# 1979 NCAA Division I baseball season

The 1979 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 1979. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1979 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the thirty-third time in 1979, 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. Cal State Fullerton claimed the championship for the first time.

## Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1979 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Seven regionals of four teams and one of six each competed in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. 21 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 13 teams earned at-large selections. The Trans America Athletic Conference, as a new league, did not earn an automatic bid.
| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference tournament | Tournament venue • city | Tournament winner |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | Clemson | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Big Eight Conference | East - Oklahoma West - Missouri | 1979 Big Eight Conference baseball tournament | All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK | Oklahoma |
| Big Ten Conference | Michigan State | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Eastern 8 | | 1979 Eastern 8 Conference baseball tournament | Hershey, PA | George Washington |
| ECAC | | 1979 Eastern College Athletic Conference baseball tournament | Worcester, MA | Connecticut |
| EIBL | Navy | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Miami (OH) | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Pacific-10 Conference | North - Washington State South - UCLA | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southeastern Conference | East - Florida West - Mississippi State | 1979 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament | Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS | Mississippi State |
| SCBA | Cal State Fullerton | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southern Conference | The Citadel | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Southwest Conference | Texas | 1979 Southwest Conference baseball tournament | Disch–Falk Field • Austin, TX | Texas |
| Trans America Athletic Conference | N/A | 1979 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball tournament | Centenary Park • Shreveport, LA | Mercer |

## Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:
1979 Eastern College Athletic Conference baseball standings :
| 1979 Eastern College Athletic Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Metropolitan Seton Hall ‍‍‍$^y$ – –32–11 .744 No. 28 St. John's ‍‍‍$^y$ – –26–11 .703 Fordham ‍‍‍ – –18–13 .581 Canisius ‍‍‍ – –8–20 .286 New England Maine ‍‍‍ – –23–9 .719 No. 8 Connecticut ‍‍‡‍$^y$ – –31–13 .705 Fairfield ‍‍‍ – –21–12 .636 UMass ‍‍‍ – –24–17 .585 Holy Cross ‍‍‍ – –16–13 .552 Providence ‍‍‍ – –14–13 .519 South George Washington ‍‍‍$^y$ – –22–9 .710 James Madison ‍‍‍ – –31–13 .705 Richmond ‍‍‍ – –23–18 .561 Catholic University ‍‍‍ – –16–15 .516 Old Dominion ‍‍‍ – –16–30 .348 Georgetown ‍‍‍ – –8–23 .258 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1979 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1979 NCAA Division I baseball independents standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 7 Miami (FL) ‍‍‍$^y$ – –55–11 .833 No. 11 Hawaii ‍‍‍$^y$ – –69–15 .821 No. 23 Texas–Pan American ‍‍‍$^y$ – –52–12 .813 Air Force ‍‍‍ – –33–13 .717 No. 27 Florida State ‍‍‍$^y$ – –43–17 .717 Mercer ‍‍‍ – –38–16 .704 Villanova ‍‍‍ – –16–9 .640 Detroit ‍‍‍ – –34–22 .607 No. 11 Gonzaga ‍‍‍ – –25–17 .595 Stetson ‍‍‍ – –26–24 .520 Georgia Tech ‍‍‍ – –15–16 .484 Campbell ‍‍‍ – –17–20 .459 Notre Dame ‍‍‍ – –14–19 .424 Louisville ‍‍‍ – –18–27 .400 Northern Iowa ‍‍‍ – –11–17 .393 Lafayette ‍‍‍ – –9–15 .375 Hofstra ‍‍‍ – –6–18 .250 y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1979 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1979 Pacific-10 Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Northern No. 29 Washington State $^x$‍‍‍ 12–3 .80040–10 .800 Washington ‍‍‍ 11–5 .68837–13 .740 Oregon State ‍‍‍ 4–11 .26721–19 .525 Oregon ‍‍‍ 3–11 .21414–27 .341 Southern No. 9 UCLA $^x$‍‍‍$^y$ 21–9 .70043–18 .705 No. 5 Arizona ‍‍‍$^y$ 17–13 .56743–25 .632 California ‍‍‍ 16–14 .53331–25 .554 Southern California ‍‍‍ 15–15 .50033–24 .579 Stanford ‍‍‍ 13–17 .43335–23 .603 Arizona State ‍‍‍ 8–22 .26732–31 .508 x – Division champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1979 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1979 Southeastern Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Eastern Division No. 19 Florida $^x$‍‍‍$^y$ 16–8 .66740–20 .667 Kentucky ‍‍‍ 13–11 .54229–18 .617 Georgia ‍‍‍ 11–11 .50024–18 .571 Tennessee ‍‍‍ 10–14 .41725–22 .532 Vanderbilt ‍‍‍ 8–14 .36421–25 .457 Western Division No. 6 Mississippi State $^x$‍‍‡‍$^y$ 17–2 .89548–12 .800 LSU ‍‍‍ 13–7 .65034–20 .630 Ole Miss ‍‍‍ 9–10 .47424–13 .649 Auburn ‍‍‍ 7–14 .33321–21 .500 Alabama ‍‍‍ 4–17 .19018–27 .400 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1979 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1979 Southern California Baseball Association standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT #1 Cal State Fullerton †$^y$ ‍‍‍ 23–4 .85260–14 .811 No. 3 Pepperdine ‍‍‍$^y$ 19–9 .67947–16 .746 Long Beach State ‍‍‍ 17–10 .63040–22 .645 San Diego ‍‍‍ 14–12 .53832–19 .627 Loyola Marymount ‍‍‍ 12–16 .42929–34 .460 Cal State Los Angeles ‍‍‍ 9–19 .32125–39 .391 UC Irvine ‍‍‍ 8–19 .29622–37 .373 UC Santa Barbara ‍‍‍ 7–20 .25917–31 .354 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1979 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | 1979 Southwest Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 4 Texas ‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 22–2 .91761–8 .884 No. 2 Arkansas ‍‍‍$^y$ 19–5 .79249–15 .766 Baylor ‍‍‍ 13–9 .59134–15 .694 Texas A&M ‍‍‍ 13–10 .56530–20 .600 Houston ‍‍‍ 11–13 .45827–17 .614 Texas Tech ‍‍‍ 9–15 .37516–23 .410 Southern Methodist ‍‍‍ 7–16 .30421–26 .447 Texas Christian ‍‍‍ 7–17 .29221–24 .467 Rice ‍‍‍ 5–19 .20820–29 .408 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1979 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |
| 1979 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Mercer ‍‍‡‍ 0–0 –38–16 .704 Oklahoma City ‍‍‍ 0–0 –31–23 .574 Centenary ‍‍‍ 0–0 –28–19 .596 Northeast Louisiana ‍‍‍ 0–0 –22–26 .458 Hardin–Simmons ‍‍‍ 0–0 –14–25 .359 ‡ – Tournament champion As of June 30, 1979 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball |

## College World Series

The 1979 season marked the thirty third 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 Cal State Fullerton claiming their first championship with a 2–1 win over Arkansas in the final.
| Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 2 | Upper round 2 | Upper round 2 | Upper final | Upper final | Upper final | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Final | Final | Final |
| Arkansas | Arkansas | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pepperdine | Pepperdine | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pepperdine | Pepperdine | 4 | Arkansas | Arkansas | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Arizona | Arizona | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Arizona | Arizona | 5 | Arizona | Arizona | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | 1 | | | | Arkansas | Arkansas | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Texas | Texas | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas | Texas | 11 | | | | Texas | Texas | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas | Texas | 11 | | | | | | | Arkansas | Arkansas | 10 | | | | | | |
| Connecticut | Connecticut | 5 | | | | | | | Arkansas | Arkansas | 10 | | | | | | |
| Connecticut | Connecticut | 5 | Texas | Texas | 8 | | | | Cal State Fullerton | Cal State Fullerton | 13 | | | | | | |
| | | | Mississippi State | Mississippi State | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mississippi State | Mississippi State | 6 | Mississippi State | Mississippi State | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Cal State Fullerton | Cal State Fullerton | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cal State Fullerton | Cal State Fullerton | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cal State Fullerton | Cal State Fullerton | 8 | Arkansas | Arkansas | 1 |
| | | | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | | | | | Pepperdine | Pepperdine | 5 | | | |
| | | | | | | Mississippi State | Mississippi State | | | | | | 4 | | | | | |
| | | | Pepperdine | Pepperdine | 9 | Pepperdine | Pepperdine | | | | | | 5$^{10}$ | | | | | |
| | | | Pepperdine | Pepperdine | 9 | Pepperdine | Pepperdine | | Texas | Texas | 4 | | 5$^{10}$ | | | | | |
| | | | Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | 3 | | | | Texas | Texas | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | 3 | | | | Pepperdine | Pepperdine | 6 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Arizona | Arizona | | Pepperdine | Pepperdine | 6 | 3 | | | | | | |
| | | | Connecticut | Connecticut | 3 | Cal State Fullerton | Cal State Fullerton | | | | | 16 | | | | | | |
| | | | Cal State Fullerton | Cal State Fullerton | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |