2003 NCAA Division I baseball tournament

2003 NCAA Division I
baseball tournament
Season	2003
Teams	64
Finals site	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium; Omaha, Nebraska;
Champions	Rice (1st title)
Runner-up	Stanford (15th CWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Wayne Graham (1st title)
MOP	John Hudgins (Stanford)
	← 2002 ; NCAA Division I Baseball Championship; 2004 →;

The 2003 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was held May 30 through June 23, 2003. Sixty-four NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA tournament. The tournament culminated with 8 teams in the College World Series at historic Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.

ESPN, which held the rights to the College World Series, began televising super regional games in 2003. As part of the contract with ESPN, four super regionals would begin on Friday and run through Sunday, while the other four super regionals would begin Saturday and run through Monday.

The 2003 College World Series saw a format change and the championship was decided by a best-of-three series. From 1950 through 1987, the College World Series was a true double elimination tournament. From 1988 through 2002, there were two double elimination pools, with the winner of each facing off in a one game championship.

In the 2003 championship series, Rice defeated Stanford two games to one. John Hudgins became the 16th player to win the College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award from a losing team.

Bids

Automatic bids

Conference champions from 30 Division I conferences earned automatic bids to regionals. The remaining 34 spots were awarded to schools as at-large invitees.

Conference	School	Berth type
America East	Northeastern	Tournament champion
ACC	Georgia Tech	Tournament champion
Atlantic Sun	Jacksonville	Tournament champion
A-10	Richmond	Tournament champion
Big East	Notre Dame	Tournament champion
Big South	Coastal Carolina	Tournament champion
Big Ten	Ohio State	Tournament champion
Big 12	Texas	Tournament champion
Big West	Long Beach State	Regular-season champion
CAA	VCU	Tournament champion
Conference USA	Southern Miss	Tournament champion
Horizon League	UIC	Tournament champion
Ivy League	Princeton	Championship series winner
MAAC	Le Moyne	Tournament champion
MAC	Eastern Michigan	Tournament champion
Mid-Con	Oral Roberts	Tournament champion
MEAC	Bethune-Cookman	Tournament champion
Missouri Valley	Wichita State	Tournament champion
MWC	UNLV	Tournament champion
NEC	Central Connecticut	Tournament champion
OVC	Murray State	Tournament champion
Pac-10	Stanford	Regular-season champion
Patriot League	Bucknell	Tournament champion
SEC	Alabama	Tournament champion
SoCon	Western Carolina	Tournament champion
Southland	McNeese State	Tournament champion
SWAC	Southern	Tournament champion
Sun Belt	Middle Tennessee	Tournament champion
WCC	Pepperdine	Championship series winner
WAC	Rice	Regular-season champion

Bids by conference

Conference	Total	Schools
Southeastern	8	Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina
Atlantic Coast	5	Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State
Big 12	5	Baylor, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, Texas A&M
Conference USA	4	East Carolina, Houson, Southern Miss, Tulane
Pacific-10	4	Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, Washington
Atlantic Sun	3	Florida Atlantic, Jacksonville, Stetson
Big West	3	Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UC Riverside
Sun Belt	3	Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, South Alabama
Big East	2	Notre Dame, Rutgers
Big Ten	2	Minnesota, Ohio State
Colonial Athletic	2	UNC Wilmington, VCU
Missouri Valley	2	Southwest Missouri State, Wichita State
Southland	2	Lamar, McNeese State
West Coast	2	Pepperdine, San Diego
America East	1	Northeastern
Atlantic 10	1	Richmond
Big South	1	Coastal Carolina
Horizon	1	UIC
Independent	1	Miami (FL)
Ivy	1	Princeton
Metro Atlantic	1	Le Moyne
Mid-American	1	Eastern Michigan
Mid-Continent	1	Oral Roberts
Mid-Eastern	1	Bethune-Cookman
Mountain West	1	UNLV
Northeast	1	Central Connecticut
Ohio Valley	1	Murray State
Patriot	1	Bucknell
Southern	1	Western Carolina
Southwestern Athletic	1	Southern
Western Athletic	1	Rice

Tournament notes

UC Riverside, Illinois-Chicago, and UNC Wilmington were making their first NCAA tournament appearance.^[1]

CWS records tied or broken

Total attendance: 260,091
Largest margin of victory in a championship game: 12
Stanford became the first team to lose three games at one College World Series.

National seeds

Bold indicates CWS participant.

Regionals and super regionals

Bold indicates winner.

Tallahassee Super Regional

First round			Second round			Regional finals				Super regionals

1	Florida State	6

4	Jacksonville	0
			1	Florida State	6

			2	South Alabama	8
3	Rutgers	1

2	South Alabama	14
						2	South Alabama	5	2
Tallahassee Regional–Dick Howser Stadium
						1	Florida State	13	12
4	Jacksonville	5

3	Rutgers	8
			3	Rutgers	7

			1	Florida State	17



										1	Florida State	3	5	—

											Texas	8	6	—
1	Texas	7

4	Bucknell	0
			1	Texas	7

			3	Lamar	3
3	Lamar	3

2	Arkansas	2
						1	Texas	2	6
Austin Regional–Disch–Falk Field
						3	Lamar	6	3
4	Bucknell	7

2	Arkansas	10
			2	Arkansas	6

			3	Lamar	7¹¹

Baton Rouge Super Regional

First round			Second round			Regional finals				Super regionals

1	LSU	11

4	Northeastern	8
			1	LSU	13

			2	Tulane	5
3	UNC Wilmington	3

2	Tulane	8
						1	LSU	9¹¹	—
Baton Rouge Regional–Alex Box Stadium
						3	UNC Wilmington	8	—
4	Northeastern	6

3	UNC Wilmington	12
			3	UNC Wilmington	9¹⁰

			2	Tulane	8



										2	LSU	1	6	20

											Baylor	4	5	5
1	Baylor	7

4	Murray State	6
			1	Baylor	10

			3	Southern	3
3	Southern	5

2	Southern Miss	3
						1	Baylor	3	—
Hattiesburg Regional–Pete Taylor Park
						2	Southern Miss	2	—
4	Murray State	0

2	Southern Miss	18
			2	Southern Miss	18

			3	Southern	1

Columbia Super Regional

First round			Second round			Regional finals				Super regionals

1	Georgia Tech	4

4	Stetson	5
			4	Stetson	2

			2	South Carolina	7
3	East Carolina	0

2	South Carolina	4
						2	South Carolina	9	—
Atlanta Regional–Russ Chandler Stadium
						4	Stetson	3	—
1	Georgia Tech	3

3	East Carolina	10
			3	East Carolina	4

			4	Stetson	9



											South Carolina	5	14	—

											North Carolina	4	4	—
1	Mississippi State	10

4	Middle Tennessee	4
			1	Mississippi State	5

			2	North Carolina	10
3	Missouri	3

2	North Carolina	4¹¹
						2	North Carolina	8¹¹	—
Starkville Regional–Dudy Noble Field
						1	Mississippi State	6	—
4	Middle Tennessee	7

3	Missouri	13
			3	Missouri	5

			1	Mississippi State	10

Columbus Super Regional

First round			Second round			Regional finals				Super regionals

1	Auburn	5

4	Princeton	2
			1	Auburn	2

			3	Ohio State	6
3	Ohio State	10

2	Clemson	8
						3	Ohio State	9	—
Auburn Regional–Plainsman Park
						1	Auburn	7	—
4	Princeton	6

2	Clemson	7
			2	Clemson	0

			1	Auburn	15



											Ohio State	8	7	—

											Southwest Missouri State	13	13	—
1	Nebraska	16

4	Eastern Michigan	11
			1	Nebraska	2

			3	Southwest Missouri State	4
3	Southwest Missouri State	8

2	Coastal Carolina	3
						3	Southwest Missouri State	5	7
Lincoln Regional–Haymarket Park
						1	Nebraska	9	0
4	Eastern Michigan	9

2	Coastal Carolina	8
			4	Eastern Michigan	2

			1	Nebraska	18

Houston Super Regional

The Houston Super Regional was hosted by Rice at Reckling Park.

First round			Second round			Regional finals				Super regionals

1	Rice	3¹⁰

4	McNeese State	2
			1	Rice	10

			3	Wichita State	1
3	Wichita State	4

2	Ole Miss	2
						1	Rice	5	—
Houston Regional–Reckling Park
						3	Wichita State	2	—
4	McNeese State	1

2	Ole Miss	7
			2	Ole Miss	4

			3	Wichita State	5



										5	Rice	2	10	5

											Houston	5	2	2
1	Texas A&M	6

4	Oral Roberts	3
			1	Texas A&M	16

			2	Alabama	5
3	Houston	3

2	Alabama	9
						1	Texas A&M	6	6
College Station Regional–Olsen Field
						3	Houston	7	7
4	Oral Roberts	2

3	Houston	4
			3	Houston	16

			2	Alabama	7

Palo Alto Super Regional

First round			Second round			Regional finals				Super regionals

1	Stanford	9

4	UIC	2
			1	Stanford	13

			3	UC Riverside	6
3	UC Riverside	10

2	Richmond	8
						1	Stanford	19	—
Palo Alto Regional–Sunken Diamond
						2	Richmond	6	—
4	UIC	0

2	Richmond	5
			2	Richmond	8

			3	UC Riverside	1



										6	Stanford	5	4	—

											Long Beach State	1	2	—
1	Long Beach State	6

4	Pepperdine	1
			1	Long Beach State	7

			3	Washington	2
3	Washington	5

2	Minnesota	3
						1	Long Beach State	7	—
Long Beach Regional–Blair Field
						3	Washington	2	—
4	Pepperdine	5

2	Minnesota	7
			2	Minnesota	1

			3	Washington	4

Fullerton Super Regional

First round			Second round			Regional finals				Super regionals

1	Cal State Fullerton	3

4	San Diego	1
			1	Cal State Fullerton	4

			3	Notre Dame	3
3	Notre Dame	13

2	Arizona	4
						1	Cal State Fullerton	8	—
Fullerton Regional–Goodwin Field
						3	Notre Dame	1	—
4	San Diego	5

2	Arizona	2
			4	San Diego	3

			3	Notre Dame	6



										7	Cal State Fullerton	5	6	7

											Arizona State	1	7	1
1	Arizona State	14

4	Central Connecticut	2
			1	Arizona State	15

			3	New Mexico State	0
3	New Mexico State	14¹¹

2	UNLV	12
						1	Arizona State	16	—
Tempe Regional–Packard Stadium
						2	UNLV	1	—
4	Central Connecticut	3

2	UNLV	22
			2	UNLV	16

			3	New Mexico State	10

Coral Gables Super Regional

First round			Second round			Regional finals				Super regionals

1	Miami (FL)	10

4	Bethune-Cookman	5
			1	Miami (FL)	1

			2	Florida Atlantic	0
3	Florida	3

2	Florida Atlantic	4
						1	Miami (FL)	5	13
Coral Gables Regional–Mark Light Field
						3	Florida	15	10
4	Bethune-Cookman	6

3	Florida	8
			3	Florida	22

			2	Florida Atlantic	14



										8	Miami (FL)	10	11¹¹	—

											NC State	9	5	—
1	NC State	8

4	Le Moyne	2
			1	NC State	4¹⁰

			2	VCU	3
3	Western Carolina	0

2	VCU	6
						1	NC State	6¹⁴	—
Wilson Regional–Fleming Stadium
						3	Western Carolina	4	—
4	Le Moyne	5

3	Western Carolina	9
			3	Western Carolina	2

			2	VCU	0

College World Series

Participants

School	Conference	Record (conference)	Head coach	CWS appearances	Best CWS finish	CWS record Not including this year
Cal State Fullerton	Big West	48–14 (15–6)	George Horton	11 (last: 2001)	1st (1979, 1984, 1995)	25–18
LSU	SEC	45–20 (20–9)	Smoke Laval	11 (last: 2000)	1st (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000)	29–13
Miami (FL)	n/a	44–15–1 (n/a)	Jim Morris	19 (last: 2001)	1st (1982, 1985, 1999, 2001)	43–30
Southwest Missouri State	MVC	40–24 (19–11)	Keith Guttin	0 (last: none)	none	0–0
Rice	WAC	53–11 (25–5)	Wayne Graham	3 (last: 2002)	5th (1999)	1–6
South Carolina	SEC	44–20 (19–11)	Ray Tanner	6 (last: 2002)	2nd (1975, 1977, 2002)	13-12
Stanford	Pac-10	46–15 (18–6)	Mark Marquess	14 (last: 2002)	1st (1987, 1988)	33–24
Texas	Big 12	48–18 (19–8)	Augie Garrido	29 (last: 2002)	1st (1949, 1950, 1975, 1983, 2002)	68–49

Bracket

First round			Second round			Semifinals				Finals

	Texas	13

8	Miami (FL)	2
				Texas	2

			5	Rice	12
5	Rice	4

	Southwest Missouri State	2
						5	Rice	5	—

							Texas	4	—
8	Miami (FL)	7

	Southwest Missouri State	5
			8	Miami (FL)	1

				Texas	5



										5	Rice	4¹⁰	3	14

										6	Stanford	3	8	2
2	LSU	2

7	Cal State Fullerton	8
			7	Cal State Fullerton	6

			6	Stanford	5
6	Stanford	8

	South Carolina	0
						7	Cal State Fullerton	3	5*

						6	Stanford	5	7*
2	LSU	10

	South Carolina	11
				South Carolina	6

			6	Stanford	13

Championship series

Saturday 6/21 Game #1


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Stanford	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	7	1
Rice	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	8	1
WP: David Aardsma (7–3) LP: Ryan McCally (7–3) Attendance: 23,741

Sunday 6/22 Game #2


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rice	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3	10	2
Stanford	1	0	2	0	0	0	5	0	X	8	9	0
WP: John Hudgins (14–3) LP: Wade Townsend (11–2) Attendance: 17,907

Monday 6/23 Game #3


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Stanford	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	5	2
Rice	3	1	0	0	0	7	0	3	X	14	14	0
WP: Philip Humber (11–3) LP: Mark Romanczuk (12–2) Attendance: 18,494 Notes: Rice wins first national championship in any team sport in school history

All-Tournament Team

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

Position	Player	School
P	John Hudgins (MOP)	Stanford
P	Jeff Niemann	Rice
C	Ryan Garko	Stanford
1B	Curtis Thigpen	Texas
2B	Enrique Cruz	Rice
3B	Johnny Ash	Stanford
SS	Justin Turner	Cal State Fullerton
OF	Chris Kolkhorst	Rice
	Danny Putnam	Stanford
	Carlos Quentin	Stanford
DH	P. J. Pilittere	Cal State Fullerton

References

^ "NCAA Men's College World Series Records 1947-2008" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved January 20, 2009.

[1] "NCAA Men's College World Series Records 1947-2008" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved January 20, 2009.

[1]