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. 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.
Tournament
District 1 Games played in Springfield, Massachusetts.
District 2 Games played at Allentown, Pennsylvania.
District 3 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.
In the semifinal series, the first game was played in Clemson, South Carolina, and the second game was played in Blacksburg, Virginia. Both final series games were played in Winter Park, Florida.
District 4 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.
Games played at Athens, Ohio.
District 5 Missouri (Automatic College World Series qualifier)
District 6 Games played at Austin, Texas.
District 7 Games played at Greeley, Colorado.
District 8 Games played at Eugene, Oregon.
College World Series Participants 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 Bracket
Game results 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 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 Arizona: Don Gile, Don Lee, Carl Thomas Lafayette: UMass: Michigan State: Bob Anderson, Ed Hobaugh, Jack Kralick, Leroy Powell, George Smith, Bill Stewart, Tom Yewcic Missouri: Jay Hankins, Jerry Schoonmaker, Norm Stewart Oklahoma A&M: Tom Borland Oregon: George Shaw Rollins:
References