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 Southeastern Louisiana left the Trans America Athletic Conference and joined the Southland Conference. Troy State joined the Trans America Athletic Conference from the Mid-Continent Conference. Oral Roberts joined the Mid-Continent Conference from the NCAA Division I independent ranks. Marshall departed the Southern Conference and Northern Illinois departed the Midwestern Collegiate Conference to join the Mid-American Conference. UNC Greensboro and Wofford joined the Southern Conference. UNC Greensboro had been in the Big South Conference, while Wofford joined from NCAA Division II. Marist and Rider left the Northeast Conference for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Marist joined the Northern Division, while Rider became a part of the Southern. Norfolk State joined the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference from NCAA Division II. UAPB joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference from the NAIA. New Hampshire dropped baseball following the 1997 season.
Format changes The Big East Conference dissolved its divisions after one season. The Mid-American Conference divided into two divisions of six. The Southland Conference dissolved its divisions after two seasons.
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. ConferenceRegular season winnerConference TournamentTournament Venue • CityTournament Winner America East Conference 1998 America East Conference baseball tournament Frawley Stadium • Wilmington, DE Atlantic Coast Conference Florida State 1998 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament Durham Bulls Athletic Park • Durham, NC Big 12 Conference 1998 Big 12 Conference baseball tournament AT&T Bricktown Ballpark • Oklahoma City, OK Big East Conference 1998 Big East Conference baseball tournament Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium • Norwich, CT Big South Conference 1998 Big South Conference baseball tournament Knights Stadium • Fort Mill, SC Big Ten Conference 1998 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament Illinois Field • Champaign, IL Big West Conference North - South - 1998 Big West Conference baseball tournament Titan Field • Fullerton, CA Colonial Athletic Association 1998 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC Conference USA 1998 Conference USA baseball tournament Zephyr Field • New Orleans, LA Ivy League Gehrig - Rolfe - 1998 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series Yale Field • New Haven, CT Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Northern - Southern - 1998 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball tournament Dutchess Stadium • Wappingers Falls, NY Mid-American Conference East - West - 1998 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament Warren E. Steller Field • Bowling Green, OH Midwestern Collegiate Conference 1998 Midwestern Collegiate Conference baseball tournament Les Miller Field • Chicago, IL Mid-Continent Conference Eastern - Western - 1998 Mid-Continent Conference baseball tournament J. L. Johnson Stadium • Tulsa, OK Northeast Conference / 1998 Northeast Conference baseball tournament Cochrane Stadium • Jersey City, NJ Pacific-10 Conference North - South - no tournament Patriot League 1998 Patriot League baseball tournament Max Bishop Stadium • Annapolis, MD Southeastern Conference Eastern - FloridaWestern - LSU 1998 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament Golden Park • Columbus, GA Southern Conference 1998 Southern Conference baseball tournament Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park • Charleston, SC The Citadel Southland Conference 1998 Southland Conference baseball tournament Fair Grounds Field • Shreveport, LA Trans America Athletic Conference Eastern - Southern - Western - 1998 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball tournament Osceola County Stadium • Kissimmee, FL West Coast Conference No tournament
Conference standings The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:
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
Award winners
All-America team
References