The 1954 NCAA baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1954 NCAA 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 eighth year. Eight regional districts sent representatives to the College World Series, but for the first time the preliminary tournament rounds hosted by each district were sanctioned NCAA events. These events would later become known as regionals. Each district had its own format for selecting teams, resulting in 24 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament.[1] The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska from June 10 to June 16. The eighth tournament's champion was Missouri, coached by John "Hi" Simmons. The Most Outstanding Player was Tom Yewcic of Michigan State.[2]

1954 NCAA I
baseball tournament
Season1954
Teams24
Finals site
ChampionsMissouri (1st title)
Runner-upRollins (1st CWS Appearance)
Winning coachHi Simmons (1st title)
MOPTom Yewcic (Michigan State)

Tournament

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District 1

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Games played in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Semifinals Finals
    
UMass 9*
Springfield 7*
UMass 2
Boston University 0
Boston University 8
Holy Cross 3

District 2

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Games played at Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Semifinals Finals
    
St. John's 4
Navy 2
St. John's (NY) 0
Lafayette 9
Lafayette 4
Villanova 3

District 3

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District 3 consisted of two separate 3-game series. The first series was played between Virginia Tech and Clemson, with the winner moving on to play Rollins in a three-game series. The winner of that series moved on to the College World Series.

Semifinal Final
Virginia Tech 0 3
Virginia Tech 11 7 Rollins 3 9
Clemson 10 1

District 4

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District 4 consisted of two separate 3 game series'. The first series was played between Ohio and Ashland, with the winner moving on to play Michigan St. in a three-game series. The winner of that series moved on to the College World Series.

Semifinal Final
Ohio 10 7 3
Ashland 4 6 Michigan State 14 0 5
Ohio 18 10

District 5

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  • Missouri (Automatic College World Series qualifier)

District 6

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Games played at Austin, Texas.

District 6 Series
    
Oklahoma State 6 12 7
Texas 3 16 6

District 7

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Games played at Greeley, Colorado.

Game 2
  
Colorado State College 21
Wyoming 14
Game 3
  
Arizona 16
Wyoming 9
Final
  
Arizona 811
Colorado State College 511

District 8

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Games played at Eugene, Oregon.

First RoundSemi-FinalsFinals
Oregon9
Seattle4
Oregon9
Fresno State5
Fresno State9
Southern California3
Oregon15
Fresno State05
Lower round 1Lower final
Fresno State7
Seattle0Southern California4
Southern California9

College World Series

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Participants

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School Conference Record (conference) Head coach CWS appearances CWS best finish CWS record
Arizona Border 39–7 (2–0) Frank Sancet 0
(last: none)
none 0–0
Lafayette Independent 16–6 Charlie Gelbert 1
(last: 1953)
3rd
(1953)
3–2
UMass Yankee 14–5 (4–2) Earl Lorden 0
(last: none)
none 0–0
Michigan State Big 10 22–8–1 (11–2) John Kobs 0
(last: none)
none 0–0
Missouri Big Seven 17–3 (11–1) Hi Simmons 1
(last: 1952)
2nd
(1952)
3–2
Oklahoma A&M MVC 16–9 (8–1) Toby Greene 0
(last: none)
none 0–0
Oregon PCC 18–6 (11–5) Don Kirsch 0
(last: none)
none 0–0
Rollins Independent 22–6 Joe Justice 0
(last: none)
none 0–0

Results

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Bracket

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Upper round 1Upper round 2Upper finalSemifinalsPreliminary finalFinal
Michigan State16
UMass5
Michigan State2
Arizona1
Arizona12
Oregon1
Michigan State4
Rollins5
Rollins911
Rollins2
Oklahoma A&M5
Rollins4Michigan State310
Missouri1
Missouri5
Lafayette3Rollins1
Michigan State3Missouri4
Lower round 1Lower round 2Missouri4
Missouri8
UMass5UMass1
Missouri7
Oregon3
Oklahoma A&M3
Arizona4
Oklahoma A&M4Oklahoma A&M514
Lafayette2

Game results

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Date Game Winner Score Loser Notes
June 10 Game 1 Michigan State 16–5 UMass
Game 2 Arizona 12–1 Oregon
June 11 Game 3 Rollins 9–5 (11) Oklahoma A&M
June 10 Game 4 Missouri 5–3 Lafayette
June 11 Game 5 UMass 5–3 Oregon Oregon eliminated
Game 6 Oklahoma A&M 4–2 Lafayette Lafayette eliminated
Game 7 Michigan State 2–1 Arizona
Game 8 Rollins 4–1 Missouri
June 12 Game 9 Missouri 8–1 UMass UMass eliminated
Game 10 Oklahoma A&M 5–4 (14) Arizona Arizona eliminated
Game 11 Rollins 5–4 Michigan State
June 13 Game 12 Missouri 7–3 Oklahoma A&M Oklahoma A&M eliminated
Game 13 Michigan State 3–2 (10) Rollins
June 14 Game 14 Missouri 4–3 Michigan State Michigan State eliminated
June 16 Final Missouri 4–1 Rollins Missouri wins CWS

Notable players

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References

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  1. ^ "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. p. 196. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  2. ^ "1954 College World Series". Omaha.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2019.