Tech
Big East Conference	Rutgers	1998 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament	Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT	Rutgers
Big Ten Conference	Illinois	1998 Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament	Illinois Field • Champaign, IL	Minnesota
Big West Conference	North - Nevada South - Cal State Fullerton	1998 Big West Conference Baseball Tournament	Titan Field • Fullerton, CA	Long Beach State
Conference USA	Tulane	1998 Conference USA Baseball Tournament	Zephyr Field • New Orleans, LA	Tulane
Ivy League	Gehrig - Princeton Rolfe - Harvard	1998 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series	Yale Field • New Haven, CT	Harvard
Mid-American Conference	East - Bowling Green West - Ball State	1998 Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament	Warren E. Steller Field • Bowling Green, OH	Bowling Green
Midwestern Collegiate Conference	Butler	1998 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Baseball Tournament	Chicago, IL	Butler
Mid-Continent Conference	Eastern - C. W. Post Western - Oral Roberts	1998 Mid-Continent Conference Baseball Tournament	J. L. Johnson Stadium • Tulsa, OK	Oral Roberts
Pacific-10 Conference	North - Washington South - Stanford	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Eastern - Florida Western - LSU	1998 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament	Golden Park • Columbus, GA	Auburn
Southern Conference	UNC Greensboro	1998 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament	Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park • Charleston, SC	The Citadel
Trans America Athletic Conference	Eastern - Georgia State Southern - FIU Western - Troy State	1998 Trans America Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament	Osceola County Stadium • Kissimmee, FL	FIU
West Coast Conference	Loyola Marymount	No tournament

Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:

1998 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT #8 Florida State †y 18 – 4   .818     53 – 20   .726 #15 Georgia Tech y 14 – 9   .609     41 – 22   .651 #23 Clemson y 14 – 9   .609     43 – 16   .729 NC State y 12 – 9   .571     39 – 21   .650 #27 Wake Forest ‡y 13 – 10   .565     43 – 23   .652 #18 North Carolina y 13 – 10   .565     42 – 23   .646 Duke 8 – 15   .348     38 – 20   .655 Maryland 5 – 18   .217     26 – 30   .464 Virginia 5 – 18   .217     28 – 26   .519 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1998; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1998 Big 12 Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T   PCT     W   L   T   PCT #14 Texas A&M †y 21 – 9 – 0   .700     46 – 20 – 0   .697 #28 Baylor y 18 – 10 – 0   .643     41 – 20 – 1   .669 #29 Texas Tech ‡y 18 – 11 – 0   .621     44 – 20 – 0   .688 #22 Oklahoma y 17 – 11 – 0   .607     42 – 20 – 0   .677 Missouri 17 – 12 – 0   .586     36 – 18 – 0   .667 Oklahoma State y 15 – 12 – 0   .556     40 – 21 – 0   .656 Nebraska 10 – 13 – 0   .435     24 – 20 – 0   .545 Texas 11 – 18 – 0   .379     23 – 32 – 1   .420 Iowa State 10 – 18 – 0   .357     20 – 27 – 0   .426 Kansas State 9 – 19 – 0   .321     20 – 32 – 0   .385 Kansas 7 – 20 – 0   .259     22 – 29 – 0   .431 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1998; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1998 Big East Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T   PCT     W   L   T   PCT #30 Rutgers †‡y 17 – 3 – 0   .850     33 – 16 – 0   .673 Notre Dame 15 – 4 – 0   .789     41 – 17 – 0   .707 St. John's 14 – 7 – 0   .667     28 – 17 – 1   .620 Providence 14 – 8 – 1   .630     31 – 22 – 1   .583 [[{{{school}}}|West Virginia]] 13 – 9 – 0   .591     37 – 17 – 1   .682 [[{{{school}}}|Seton Hall]] 12 – 10 – 0   .545     25 – 23 – 0   .521 [[{{{school}}}|Connecticut]] 12 – 11 – 0   .522     25 – 17 – 0   .595 [[{{{school}}}|Villanova]] 6 – 15 – 0   .286     26 – 21 – 1   .552 [[{{{school}}}|Pittsburgh]] 5 – 16 – 0   .238     12 – 27 – 1   .313 [[{{{school}}}|Boston College]] 4 – 15 – 1   .225     17 – 23 – 1   .427 [[{{{school}}}|Georgetown]] 5 – 19 – 0   .208     22 – 34 – 0   .393 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1998; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1998 Big Ten Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Illinois †y 5 – 39   .114     19 –   1.000 Minnesota ‡y 19 – 9   .679     43 – 13   .768 [[{{{school}}}|Ohio State]] 18 – 9   .667     36 – 16   .692 [[{{{school}}}|Penn State]] 15 – 11   .577     28 – 24   .538 [[{{{school}}}|Indiana]] 14 – 14   .500     29 – 27   .518 [[{{{school}}}|Iowa]] 9 – 15   .375     19 – 27   .413 [[{{{school}}}|Michigan]] 9 – 15   .375     21 – 27   .438 [[{{{school}}}|Northwestern]] 10 – 18   .357     27 – 26   .509 [[{{{school}}}|Purdue]] 9 – 18   .333     23 – 29   .442 [[{{{school}}}|Michigan State]] 8 – 16   .333     25 – 27   .481 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1998; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1998 Big West Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Northern Nevada x 17 – 10   .630     31 – 22   .585 [[{{{school}}}|Sacramento State]] 15 – 19   .441     23 – 25   .479 [[{{{school}}}|Pacific]] 12 – 17   .414     25 – 22   .532 [[{{{school}}}|New Mexico State]] 8 – 21   .276     23 – 29   .442 Souuthern #11 Cal State Fullerton x 25 – 5   .833     47 – 17   .734 #4 Long Beach State ‡ 23 – 7   .767     37 – 20   .649 [[{{{school}}}|UC Santa Barbara]] 11 – 18   .379     18 – 30   .375 [[{{{school}}}|Cal Poly]] 7 – 21   .250     16 – 42   .276 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the 1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament As of June 30, 1985; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1998 Conference USA baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT #25 Tulane †‡y 22 – 5   .815     48 – 15   .762 [[{{{school}}}|Houston]] 21 – 6   .778     34 – 25   .576 [[{{{school}}}|UNC Charlotte]] y 19 – 8   .704     43 – 19   .694 [[{{{school}}}|UAB]] 15 – 12   .556     29 – 24   .547 [[{{{school}}}|Louisville]] 14 – 13   .519     31 – 24   .564 [[{{{school}}}|Southern Miss]] 12 – 15   .444     30 – 28   .517 [[{{{school}}}|Memphis]] 12 – 15   .444     10 – 24   .294 [[{{{school}}}|South Florida]] 9 – 18   .333     21 – 36   .368 [[{{{school}}}|Saint Louis]] 4 – 20   .167     10 – 38   .208 [[{{{school}}}|Cincinnati]] 4 – 20   .167     15 – 38   .283 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1998; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1998 Mid-American Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T   PCT     W   L   T   PCT East Bowling Green x‡y 17 – 10 – 0   .630     34 – 21 – 0   .618 [[{{{school}}}|Kent State]] 17 – 12 – 0   .586     27 – 28 – 0   .491 [[{{{school}}}|Miami]] 17 – 13 – 0   .567     33 – 26 – 0   .559 [[{{{school}}}|Ohio]] 13 – 17 – 0   .433     31 – 24 – 0   .564 [[{{{school}}}|Akron]] 10 – 18 – 0   .357     20 – 31 – 0   .392 [[{{{school}}}|Marshall]] 9 – 21 – 0   .300     18 – 35 – 0   .340 West Ball State x 23 – 8 – 0   .742     39 – 18 – 0   .684 [[{{{school}}}|Central Michigan]] 23 – 9 – 0   .719     34 – 25 – 0   .576 [[{{{school}}}|Western Michigan]] 16 – 16 – 0   .500     26 – 29 – 0   .473 [[{{{school}}}|Eastern Michigan]] 14 – 16 – 0   .467     27 – 27 – 0   .500 [[{{{school}}}|Toledo]] 13 – 17 – 0   .433     20 – 32 – 0   .385 [[{{{school}}}|Northern Illinois]] 8 – 23 – 0   .258     10 – 30 – 1   .256 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1998; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1998 Pacific-10 Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Northern #13 Washington xy 17 – 7   .708     41 – 17   .707 [[{{{school}}}|Oregon State]] 15 – 9   .625     35 – 14   .714 [[{{{school}}}|Washington State]] 12 – 12   .500     25 – 24   .510 [[{{{school}}}|Portland State]] 4 – 20   .167     17 – 34   .333 Southern #9 Stanford xy 22 – 8   .733     42 – 14   .750 #1 Southern California y 21 – 9   .700     49 – 17   .742 #2 Arizona State y 18 – 11   .621     41 – 23   .641 [[{{{school}}}|Arizona]] 12 – 18   .400     33 – 23   .589 [[{{{school}}}|UCLA]] 11 – 19   .367     23 – 33   .411 [[{{{school}}}|California]] 5 – 24   .172     22 – 32   .407 x – Division champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1998; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1998 Southeastern Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Eastern Division #7 Florida xy 21 – 8   .724     46 – 18   .719 #19 [[{{{school}}}|South Carolina]] y 19 – 10   .655     42 – 16   .724 [[{{{school}}}|Kentucky]] 12 – 18   .400     26 – 31   .456 [[{{{school}}}|Tennessee]] 11 – 17   .393     36 – 20   .643 [[{{{school}}}|Georgia]] 8 – 21   .276     24 – 30   .444 [[{{{school}}}|Vanderbilt]] 6 – 24   .200     25 – 28   .472 Western Division #3 LSU xy 21 – 9   .700     48 – 19   .716 #16 [[{{{school}}}|Alabama]] y 19 – 10   .655     43 – 16   .729 #12 Auburn ‡y 16 – 12   .571     46 – 18   .719 #6 [[{{{school}}}|Mississippi State]] y 14 – 15   .483     37 – 20   .649 [[{{{school}}}|Arkansas]] y 13 – 14   .481     37 – 19   .661 [[{{{school}}}|Ole Miss]] 13 – 15   .464     30 – 23   .566 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1998; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1998 Southern Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT UNC Greensboro † 22 – 5   .815     40 – 18   .690 The Citadel ‡y 21 – 5   .808     37 – 24   .607 [[{{{school}}}|Western Carolina]] 20 – 6   .769     42 – 15   .737 [[{{{school}}}|Furman]] 12 – 12   .500     21 – 27   .438 [[{{{school}}}|Wofford]] 10 – 12   .455     15 – 32   .319 [[{{{school}}}|Georgia Southern]] 9 – 15   .375     22 – 30   .423 [[{{{school}}}|Davidson]] 8 – 16   .333     13 – 38   .255 [[{{{school}}}|East Tennessee State]] 8 – 18   .308     18 – 31   .367 [[{{{school}}}|VMI]] 7 – 17   .292     14 – 35   .286 [[{{{school}}}|Appalachian State]] 6 – 17   .261     13 – 28   .317 † – Conference champion ‡ – SoCon Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1998; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

College World Series

The 1998 season marked the fifty second 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 Southern California claiming their record twelfth championship with a 21–14 win over Arizona State in the final.

Bracket

	First round					Second round					Semifinals						Finals
	1	Florida	13
	8	[[{{{school}}}|Mississippi State]]	14
						8	Mississippi State	8
						5	LSU	10
	4	Southern California	10
	5	LSU	12
											5	LSU	4	3
										4	Southern California	5	7
	1	Florida	10
	4	Southern California	12
						8	Mississippi State	1
						4	Southern California	7
																4	Southern California	21
																6	Arizona State	14
	2	[[{{{school}}}|Miami (FL)]]	3
	7	Long Beach State	1
						2	Miami (FL)	2
						6	Arizona State	9
	3	Florida State	10
	6	Arizona State	11
											6	Arizona State	14	—
										7	Long Beach State	4	—
	7	Long Beach State	7
	3	Florida State	4
						2	Miami (FL)	3
						7	Long Beach State	6