# 1988 NCAA Division I baseball season

The 1988 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 1988. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1988 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the forty second time in 1988, 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. Stanford claimed the championship for the second time.

## Realignment and format changes

* Armstrong State moved its athletic program back to NCAA Division II. The Big South Conference dissolved its two division format and played as a single conference of seven members.
* The Big Ten Conference dissolved its two division format, playing as a single conference of ten members.

## Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1988 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. 27 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 21 teams earned at-large selections.
| Conference | Regular season Winner | Conference tournament | Tournament venue • city | Tournament winner |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | Clemson | 1988 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament | Greenville Municipal Stadium • Greenville, SC | Georgia Tech |
| Atlantic 10 Conference | East - Rutgers West Virginia | 1988 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament | Bear Stadium • Boyertown, PA | Rutgers |
| Big East Conference | North - Providence South - Villanova | 1988 Big East Conference baseball tournament | Muzzy Field • Bristol, CT | St. John's |
| Big Eight Conference | Oklahoma State | 1988 Big Eight Conference baseball tournament | All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK | Oklahoma State |
| Big South Conference | Coastal Carolina | 1988 Big South Conference baseball tournament | Taylor Field • Buies Creek, NC | Campbell |
| Big Ten Conference | Michigan | 1988 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament | Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI | Minnesota |
| Colonial Athletic Association | James Madison | 1988 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament | The Diamond • Richmond, VA | George Mason |
| EIBL | Penn | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Central Michigan | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Midwestern Collegiate Conference | North - Notre Dame South - Evansville | 1988 Midwestern City Conference baseball tournament | South Bend, IN | Evansville |
| Metro Conference | South Carolina | 1988 Metro Conference baseball tournament | Seminole Stadium • Tallahassee, FL | Florida State |
| Mid-Continent Conference | Blue - Valparaiso Gray - Southwest Missouri State | 1988 Mid-Continent Conference baseball tournament | Chicago, IL | Southwest Missouri State |
| Pacific-10 Conference | North - Washington State South - Arizona State | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Pacific Coast Athletic Association | Fresno State | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southeastern Conference | Florida | 1988 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament | Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS | Florida |
| Southern Conference | North - VMI South - Western Carolina | 1988 Southern Conference baseball tournament | Asheville, NC | Western Carolina |
| Southwest Conference | Texas | 1988 Southwest Conference baseball tournament | George Cole Field • Fayetteville, AR | Texas |
| Trans America Athletic Conference | East - Georgia Southern West - Centenary | 1988 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball tournament | Centenary Park • Shreveport, LA | Stetson |

## Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:
1988 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings :
| 1988 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 21 Clemson ‍†‍‍$^y$ 18–2 .90054–14 .794 No. 27 NC State ‍‍‍$^y$ 13–6 .68445–16 .738 No. 29 Georgia Tech ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 12–8 .60045–24 .652 Virginia ‍‍‍ 11–10 .52432–19 .627 North Carolina ‍‍‍ 10–11 .47634–27 .557 Wake Forest ‍‍‍ 7–12 .36832–26 .552 Maryland ‍‍‍ 5–14 .26320–24 .455 Duke ‍‍‍ 3–16 .15810–35 .222 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1988 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT East Rutgers $^x$‍‍‡‍$^y$ 14–2–0 .87538–21–1 .642 UMass ‍‍‍ 9–7–0 .56336–16–0 .692 Temple ‍‍‍ 8–8–0 .50027–27–0 .500 Rhode Island ‍‍‍ 5–11–0 .31310–28–0 .263 Saint Joseph's ‍‍‍ 4–12–0 .25016–23–1 .413 West West Virginia $^x$‍‍‍ 12–4–0 .75033–17–1 .657 George Washington ‍‍‍ 11–5–0 .68830–26–1 .535 Penn State ‍‍‍ 8–8–0 .50024–26–0 .480 St. Bonaventure ‍‍‍ 7–9–0 .43826–21–0 .553 Duquesne ‍‍‍ 2–14–0 .12513–16–0 .448 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1988 Big East Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT North Division Providence $^x$‍‍‍ 12–6–0 .66722–29–0 .431 St. John's ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 9–9–0 .50029–21–1 .578 Boston College ‍‍‍ 8–10–0 .44415–16–0 .484 Connecticut ‍‍‍ 7–11–0 .38924–18–0 .571 South Division Villanova $^x$‍‍‍ 16–2–0 .88932–22–0 .593 Seton Hall ‍‍‍ 12–6–0 .66739–16–0 .709 Georgetown ‍‍‍ 4–13–0 .23512–31–0 .279 Pittsburgh ‍‍‍ 3–14–0 .1769–20–0 .310 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1988 Big South Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Coastal Carolina ‍†‍‍ 15–0 1.00035–12 .745 Baptist ‍‍‍ 12–7 .63227–16 .628 Campbell ‍‍‡‍ 10–8 .55632–16 .667 Winthrop ‍‍‍ 8–8 .50022–15 .595 Augusta State ‍‍‍ 8–10 .44416–27 .372 Radford ‍‍‍ 4–10 .28613–26 .333 UNC Asheville ‍‍‍ 1–15 .0639–32 .220 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1988 Big Ten Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 19 Michigan ‍†‍‍$^y$ 20–8 .71448–19 .716 Minnesota ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 17–11 .60738–28 .576 Michigan State ‍‍‍ 16–12 .57141–20 .672 Ohio State ‍‍‍ 16–12 .57132–28 .533 Wisconsin ‍‍‍ 15–13 .53628–27 .509 Iowa ‍‍‍ 14–14 .50029–25 .537 Illinois ‍‍‍ 12–16 .42926–20 .565 Indiana ‍‍‍ 11–17 .39339–29 .574 Northwestern ‍‍‍ 11–17 .39328–28 .500 Purdue ‍‍‍ 8–20 .28626–34 .433 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1988 Colonial Athletic Association baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT James Madison ‍†‍‍$^y$ 13–1–0 .92943–11–2 .786 George Mason ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 8–6–0 .57134–27–1 .556 East Carolina ‍‍‍ 8–6–0 .57133–14–0 .702 William & Mary ‍‍‍ 5–9–0 .35717–28–0 .378 UNC Wilmington ‍‍‍ 4–10–0 .28611–42–0 .208 Richmond ‍‍‍ 4–10–0 .28626–33–0 .441 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1988 Midwestern Collegiate Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Division Notre Dame $^x$‍‍‍ 9–3 .75039–22 .639 Detroit ‍‍‍ 8–8 .50031–24 .564 Xavier ‍‍‍ 5–7 .41719–37 .339 Dayton ‍‍‍ 2–10 .16720–29 .408 South Division Evansville $^x$‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 11–1 .91744–20 .688 Butler ‍‍‍ 3–5 .37515–26 .366 Saint Louis ‍‍‍ 2–6 .25011–29 .275 x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1988 NCAA Division I baseball independents standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT No. 5 Miami (FL) ‍‍‍$^y$ 0–0–0 –52–14–1 .784 Delaware State ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –25–11–0 .694 New Mexico State ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –38–18–0 .679 FIU ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –40–19–0 .678 UCF ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –40–20–0 .667 Florida A&M ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –26–13–0 .667 No. 28 Tulane ‍‍‍$^y$ 0–0–0 –32–18–0 .640 Southwestern Louisiana ‍‍‍$^y$ 0–0–0 –30–18–0 .625 UMBC ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –25–16–0 .610 Nicholls State ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –28–21–0 .571 Akron ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –28–31–0 .475 United States International ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –18–26–0 .409 Northern Colorado ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –19–28–0 .404 Chicago State ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –18–29–0 .383 Liberty ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –18–32–0 .360 Boston University ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –7–17–0 .292 Bethune–Cookman ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –9–23–0 .281 Maryland Eastern Shore ‍‍‍ 0–0–0 –7–24–0 .226 y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1988 Pacific-10 Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Northern No. 16 Washington State $^x$‍‍‍$^y$ 18–4 .81852–14 .788 Oregon State ‍‍‍ 14–10 .58330–19 .612 Portland State ‍‍‍ 12–9 .57133–25 .569 Gonzaga ‍‍‍ 12–11 .52228–28 .500 Portland ‍‍‍ 11–13 .45828–27 .509 Washington ‍‍‍ 8–16 .33317–28 .378 Eastern Washington ‍‍‍ 6–18 .25025–34 .424 Southern No. 2 Arizona State $^x$‍‍‍$^y$ 21–9 .70060–13 .822 No. 1 Stanford ‍‍‍$^y$ 18–12 .60046–23 .667 No. 8 California ‍‍‍$^y$ 16–14 .53340–25 .615 No. 13 Southern California ‍‍‍$^y$ 13–17 .43336–26 .581 UCLA ‍‍‍ 12–18 .40031–28 .525 Arizona ‍‍‍ 10–20 .33333–26 .559 x – Division champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1988 Pacific Coast Athletic Association baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT No. 7 Fresno State ‍†‍‍$^y$ 20–1–0 .95256–12–0 .824 No. 25 UNLV ‍‍‍$^y$ 14–7–0 .66740–22–0 .645 No. 3 Cal State Fullerton ‍‍‍$^y$ 12–8–0 .60043–18–0 .705 San Jose State ‍‍‍ 9–11–0 .45031–30–0 .508 UC Irvine ‍‍‍ 9–12–0 .42930–28–1 .517 Pacific ‍‍‍ 9–12–0 .42919–32–0 .373 UC Santa Barbara ‍‍‍ 6–15–0 .28623–39–0 .371 Long Beach State ‍‍‍ 4–17–0 .19014–45–0 .237 y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1988 Southeastern Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 6 Florida ‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 21–6 .77848–19 .716 No. 14 Kentucky ‍‍‍$^y$ 18–9 .66738–25 .603 No. 23 Mississippi State ‍‍‍$^y$ 17–10 .63044–20 .688 Auburn ‍‍‍ 16–10 .61539–16 .709 LSU ‍‍‍ 16–11 .59339–21 .650 Georgia ‍‍‍ 11–16 .40729–28 .509 Vanderbilt ‍‍‍ 11–16 .40730–23 .566 Alabama ‍‍‍ 9–17 .34627–26 .509 Tennessee ‍‍‍ 9–18 .33321–29 .420 Ole Miss ‍‍‍ 6–21 .22224–29 .453 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1988 Southern Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Northern VMI $^x$‍‍‍ 11–7 .61120–20 .500 Appalachian State ‍‍‍ 9–7 .56329–17 .630 Marshall ‍‍‍ 7–9 .43823–17 .575 East Tennessee State ‍‍‍ 7–11 .38916–35 .314 Southern Western Carolina $^x$‍‍‡‍$^y$ 14–3 .82438–24 .613 The Citadel ‍‍‍ 12–6 .66733–20 .623 Davidson ‍‍‍ 7–11 .38928–26 .519 Furman ‍‍‍ 2–15 .1188–29 .216 x – Division champion ‡ – SoCon Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1988 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT East Georgia Southern $^x$‍†‍‍ 13–4 .76530–27 .526 No. 20 Stetson ‍‍‡‍$^y$ 9–8 .52935–25 .583 Mercer ‍‍‍ 7–10 .41224–25 .490 Samford ‍‍‍ 5–12 .2948–49 .140 West Centenary $^x$‍‍‍ 11–5 .68830–20 .600 Arkansas–Little Rock ‍‍‍ 8–8 .50027–29 .482 Hardin–Simmons ‍‍‍ 5–11 .31330–30 .500 x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1988 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |

## College World Series

The 1988 season marked the forty 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 Stanford claiming their second championship with a 9–4 win over Arizona State in the final.
| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Arizona State | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | California | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | California | 2 | 1 | Arizona State | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Wichita State | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Wichita State | 5 | 4 | Wichita State | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Florida | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Florida | 4 | | | | 4 | Wichita State | 3 | 1 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 1 | Arizona State | 4$^{10}$ | 19 | | | | | |
| 8 | California | 5 | | | | | | | | 1 | Arizona State | 4$^{10}$ | 19 | | | | |
| 5 | Florida | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Florida | 6 | 1 | Arizona State | 10 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Florida | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Arizona State | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 7 | Stanford | 9 |
| 7 | Stanford | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 7 | Stanford | 9 |
| 2 | Fresno State | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Fresno State | 3 | 7 | Stanford | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Cal State Fullerton | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Cal State Fullerton | 9 | 6 | Cal State Fullerton | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Miami (FL) | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Miami (FL) | 3 | | | | 6 | Cal State Fullerton | 1 | 5 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 7 | Stanford | 3 | 9 | | | | | |
| 2 | Fresno State | 4 | | | | | | | | 7 | Stanford | 3 | 9 | | | | |
| 3 | Miami (FL) | 8$^{12}$ | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Miami (FL) | 8$^{12}$ | 7 | Stanford | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Miami (FL) | 1 | | | | | | | | | |