1986 NCAA Division I baseball season

The 1986 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 1986. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1986 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fortieth time in 1986, 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. Arizona claimed the championship for the third time.

1986 NCAA Division I baseball season
Number of teams	265
NCAA tournament
College World Series
Champions	Arizona (3rd title)
Runners-up	Florida State (8th CWS Appearance)
Winning Coach	Jerry Kindall (3rd title)
MOP	Mike Senne (Arizona)
Seasons

Realignment and format changes

• The Big South Conference was granted NCAA Division I status, joining after one season in the NAIA. The members were Armstrong State, Augusta State, Baptist, Campbell, Coastal Carolina, Radford, UNC Asheville, and Winthrop.
• The Colonial Athletic Association began sponsoring baseball, with American, East Carolina, George Mason, James Madison, Richmond, UNC Wilmington, and William & Mary composing the seven team league.
• The Southeastern Conference dissolved its two division format, playing as a single conference with all teams playing a three-game series against every other conference member.
• Stetson joined the Trans America Athletic Conference. They had previously played as an independent.

Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1986 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Four regionals of four teams and four of six each competed in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. 25 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 15 teams earned at-large selections.

Conference	Regular season Winner	Conference tournament	Tournament venue • city	Tournament winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	NC State	1986 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament	Durham Athletic Park • Durham, NC	Georgia Tech
Atlantic 10 Conference	East - Rutgers West - West Virginia	1986 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament	Piscataway, New Jersey	Rutgers
Big East Conference	North - Providence/St. John's South - Seton Hall	1986 Big East Conference baseball tournament	Muzzy Field • Bristol, CT	St. John's
Big Eight Conference	Oklahoma State	1986 Big Eight Conference baseball tournament	All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma State
Big South Conference	East - Campbell West - Augusta State	1986 Big South Conference baseball tournament	Augusta, GA	Coastal Carolina
Big Ten Conference	East - Michigan West - Minnesota	1986 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament	Siebert Field • Minneapolis, MN	Michigan
Colonial Athletic Association	East Carolina/James Madison	1986 Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament	Harrington Stadium • Greenville, NC	Richmond
EIBL	Navy	No tournament
Mid-American Conference	Central Michigan	No tournament
Midwestern Collegiate Conference	North - Detroit South - Oral Roberts	1986 Midwestern City Conference baseball tournament	Detroit, MI	Oral Roberts
Metro Conference	Florida State	1986 Metro Conference baseball tournament	Seminole Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	Florida State
Mid-Continent	Blue - Cleveland State Gray - Southwest Missouri State	1986 Association of Mid-Continent Universities baseball tournament	Chicago, IL	Southwest Missouri State
Pacific-10 Conference	North - Oregon State South - UCLA	No tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association	UC Santa Barbara	No tournament
Southeastern Conference	LSU	1986 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament	Alex Box Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	LSU
Southern Conference	North - Appalachian State South - Western Carolina	1986 Southern Conference baseball tournament	Hennon Stadium • Cullowhee, NC	Western Carolina
Southwest Conference	Texas/Texas A&M	1986 Southwest Conference baseball tournament	Olsen Field • College Station, TX	Texas A&M
Trans America Athletic Conference	East - Georgia Southern West - Hardin–Simmons	1986 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball tournament	Hunter Field • Abilene, TX	Georgia Southern

Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:

1986 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 29 NC State  ‍†‍‍y 11 – 2   .846 35 – 15   .700 No. 17 Georgia Tech  ‍‍‡‍y 10 – 4   .714 45 – 23   .662 Clemson  ‍‍‍ 9 – 4   .692 42 – 21   .667 North Carolina  ‍‍‍ 7 – 7   .500 33 – 22   .600 Virginia  ‍‍‍ 6 – 7   .462 27 – 22   .551 Wake Forest  ‍‍‍ 6 – 8   .429 29 – 21   .580 Maryland  ‍‍‍ 3 – 10   .231 18 – 28   .391 Duke  ‍‍‍ 2 – 12   .143 25 – 17   .595 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1986 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT East Rutgers  x‍‍‡‍y 9 – 2 – 0   .818 28 – 18 – 0   .609 Temple  ‍‍‍ 8 – 3 – 0   .727 30 – 17 – 1   .635 Rhode Island  ‍‍‍ 4 – 7 – 1   .375 14 – 15 – 1   .483 UMass  ‍‍‍ 4 – 7 – 0   .364 16 – 24 – 0   .400 Saint Joseph's  ‍‍‍ 2 – 8 – 1   .227 6 – 26 – 1   .197 West West Virginia  x‍‍‍ 9 – 2 – 0   .818 24 – 14 – 1   .628 George Washington  ‍‍‍ 8 – 2 – 0   .800 28 – 13 – 1   .679 Penn State  ‍‍‍ 7 – 4 – 0   .636 29 – 19 – 0   .604 St. Bonaventure  ‍‍‍ 2 – 9 – 0   .182 13 – 26 – 0   .333 Duquesne  ‍‍‍ 1 – 10 – 0   .091 21 – 10 – 0   .677 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1986 Big East Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT North Division Providence  x‍‍‍ 11 – 7 – 0   .611 28 – 23 – 0   .549 No. 30 St. John's  x‍‍‡‍y 11 – 7 – 0   .611 35 – 15 – 1   .696 Connecticut  ‍‍‍ 10 – 8 – 0   .556 18 – 21 – 0   .462 Boston College  ‍‍‍ 4 – 14 – 0   .222 14 – 23 – 0   .378 South Division Seton Hall  x‍‍‍ 13 – 5 – 0   .722 32 – 26 – 0   .552 Georgetown  ‍‍‍ 12 – 6 – 0   .667 23 – 22 – 0   .511 Villanova  ‍‍‍ 8 – 10 – 0   .444 21 – 20 – 1   .512 Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍ 3 – 15 – 0   .167 10 – 22 – 0   .313 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1986 Big South Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT East Campbell  x‍‍‍ 14 – 3   .824 31 – 20   .608 Winthrop  ‍‍‍ 11 – 4   .733 37 – 10   .787 UNC Asheville  ‍‍‍ 6 – 11   .353 17 – 32   .347 Radford  ‍‍‍ 1 – 14   .067 14 – 22   .389 West Augusta State  x‍‍‍ 12 – 6   .667 36 – 23   .610 Coastal Carolina  ‍‍‡‍ 9 – 9   .500 31 – 19   .620 Baptist  ‍‍‍ 8 – 10   .444 32 – 19   .627 Armstrong State  ‍‍‍ 7 – 11   .389 37 – 20   .649 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1986 Big Ten Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT East No. 28 Michigan  x‍‍‡‍y 13 – 3   .813 42 – 17   .712 Purdue  ‍‍‍ 9 – 7   .563 37 – 27   .578 Indiana  ‍‍‍ 7 – 9   .438 43 – 17   .717 Michigan State  ‍‍‍ 7 – 9   .438 28 – 26   .519 Ohio State  ‍‍‍ 4 – 12   .250 21 – 27   .438 West Minnesota  x‍‍‍ 10 – 5   .667 40 – 19   .678 Wisconsin  ‍‍‍ 10 – 6   .625 35 – 22   .614 Northwestern  ‍‍‍ 9 – 7   .563 39 – 14   .736 Illinois  ‍‍‍ 8 – 8   .500 34 – 19   .642 Iowa  ‍‍‍ 2 – 13   .133 29 – 27   .518 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1986 Colonial Athletic Association baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT East Carolina  ‍†‍‍ 13 – 5 – 0   .722 40 – 10 – 0   .800 James Madison  ‍†‍‍ 13 – 5 – 0   .722 35 – 14 – 0   .714 Richmond  ‍‍‡‍y 12 – 6 – 0   .667 24 – 31 – 0   .436 UNC Wilmington  ‍‍‍ 10 – 8 – 0   .556 29 – 28 – 0   .509 George Mason  ‍‍‍ 8 – 10 – 0   .444 27 – 20 – 1   .573 William & Mary  ‍‍‍ 4 – 14 – 0   .222 7 – 38 – 0   .156 American  ‍‍‍ 3 – 15 – 0   .167 8 – 26 – 0   .235 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1986 NCAA Division I baseball independents standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT UCF  ‍‍‍ –   – 46 – 13   .780 No. 12 Tulane  ‍‍‍y –   – 49 – 15   .766 No. 3 Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍y –   – 49 – 17   .742 FIU  ‍‍‍ –   – 41 – 18   .695 No. 25 Texas–Pan American  ‍‍‍y –   – 42 – 19   .689 Liberty  ‍‍‍ –   – 26 – 14   .650 Pace  ‍‍‍ –   – 24 – 15   .615 West Chester  ‍‍‍ –   – 23 – 15   .605 Southwestern Louisiana  ‍‍‍ –   – 33 – 26   .559 New Orleans  ‍‍‍ –   – 29 – 30   .492 United States International  ‍‍‍ –   – 28 – 32   .467 New Mexico State  ‍‍‍ –   – 20 – 26   .435 Northern Colorado  ‍‍‍ –   – 18 – 24   .429 Tennessee State  ‍‍‍ –   – 17 – 25   .405 Dayton  ‍‍‍ –   – 16 – 25   .390 Manhattan  ‍‍‍ –   – 9 – 17   .346 Puget Sound  ‍‍‍ –   – 12 – 24   .333 Florida A&M  ‍‍‍ –   – 15 – 30   .333 Boston University  ‍‍‍ –   – 5 – 30   .143 y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1986 Metro Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 2 Florida State  ‍‍‡‍y 15 – 3   .833 61 – 13   .824 Memphis State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 5   .688 40 – 16   .714 South Carolina  ‍‍‍y 11 – 6   .647 43 – 23   .652 Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍ 11 – 6   .647 38 – 21   .644 Cincinnati  ‍‍‍ 9 – 9   .500 26 – 28   .481 Southern Miss  ‍‍‍ 4 – 13   .235 31 – 30   .508 Louisville  ‍‍‍ 3 – 13   .188 18 – 33   .353 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1986 Association of Mid-Continent Universities baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT Blue Division Cleveland State  x‍‍‍ 7 – 4 – 0   .636 23 – 24 – 0   .489 UIC  ‍‍‍ 6 – 6 – 0   .500 26 – 26 – 0   .500 Valparaiso  ‍‍‍ 4 – 7 – 0   .364 22 – 25 – 1   .469 Gray Division Southwest Missouri State  x‍‍‡‍ 11 – 1 – 0   .917 47 – 14 – 0   .770 Western Illinois  ‍‍‍ 6 – 6 – 0   .500 19 – 22 – 0   .463 Eastern Illinois  ‍‍‍ 4 – 7 – 0   .364 29 – 22 – 1   .567 Northern Iowa  ‍‍‍ 2 – 9 – 0   .182 25 – 18 – 1   .580 ‡ – Tournament champion As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1986 Pacific-10 Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Northern No. 23 Oregon State  x‍‍‍y 18 – 5   .783 39 – 15   .722 Gonzaga  ‍‍‍ 13 – 10   .565 30 – 21   .588 Portland State  ‍‍‍ 12 – 11   .522 39 – 23   .629 Washington State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 12   .478 35 – 24   .593 Portland  ‍‍‍ 10 – 13   .435 24 – 26   .480 Washington  ‍‍‍ 9 – 14   .391 25 – 23   .521 Eastern Washington  ‍‍‍ 8 – 16   .333 22 – 28   .440 Southern No. 13 UCLA  x‍‍‍y 21 – 9   .700 39 – 23   .629 No. 1 Arizona  ‍‍‍y 18 – 12   .600 49 – 19   .721 No. 15 Stanford  ‍‍‍y 18 – 12   .600 38 – 23   .623 Southern California  ‍‍‍ 12 – 18   .400 26 – 29   .473 Arizona State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 19   .367 34 – 28   .548 California  ‍‍‍ 10 – 20   .333 32 – 25   .561 x – Division champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1986 Southeastern Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT No. 5 LSU  ‍†‍‡‍y 22 – 5   .815 55 – 14   .797 No. 21 Alabama  ‍‍‍y 18 – 9   .667 43 – 20   .683 Auburn  ‍‍‍ 15 – 12   .556 31 – 24   .564 Ole Miss  ‍‍‍ 14 – 13   .519 38 – 17   .691 Georgia  ‍‍‍ 14 – 13   .519 35 – 24   .593 Florida  ‍‍‍ 14 – 13   .519 27 – 26   .509 Mississippi State  ‍‍‍ 12 – 15   .444 34 – 21   .618 Tennessee  ‍‍‍ 10 – 17   .370 27 – 23   .540 Vanderbilt  ‍‍‍ 9 – 18   .333 25 – 29   .463 Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 7 – 20   .259 25 – 28   .472 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1986 Southern Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT Northern Appalachian State  x‍‍‍y 15 – 2   .882 40 – 13   .755 East Tennessee State  ‍‍‍ 9 – 9   .500 21 – 21   .500 VMI  ‍‍‍ 7 – 11   .389 15 – 25   .375 Marshall  ‍‍‍ 4 – 13   .235 15 – 18   .455 Southern Western Carolina  x‍‍‡‍y 12 – 5   .706 33 – 28   .541 Davidson  ‍‍‍ 10 – 8   .556 21 – 20   .512 The Citadel  ‍‍‍ 9 – 9   .500 29 – 20   .592 Furman  ‍‍‍ 4 – 13   .235 15 – 24   .385 x – Division champion ‡ – SoCon Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1986 Trans America Athletic Conference baseball standings Conf Overall Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT East Georgia Southern x‍‍‡‍ 12 – 6   .667 36 – 23   .610 Mercer ‍‍‍ 8 – 10   .444 25 – 24   .510 Georgia State ‍‍‍ 8 – 10   .444 23 – 29   .442 Samford ‍‍‍ 8 – 10   .444 14 – 37   .275 West Hardin–Simmons x‍†‍‍ 12 – 4   .750 38 – 25   .603 Centenary ‍‍‍ 8 – 7   .533 27 – 28   .491 Arkansas–Little Rock ‍‍‍ 3 – 12   .200 11 – 35   .239 Stetson  ‍‍‍ –   – 36 – 22   .621 x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1986 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

College World Series

Main article: 1986 College World Series

The 1986 season marked the fortieth 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 Arizona claiming their third championship with a 10–2 win over Florida State in the final.

	Upper round 1					Upper round 2					Upper final					Semifinals					Preliminary final					Final
	Loyola Marymount		4
	LSU		3
						Loyola Marymount		5
						Arizona		7
	Arizona		8
	Maine		7
											Arizona		9
											Florida State		5
	Miami (FL)		6
																Arizona		2
	Oklahoma State		2
						Miami (FL)		2								Miami (FL)		4
						Florida State		7
	Florida State		5
	Indiana State		3																							Arizona		10
																					Miami (FL)		3			Florida State		2
						Lower round 1					Lower round 2										Florida State		4
											Miami (FL)		4
						LSU		8			LSU		3
																Florida State		6
						Maine		4
																Oklahoma State		5
											Loyola Marymount		5
						Oklahoma State		4			Oklahoma State		11
						Indiana State		0

Award winners

All-America team

Main article: 1986 College Baseball All-America Team